Doc is a perpetual believer in his guys, and they need that. He's also pretty straightforward with his criticisms - in particular away from the press one-on-one, though sometimes he uses the press as well. At one point earlier this year, Doc Rivers called his team "soft." Lately he's walking a thin line between being critical and supportive.

Doc Rivers State of the Celtics

"I think we're playing better, we're just not winning," said Rivers. "But we are definitely playing better. I haven't used that word again, so I think I like where we're trending as a team. But the facts still say we're a .500 team right now and we have to do a lot of things better."

So what does he think we need to shore up? Well, a little bit of everything.

"Usually with teams one area takes off and the other lags behind," said Rivers. "This has been a team that has gradually just gotten better in each area, and unfortunately that doesn't a lot of time translate into wins. It's usually when one side, like even defensively you're getting way better and it explodes and it can carry your offense for a while, or the other way even sometimes. Right now it's a little bit of everything."

Good stuff as usual from Jessica Camerato, so check the rest at the link above.