Like I've said before, nothing would please me more than to see Doc Rivers finally hit his stride and take this group of stars and role players and take them to the promised land. He's a nice guy and it would be great to see him prove everyone wrong. I even have some hope that his shortcomings (defense, rotations, game management) will be adequately covered by the play of Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen.
With that said, I'm not ready to put all my hopes into this coach, and apparently neither is management. The extension he got was essentially a one year "ok, prove it" deal. He's finally got the squad that he has always wanted and he's officially out of excuses. If the team fails or falters, he won't last long. But just how short is the leash?
If they stumble out of the gate and only post a .500 (or lower??) record in the first month, is he the first coach fired? If they suffer through a losing streak in the first half, will the team look to replace him around the All Star break? Or will he last the season and make or break himself in the playoffs?
Is Tom Thibodeau being groomed as the head coach successor? Is that why he took the job (and only a one year deal at that)? If the team chose to go in another direction, wouldn't they have coaches lining up around the block to coach this team for the next 2-3 years? Who would you want to bring in?