Doc Rivers Steering The Ship Through Choppy Waters

I'm an unabashed fan of Doc Rivers so you probably don't need me to sing his praises to you any more, but I found this interesting.

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers doing finest work of his career

"I was talking to some friends the other day and they said, 'You look exhausted,''' Rivers recounted after the Miami game. "I said, 'That's because I am.' It's no look. This is, by far, the hardest season I've ever gone through. It has been unbelievable." Then he added, "But one of the things I said at the outset of all this is that it is going to be difficult for everyone, not just us. So don't feel sorry for us.''

The last time he was talking about how difficult a year it was, they ended up playing in Game 7 of the Finals.

"We're a team that, to me, is still trending up,'' Rivers said. "And that's a good thing."

Rivers also has to get credit for not allowing the Celtics to cave in in the midst of all the injuries and uncertainty, not to mention a pair of five-game losing streaks that resulted in a sub.-500 record at the All-Star break. His continued optimism helped. But so did the fact that he has a team of grown-ups.

The team has pulled itself up and out of the doldrums, but they've always had Doc guiding them along and I think he deserves a lot of credit.