In his desperate plea to convince the owners to not extend the contract of Doc Rivers, Bill Simmons takes to task the notion that the young players have developed under his teaching.
Who are these "young guys who have really improved under Doc Rivers"?
• Al Jefferson, definitely. He's been the big success story.
• Tony Allen was making major strides until he blew out his knee while executing a flying one-handed slam four seconds after the whistle blew. Can't count him.
• Rondo looked exceptionally good in the preseason, then was inexplicably buried behind inferior players for the next four months. Did he "improve" or did Rivers just start playing him? I'm going with the latter. Can't count him.
• Gomes and West are up and down; their per-minute numbers are no different than last season's. Same for Kendrick Perkins. They are better only because of an extra year's experience; that's it. Can't count them.
• Gerald Green still runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. I don't blame Doc here because Green's hoops IQ almost can't be calculated; there's a decent chance he arrived in this country three years ago in a UFO. Can't count him.
• Leon Powe is headed for a distinguished 12-year career in Italy. Can't count him.
• Over the past six months, Telfair's career free-falled to the degree that "AND 1" sent scouts to the last 10 Celtics games. Can't count him.
• As far as I can tell, we have no other young players.