The Morning Walkthrough: Rajon Rondo is 'made of carbon'

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald - "'Things happen to us that you turn and you ask yourself, ‘Why me?’ ” Garnett said as the Celtics had yesterday off in preparation for tonight’s road trip finale against the Phoenix Suns. “I told him when he went to the line (Monday), I smacked him and I said, ‘Yeah, redemption. Payback.’ I just kept filling him with that. It either makes you or breaks you, man. You can’t break this kid. This kid is made of carbon, man. Everybody knows what carbon is. You know that it’s damn near invincible. It’s just more than a pleasure to be his teammate.' Rondo shrugged it all off, but he was seriously down in LA. 'I was bummed out up until gametime (Monday),” Rondo said. “But luckily it’s the NBA. We had a back-to-back, so I tried to redeem myself, but we still got another loss. For me, I get down on myself. I’m very hard on myself. But I’m still confident. I’m going to play the game and feel like I’m the best at it.'"

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe - "'I think it’s a combination of we’re getting some pretty good performances by other teams and we’re not playing as hard as we can play for 48 minutes,' he said. 'We think we can show up for a quarter or a half, and that’s not good enough in this league, and that’s been our pattern. We come out of the gates ready to play and have shown up to play in some cases. Other cases we haven’t; we’ve had to turn it on in the second half. That’s the fear I had at the beginning of the season - play it out and wait for the playoffs to roll around and not bringing it night in and night out. This is the second stretch where we really haven’t really shown up. The urgency of winning from the get-go hasn’t been important enough.' Mentally - and that’s 90 percent of how NBA games are won - the Celtics had the Warriors defeated. All that was required was basic execution for the final three quarters. But with tired bodies on the second game of a back-to-back stretch, Paul Pierce sitting in his Waltham home trying not to kick the television with his healing right leg, and the offense depending solely on Rajon Rondo, the Celtics faltered."

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald - "On one hand, Doc Rivers has derided his team’s play even in victories. But he seemed to be debating himself when he let his guys off the hook. 'If you look around, all the good teams have tight games against the lower teams,' he said. 'These are NBA players, so they’re going to play well. And it’s tough to win an NBA game. I think if you ask the bad teams, they’ll tell you that.' The problem the Celtics encounter is a boredom of sorts. They generally lose the mental energy to simply run their stuff and make extra passes when they get around teams they see as beneath them. On the rare occasions when they stick with their plan, they systematically run the foe out of the building. But too often they take the ball and try to make individual plays. The issue is even more acute down the stretch. With the experience and alleged wisdom on the team, it just shouldn’t be happening this often."

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE - "For a veteran team, we played with absolutely zero composure,' Rivers said. 'We just didn't play like a veteran basketball team tonight.' Little did Rivers know that would be a recurring theme just 24 hours later. Ill-timed turnovers. Poor shot selection. Mental breakdowns defensively. If there was a way to keep the Warriors in the game, the Celtics were more than willing to give it to them. Kevin Garnett understands what's going on. The Celtics aren't playing Celtics basketball."

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe - "Davis left Oracle in arena wearing a protective boot and walking with crutches. 'I haven't heard anything, which means nothing is serious,' Ainge said. 'I sent (trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) a text and I haven't heard anything and usually that means it's not much.' Meanwhile, Ainge said the team will evaluate Paul Pierce's right knee this weekend to determine when he will return. 'We don't have any definite dates or change on Paul,' he said."

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Doc's genius late-game coaching decision

Lost amidst another bad loss to a mediocre team was Doc Rivers' (Tom Thibodeau's?) late-game coaching decision to have his two biggest men defend the inbounds passer.  With the Celtics down two points and only 4.4 seconds remaining, Doc had Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett harass the inbounds passer on two successive plays. 

The first play, C.J. Watson drew the unfortunate task of passing the ball inbounds, and couldn't even see over Boston's two monsters, much less pass the ball over them.  Four seconds later, he called timeout and Don Nelson had to switch inbounders to give the 6'10" Vlad Radmanovic a chance.  Even Vlad had troubles throwing the ball in, and had to loft a super-dangerous pass right in front of his own basket that, unfortunately for the Celtics, was corralled by Monta Ellis to end the game.

For those of you who didn't see the game, here's what the defense looked like:

Be sure to applaud my serious photo-shopping skills.  Look at that high-tech and well-rounded circle. 

Seriously, though, has anyone ever seen that strategy employed before?  I hadn't, at least not that I can remember.  (And it's tough not to remember two seven-footers flailing their arms and doing jumping jacks in a strategy you've never seen before.) 

It seems like a great move, as long as you have two long seven-footers to execute it.  Who knows?  Maybe Doc will start a trend and, before you know it, every team will have their seven-footers jumping all over the place on late-game inbounds plays.

It was almost enough to save the Celtics last night.

The Morning Walkthrough: Monta Ellis 'had his way with us tonight'

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston - "'[Ellis] played great for them," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "He basically saved the game for them at the end of the game with that play. One misstep and Tony [Allen] would have had a layup. [Ellis] made a great adjustment to get to the ball and maintain control.' Ellis connected on 15 of 26 attempts, and added four assists. Celtics guard Ray Allen admitted there was little the Green could do to slow him. 'We started out putting one-and-a-half guys on him to start the game, which turned into two guys guarding him and that didn’t work,' said Allen. 'By that time it was too late. He basically had his way with us tonight.' Said Ellis of his big night: '[Scoring is] really just coming to me. I’m trying to get everybody involved -- got myself going, and they keyed in on me, so I moved the ball and everybody got involved.'"

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston - "Celtics coach Doc Rivers pointed to a season-high 25 turnovers as the key in allowing the Golden State Warriors to rally from an 18-point deficit for a 103-99 triumph at Oracle Arena. 'I told the guys [at halftime] that we had 58 points with 15 turnovers -- that's a miracle,' said Rivers. 'Typically, if you have 15 turnovers, you have maybe 35 points. The fact that we had 58 points with that many turnovers was amazing. But you can't have turnovers against them. They score too quick and too easy. Honestly, that was the difference in the game. 'We were up 18 in the first quarter -- that happens. Eighteen points doesn't mean much, they're an offensive team and we knew they'd get back in it. It was more the 25 turnovers that turned the game around.'"

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald - "Instead of patiently pounding the ball into the paint against the undersized Warriors, the Celts were content to jack up 3-pointers. They went 5-for-19 from beyond the arc and got outscored in the lane, 44-36. The best sign for the Celts was Rondo, who was utterly undaunted by his two free throw failures against the Clippers. Rondo also tweaked a sore left hamstring in the first quarter. 'I thought he played terrific all night,' said Rivers. 'His hamstring is bothering him. We almost took him out at the end but he just wanted to keep playing, and he played great.'"

Tom Halzack, Celtics Central - "In a move never before seen in an NBA basketball game (by me), Doc Rivers stationed his two tallest players, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, in front of Watson, the player throwing the ball in. Garnett and Perkins went crazy jumping and waving their hands. When Watson was unable to get the ball in, the Warriors called time out and substituted the taller Vladimir Radmanovic as the player to throw the ball in. Perkins and KG again waved wildly, causing a huge distraction as Radmanovic was forced to throw a football pass leading Ellis to a spot in the back court. The scheme almost worked as Ellis started to fumble the ball a bit as he got to it. But he recovered and the Celtics were forced to foul him. Monte made both foul shots essentially ending the game."

Paul Flanner, WEEI - "We have been down this road many, many times before with Tony Allen. Throughout his star-crossed career, Allen has shown sporadic spasms of brilliance, mixed with head-scratching periods of inertia. So, it comes with no small parts of restraint to say that Allen’s return to the Celtics lineup has been nothing short of solid. Yes, Allen still mixes the sublime with the bizarre, but on the whole the good has far outweighed the bad. His latest comeback is even more intriguing because when the season started one would have been hard-pressed to imagine a scenario in which Allen would have even been given the chance to contribute, let alone excel."

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Doc: Yesterday's win ugly ball, not bad ball

Yesterday's win wasn't pretty. The Celtics had 20 turnovers. They shot only 42.5%. They hit only four out of 15 threes. No, the game wasn't pretty at all.

But it sure was a win Doc Rivers could be proud of.

Via the Boston Globe:

“A lot of good things happened for us. Our defense won the game. We talked about it for two days - the only way we’re going to win this game is in a defensive game. We’re not going to come in without Paul Pierce and shoot them out of the game, that wasn’t going to happen. We were going to have a great defensive team and we were. It was not the prettiest ball - I can tell you both teams played tremendous defense, by the way. We didn’t lose points in that stretch - no one was scoring. It was ugly ball. But I don’t necessarily think that’s bad basketball, I think that’s two teams playing extremely hard and playing great defense.’’

I'm not like a lot of people. I'd rather see a low-scoring, grind-it-out game, as long as both teams are giving it their all. I want to see players hitting the floor after loose balls, hard box-outs on missed shots, and contested jumpers rather than open ones.

And by those parameters, yesterday was certainly satisfying.

The Morning (-ish) Walkthrough: I've been hit by a train

Sorry the links are late today; I went to a Christmas party with an open bar and now I feel like I've been hit by Kermit Washington. Anyways, enjoy... I'm badly in need of a little more "strategic rest."

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe - "It was a shocking 57-42 mess at the half, and you couldn’t blame it all on KG’s absence. 'No, no, no, no, no,' Rivers insisted. 'We did that all to ourselves. All I told them at the half was that the defense was awful, the effort was awful. There was no defensive energy. It was just like last year [when Garnett was out]. We had the ability to score. We just couldn’t stop them.' The Pacers were knocking down shots with regularity, many of them open jumpers created in what the NBA likes to refer to as 'early offense' opportunities. The Celtics were lazy. They weren’t getting back on defense, even when they scored. It was that simple. 'It was a walk-it-up game for us, and they were running it down our throats,' Rivers pointed out."

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald - 'It’s just like last year,' Rivers said. 'It’s no different in some ways. When Kevin went out last year, we had the ability to score. We just couldn’t stop people from scoring. And I actually turned to (assistant coach Tom Thibodeau) in the first half and said, ‘Here we go,’ when they started scoring. He’s just such a verbal leader, and honestly, him and (Kendrick Perkins) have such a connection defensively where they cover up for each other and everyone else. And when you take him off the floor you disrupt that.' To be fair, the Celtics would have a difficult time, too, overcoming the loss of Pierce, Allen, Perkins or Rajon Rondo . But they looked particularly sloppy last night, shooting just 38 percent from the floor against a team missing its best player, Danny Granger. 'A lot changes,' Pierce said of a world without Garnett. 'You’re talking about a guy who we play our offense through and our leader on defense. I thought it took a second for us to adjust. What we said at halftime, we said we weren’t talking on defense and usually Kevin leads us in that category as far as talking and being in the spots, having everybody in their spots.'"

Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog - "Now all indications are that Garnett was just pulled from last night's game for "strategic rest." All indications are that the issue is a thigh bruise and not directly related to his knee. Everything sounds on the up and up. I'm 99.9% sure that is all there is to the story. However, there's that thin cloud of doubt that creeps in and will always creep in from now on. And the Celtics know it. There's a reason why Danny Ainge addressed the CSN crew last night instead of just Doc. They know they need to be very careful in how they handle situations like this from now on because they know we didn't appreciate them going "Belichickian" on us last year."

Zach Lowe, Celtics Hub - "Kevin: Not OK! Not OK!! Listen, I get the pro athlete’s code. You come to work, you do your best, you don’t complain about injuries unless they are so bad that you’re actively hurting the team by playing. There’s a machismo to it. We saw this in the tunnel in Utah last season after KG first suffered his injury. He wanted to play, and he was ready to do so despite the pain. But it was just too much. The time for machismo is over. KG is proven his toughness to everyone, dozens of times over. If you’re hurting, tell the freaking team."

Red's Army - "Doc called this one in the pregame. He knew the team was going to come out like it did. And as a coach, you can only do so much. What are you going to do... dig into your bag and find your best Knute Rockne speech for a late December game against the Pacers?"

Throwing some dimes: Krypto-Nate wants to be a Celtic

Once in a while, someone else's article catches my eye. Sometimes, it's because the article is so spot-on I wish I'd written it myself. Other times, it's because the article enlightens me with something I never knew. Still other times, it's because I disagree with whatever's written. No matter what the reason, I dish it off to another writer to make his/her point. You know, throwing some dimes.

• Chris Sheridan reports Nate Robinson has one destination in mind as he demands a trade... Boston:

Robinson does want out, and a source close to the Robinson camp tells ESPN.com there's one place the former slam-dunk champion would truly like to land if a trade can be worked out: Boston.

If that can't happen, Robinson wants a buyout, believing he will be able to sign with one of the top contending teams in the league, including the Lakers, Cleveland and Orlando -- the thinking being that he can provide the instant offensive boost for any of those teams that he once provided for the Knicks.

Sunday night's 98-94 victory against Charlotte marked the ninth consecutive DNP-CD for Robinson, whose tension-filled relationship with D'Antoni has reached a tipping point. The Knicks have gone 6-3 since D'Antoni removed Robinson from the rotation -- a point D'Antoni repeatedly used in his own defense in addressing the matter prior to the game -- and Robinson's camp has made the decision to go public with its displeasure, formally requesting a trade while letting the media know it was doing so.

But a couple of problems exist in regard to Robinson's demanding a trade:

• Robinson has the right to veto any trade (because he would be forfeiting his Larry Bird rights by accepting a trade), and as unhappy as he is, at the end of the day he'd rather sulk at the end of the bench in New York than battle Wayne Ellington for spot minutes in Minnesota. One source close to the Knicks said the list of teams that Robinson would accept a trade to could be described as "slim and/or none."

I wouldn't mind Nate if the Celtics didn't have to give up much to get him.  He's super-athletic, he can score, and by the looks of it he wants to win (or at least be traded to a very cushy situation). 

But, it'd be very tough to pair Eddie House in the backcourt with Nate; they wouldn't be able to guard a soul.  Also, Nate must be some type of behavioral problem for such a talented player to go through such a long string of DNP's.  So if the Celtics give up next to nothing for Nate, I'm all for it.  But if they have to give up Marquis Daniels, as Sheridan later hypothesizes, my answer would be, "No.  Absolutely not."

• Red's Army is up for best individual blog in the NBA.  Vote for them.
• Red's Army is also trying to give away tickets.  It's your last chance... try to win them.
• Zach Lowe takes a look at just how prevalent film sessions are in Boston:

Is it possible that group film study, NFL style, is not as big a part of NBA culture as some of us (myself included) think it is? It must vary from coach to coach, right?


Whatever the case, my favorite tidbit from the Globe’s rightfully sunny recap of the C’s-Wolves beat down is this:

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he also told Pierce, who scored only nine points in Friday night’s loss to the Sixers, to get back to his instincts instead of trying to figure out ways to get everyone involved. The team watched film after the loss — a rarity during the regular season — and Rivers put together a sequence of all the uncontested shots.

“There were a lot of them,” Rivers said. “It was good for them to see.”

It’s unclear from the context if Rivers was showing uncontested shots that Pierce passed up or uncontested shots the C’s defense yielded to Philly. Either way, the line that caught my eye was “a rarity during the regular season.”

Wanna throw your own dime, and get someone's article recognized? Email me at jayking@celticstown.com or follow me on Twitter.

Doc Rivers: Kendrick Perkins is Celtics' best defender

If you're like me, you've watched Kendrick Perkins grow up and always loved his propensity for doing the little things, for sacrificing his own individual glory for the good of his team.  I always appreciated this about Perk, but I also thought that willingness to do the "nitty-gritty" aspects of the game would keep him from getting the recognition he deserves.

Well, don't look now, but Perk is starting to get a lot of recognition, first within the Boston media, and now with Sports Illustrated.  He's improved every part of his game; his post play, his defense, his rebounding, and is now getting love from all angles

Doc Rivers even called Perkins the Celtics' best defender, an enormous feat considering he plays in the same frontcourt as Kevin Garnett.

Via SI's Britt Robson:

Unlike most players, Perkins doesn't use a forearm when guarding opponents who operate with their backs to the basket. "If you use the forearm, you don't have enough balance when they spin or fade away," he said. Instead, he uses hands for sensory information; the outside hand placed on an opponents' tailbone to determine where he's going (and, if possible, to guide him), while the inside hand stabs for steals.

Along with producing studier balance, this approach enables Perkins to provide resistance with an unyielding chest and trunk as the hands give way. It's a classic, albeit increasingly rare, style of bump-and-grind, low-post defense.

But Boston coach Doc Rivers cherishes Perkins' defense as much for his brains as his brawn. "[Assistant head coach] Tom [Thibodeau] does a terrific job getting our guys to communicate, but at the end of the day, Kevin and Perk are seeing things before they happen; they have such high basketball IQs and adjust to all the wrinkles," Rivers said. "The other thing that has happened to Perk to make him better is his focus. He accepts who he is and knows that his biggest value to the team is being our best defender."

"Our best defender."  Just let that sink in for a second.  Did you ever think Perkins would become our best defender, back when he was an overweight, clumsy big man straight out of high school?  I can't say I did.

But he deserves Doc's accolades, and has become an incredibly valuable player for the Celtics, to the point he is now being mentioned in some venues as a possible All-Star.  (If you want to vote for Perk to become an All-Star, click here.)
 
Perk is one of the few centers in the league who can handle just about any post player without a double team.  He's physical, moves his feet well, and alters a lot of shots he doesn't block.
 
Conratulations, Perk, you earned it.  Just do a better job guarding Andrew Bogut next time, huh?

Boston Celtics discuss Tim Donaghy's allegations

Tim Donaghy is coming at the NBA hard with allegations of a crooked referree corps that throws games, influences otucomes, and holds grudges against certain players and coaches.  He's trying to take the league down with him, all so he can get a little bit of money through selling his tell-all book. 

Should he be trusted?  I don't think so.  How can you trust a man with his back against the wall, who has proven to be a snake, a thief and a liar, who is clearly trying to gain whatever monetary profits he can off his immoral decision to bet NBA games?  I just don't think he holds any credibility at all, or that we can trust a single word that come out of his mouth.

At the same time, I'm positive some of the things he will say, has said, are true.  Just like in any other profession, I'm sure there are some unethical NBA referrees, and I'm sure some guys do hold grudges, and other guys have probably bet on games.  The only problem is, we don't know which parts of Donaghy's stories are bullshit and which parts are real.  We can't trust a single word coming out of his mouth, but some of it has to be true, right?

Rasheed Wallace thinks so (via the Herald):

Rasheed Wallace said tonight he believes the Tim Donaghy scandal will eventually get deeper. He predicted a major problem for the NBA when all the facts come to light.

“I always said to myself and had the thing that there’s no way that the things that he did he could do them by himself,” Wallace said. “I always said that. It’s virtually impossible. The things that he’s been accused of, there’s no way, to me, in my opinion, he could have done those things by himself.”

I'm with 'Sheed.  How could he do these things by himself?  And, if he did do it by himself, don't you think there's some other scummy ref out there who did the same things?

But I'm also with Doc, who doesn't think he can trust Donaghy at all (via ESPNBoston):

"My buddy," Rivers joked when Donaghy's name was brought up by reporters before Tuesday's game against the Bucks. Asked if he had heard Donaghy's comments about Rivers trying to persuade refs, Rivers challenged the credibility of someone who admitted to betting on NBA games.

"I've been trying to get on younger players for a long time and persuade them to do things as well," said Rivers. "I don't know, I'm so sick of that guy right now, I really am, for our league. I love our league, and I hate what's going on, that we're giving a guy like him credibility."

It's a tough line to straddle.  Clearly, what Donaghy says probably has some merit but, at this point, I probably wouldn't even trust him if he told me Tony Allen has a low basketball IQ.  That's how much credibility he's lost.

Ray Allen has a more balanced view on things, saying that while Donaghy makes some points that might be valid, it's hard to trust a man in his position, a man with his reputation (via the Globe):

In the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal and its recent fallout, Ray Allen said NBA referees need to be held accountable for their actions, but he stopped short of saying he believed everything Donaghy had to say to the media in recent days.

"He made a very strong case," said Allen. "I can't say that he would do anything to jeopardize -- he went to prison, it's hard to say whether or not he would lie or make something up of that nature. "

So what is the real deal?  What is true about Donaghy's allegations, and what isn't? 

I just don't know, and I don't know if we'll ever really find out.  I still find it hard to give weight to his words, but it's also tough to discount them.

Improved depth not a bad problem for Doc Rivers to have

Via the MetroWest Daily News:

Doc Rivers has a bigger variety of weapons this season than at any time during his six years in Boston.


With those weapons come options. With those options come choices. With those choices comes second-guessing when those choices don't work out.

For the first time in three years, Rivers and the Celtics experienced some of that during a bumpy stretch last month. The team struggled defensively, appeared uninspired at times and seemed to be missing something. When things didn't go well, Rivers looked at his bench and knew he could change things on the court. But changing them and fixing them doesn't necessarily go hand in hand.

And later in the article:

With more quality players with more distinct skills than ever, it gives Rivers more chances to roll the dice. Despite the three-week hiccup in mid-November, he has already rolled sevens much more often than he's come up snake-eyes.


"You definitely have more flexibility to do things," Rivers said. "It's good. I don't see any negative in that."

It's nice that Doc has so many options to choose from, it really is.  But I would love to see Doc experiment more often with new lineups.  Maybe trying Marquis Daniels at the one with a backcourt of Daniels, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce?  Maybe an all-shooter lineup of Eddie, Ray, Paul, KG and 'Sheed?

Too often -- in my eyes, at least -- Rivers sticks with the starting lineup and the second unit, playing the two units almost exclusively alone, rather than mixing and matching players to get the best matchups possible.  With so many weapons at his disposal this year, Rivers could be finding mismatches every night.  Imagine a team like Toronto trying to defend a big guard lineup of Daniels, Ray, and Pierce:  There is no way Jose Calderon or Jarrett Jack can guard any of those guys in the post; can't even come close.  Meanwhile, Daniels moves his feet well enough to defend most point guards in the league.  That lineup could create so many mismatches for the Celtics, yet Doc has only used it one time this season (according to the article).

Why isn't Doc using all his weapons?  He blames it on a lack of practice time for the creative lineups, and a lack of cohesiveness in those lineups due to the lack of practice time.

Well, uh, Doc, I've got a little news for you:  You're the one who chooses what lineups practice together!  Mix and match at practice, so you can get a little creative during the games.  Utilize everybody the C's have.  Get a little funky.

Because, if you're asking me, you aren't properly utilizing the C's versatility or its depth.

Doc Rivers happy with C's unhappiness

Via the Boston Herald:

Doc Rivers was pleased when several players - most notably Kendrick Perkins - expressed dissatisfaction after Thursday night’s win in San Antonio. Perkins appeared to be more bothered by the fact that the Spurs grabbed 20 offensive rebounds than impressed by a win in what is always one of the toughest road stops in the league.

But this is how Rivers knows that his team has remained on message.

“We’re (9-1 on the road) and it’s great,” said the Celtics coach. “But I read the comments from some of our guys in San Antonio, and what I liked is that a lot of them weren’t happy with how we played.

“Those are good signs for your team,” said Rivers. “We’re winning games and we’re very happy with the record, but we’re not a finished product either.”

I like that the team isn't happy, too.  Remember last season, when the Celtics got off to a blazing start that Doc kept trying to tell everyone was a bit of fool's gold?  The players seemed to buy into the notion that they were simply superior to every other team in the league, despite Doc's (correct) notion that they weren't, and overconfidence set in.

Whether it's because they lost a few games early in the season, or whatever else it may be, this season's crew realizes they still have work to do, and are staying grounded even after a nice 7-game winning streak. 

And that sense of wanting more, the C's knowledge that they aren't close to being a finished product -- and not the winning streak or 16-4 record -- is what makes me very optimistic about this young season.

Doc Rivers: Boston Celtics "never that good" last season

Via NewsOK -

"Last year, I said it all year, and no one wanted to hear it. But as good as our record was, we were never that good,” Rivers said. "I didn’t think we had the right mindset the entire year last year. We had too many things going on.

"Two years ago, we had a one-agenda team — that was to win the title. I think this team has that same thought process. There’s not other stuff going on. This team is focused on winning. That doesn’t mean we’re playing well, yet. But we are focused on one thing, which gives you a chance to be a good team.”

It's nice to see Doc thinks this team is entirely focused on winning ball games and -- the ultimate goal -- winning a championship.  But let's not kid anyone, Doc: The Celtics are playing pretty damn good basketball right now.

The Morning Walkthrough: Kevin Durant is pretty good

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to.  Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Frank Dell'Apa, Boston Globe - “Durant is awesome,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s going to lead the league in scoring very soon and he’s going to lead this team into the playoffs very soon, you can see it coming. He’s really just difficult to stop. I will say this, Paul had the best defensive job I’ve seen in a long time. He took the challenge - we challenged him and he took it, and I thought his leadership was a turning point in the third quarter."

Zach Lowe, Celtics Hub - Thing to keep in mind: Rondo’s last three baskets of the quarter—including the two contested lay-ins that made me drool—came with the 5′10” Mike Wilks guarding him. Rondo is not yet comfortable taking those shots over guys a bit taller than him, but he showed tonight that he can attack smaller guys one-on-one and punish them.  Related note: Jameer Nelson is 6′0” and Mo Williams is 6′1″. File it away.

Tom Halzack, Celtics Central - It was the 4th and last game of the Celtics’ road trip. They just played San Antonio in a tough game. It was the back game of a back-to-back. It’s what is called a trap game. It would be easy to get surprised, outplayed, and call it a week. (Remember last year’s Clippers game ?) They have three days until their next game. The aging Celtics had a lot of reasons to lose and go home 3-1 with a solid road trip. The Celtics had different ideas. Looking more and more like the Green Machine of the previous two years, they crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-87.

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe - Rivers has diverted comparisons with the 2008 title team, fully realizing this team - especially with Wallace and a healthy Garnett - needs to establish its personality. That evolution occurs during November games and sometimes the growing period is deceiving. The goal isn’t to win pretty, it is to win. And the pretty wins, such as last night against a talented Thunder team, will come in time. Rivers promised this, showing little distress when questioned by reporters about the team’s issues.

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald - “It starts with Rondo,” he said. “When our point guard is dictating the flow, turning the opposing point guard and getting everybody into the game - not just me but Paul (Pierce), Ray (Allen), Perk, and then he comes in with the second group, Rasheed (Wallace) and Eddie House, and gives them opportunity, it starts with the point.  “Rondo and I, it was just a flow,” Garnett added. “It starts with our point guard, and he controlled the flow from the beginning to the end. Just flowing with plays that just took eye contact, and he took the pace of the game and went.”

Austin Rivers, Doc's son, almost beat Paul Pierce in a one-on-one game

Via ESPNRise:

"I was just doing step-backs, really," recalls Austin, who was giving up about four inches and 50 pounds at the time. "Just shooting jump shots."

His size notwithstanding, Austin goes up 4-2 in the first-to-five matchup. Pierce, who has built a Hall of Fame career with his plodding, effective drives and crunch-time heroics, is suddenly serious.

He starts taking the youngster to the rack, and Austin -- just a high school sophomore at the time -- is powerless to do anything about it. Pierce prevails, 5-4.

Doc's son, ESPN's second-ranked high school junior, is apparently pretty damn good.  If you read the rest of the article, you'll see Doc's comment to Austin after Pierce told him Austin was tough to stop ("He never said anything about your defense"), and a rundown on Austin's game.

I think the C's should have Austin successfully challenge the NBA's age limit in court, then trade Tony Allen to Austin's high school team in exchange for his rights.  Whaddaya think?

Boston Celtics: "48-hour rule"

The Celtics won't have morning shootarounds this season... well, that is, if they have touched a basketball at some point within the 48 hours before a game.  If the C's have had at least 48 consecutive hours off, they will assemble in the morning for a normal walkthrough, just like any other boring team (via ESPNBoston):

"One thing we decided is a new rule -- the 48-hour rule," said Rivers. "If we go 48 hours without touching a basketball, we'll have a [morning] shootaround. We didn't practice [Wednesday], so if you go game to no practice, to a game the next night, it's too long without a ball. I think this is, what, our second [shootaround]? Otherwise, there's no shootarounds."

As a player, I always hated morning shootarounds.  Waking up when I would otherwise be sleeping seemed pointless and counter-productive to me; I always wanted a good rest before a game, rather than a pointless walkthrough.  I can understand the reasoning behind a shootatound:  Wake everyone up, make sure they don't go out too late the night before, attempt to focus everyone on the game.  But I was always a fan of that extra couple hours of sleep.

Apparently, Gregg Popovich agrees with me and Doc about considering a morning shootaround to be more or less worthless (via the San Antonio Express-News):

“We’ve been thinking for several years now: How can we maximize their rest and recovery?” Popovich said. “The shootarounds were the beginning. The next step was actually giving them more time to get more sleep.

“You need sleep. Sleep means recovery, mental and physical. Your body rejuvenates. So we felt getting out of the morning practices was important.”

Amen.  I only wish my college coach had felt the same way.  Those 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. wakeup calls were no fun.

The Morning Walkthrough: Kendrick Perkins earning a little admiration

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn't mean we have to.  Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe - "When Doc Rivers took over as Celtics coach in 2004-05, he inherited an overweight Perkins, then watched as his mammoth center trimmed his weight and bulked up his skills. He marveled at Perkins’s condition in training camp and his focus on improvement.  “You know who’s playing great for us is Perk,’’ Rivers said following Sunday’s victory in Miami. “He’s doing all the little things, a lot of the dirty work that you don’t get the credit for.  “One of the things we’ve talked about for years is if he can get it in the paint, they are going to have to foul. If he goes through bodies, he’s going to get to the foul line.’’"

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub - "Kendrick Perkins is leading the league in FG Percentage at 64.3% per game. Let that register for a little bit for a guy who use to be one of the most hesitant shooters on the team, if not the league.  The guy has surely come a long way but Perk’s continued progression on the offensive end has been a pleasure to watch, as he firmly establishes himself as one of the premiere big men, not only in the Eastern Conference, but the entire league."

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports - "The Nets didn’t back into this record, but earned it Wednesday. All together, the New Jersey Nets laid down and quit on themselves, the way the owner quit on Jersey six years ago. Bruce Ratner will go down as one of the most destructive owners in NBA history, and for one night until the Russian billionaire takes over, one more inglorious night, everyone wanted to celebrate that man’s incompetence and failure in the odd kind of way they could only do here, in Jersey, where NBA basketball seasons have long come to die."

Pounding the Rock - "I may be crazy, but I think RJ [Richard Jefferson] can run with Paul Pierce. The stats don't bear me out--Pierce averages higher in points, rebounds, assists, and efficiency--but let's call it a hunch. In mid-November, Pierce bruised a knee, but it didn't seem to slow him down much. He is aggressive, and Jefferson is going to have to push back."

Doc Rivers (again) discusses minutes

Remember last night, when Doc Rivers put KG, Paul, Perk and Rondo back into the game with about six minutes left and approximately a 20-point lead?  If you were like me, you wondered 1) What the hell is Doc Rivers doing?, 2) Does Doc think the C's actually have a chance to lose this game?, and 3) Does Doc realize KG, Ray and Paul aren't 25 anymore, and need rest whenever they can get it?

Well, apparently Doc does realize they aren't 25, even though he does a good job sometimes of pretending he doesn't:

Via the Herald:

Doc Rivers acknowledged that alloting minutes has been a challenge.

“It’s a fine line,” the Celtics coach said before the game. “You can’t shut them down from practice or game minutes. They need both of them. But there’s a line you can go over that hurts them.

“(Rajon) Rondo and Perk you don’t worry about, but the other three you do. It’s a work in progress so far.

“We’ve been good with Kevin - he’s at a career-low right now in minutes played. But where we struggle at times with Ray (Allen) and Paul (Pierce) - it’s one or the other who plays more minutes than we probably want them to.”

Doc, you've had three years to figure this out.  You have the deepest team you've ever had, and Marquis Daniels is a guy who can spell both Ray and Paul.  It's not like you have to put Tony Allen out there anymore.  Whenever you see Ray or Paul on the court for too long, just look down the bench, call Marquis or Eddie House's name, and tell them to check in at the scorer's table.

It isn't rocket science.  At this point, the C's should be more interested in resting their three Hall-of-Famers rather than trying to win meaningless early-season games.  Doc has been better at allotting minutes, but putting his starters back into a blowout with six minutes left isn't the way to keep their minutes down.

In Doc's defense, his substitutions last night weren't indefensible either.  The bench looked dreadful in that fourth quarter, and Doc didn't want things to get too sloppy, even in a win.

Still, Doc, just keep them on the bench in blowouts.  Methinks it's worth a little sloppy play to give your aging superstars a rest.

Should Doc Rivers get more credit for the Celtics' recent success?

For the proud franchise that is the Boston Celtics, losing games is not acceptable. So when the C’s put together a string of two straight losing seasons midway through the new millenium’s first decade, including the ever-forgettable 24-win campaign in 2006-2007, somebody was going to feel blame’s scorching heat. It should have been the players; after all, it was them on the floor kicking games away. It was the players who were throwing turnovers, missing jumpers and losing games. But it wasn’t.

It was Doc Rivers. In retrospect, of course, it was ludicrous to expect that team to win many (any?) games. They had Paul Pierce, but he missed almost half the season. Every other significant player had at least one problem, too: Al Jefferson (just blossoming into the player he’d become), Delonte West, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo (too young), Ryan Gomes (too limited), Wally Szczerbiak (too washed up), and Gerald Green, Tony Allen, and Sebastian Telfair (after all, they’re Gerald Green, Tony Allen, and Sebastian Telfair). There was certainly some talent there, but the talent had holes and the holes were clearly evident on the court. Doc tried to coax wins out of the sorry bunch he was given, but not even Jesus Christ himself could have taken that team to the playoffs (though Red Auerbach might have been able to).

Still, Boston was out for Doc’s head. The city was in arms about one of the worst teams in franchise history and wanted its head coach gone. When Danny Ainge decided to keep Rivers for the following year, cries ran out in the streets of Southie; Ainge had blown it, letting Rivers stay on. How could Rivers get another chance, after such an abysmal performance? Ainge said he saw something in Doc, that Ainge alone was informed enough to make the decision, due to his access at practice and in the locker room. But did anyone believe him?

A couple years later, the Celtics are great again. Unquestionably, the Celtics are one of the NBA’s best teams. They have talent and depth at every position, and three Hall-of-Famers in the starting lineup. Now, Rivers doesn’t get any more blame, but he doesn’t get much of the credit either.

Maybe it’s because he’d already earned a reputation in Boston as being a poor coach. Maybe it’s because his players are so talented and experienced that people just think they’re good enough to coach themselves. No matter what it is, Doc Rivers is still rarely (ever?) mentioned among the NBA’s elite coaches. In a recent top ten list on Ball Don't Lie (maybe the best NBA blog around), Rivers wasn't named in the top ten. Even though he has five playoff appearances this decade, seven winning seasons in nine years, a championship and a Coach of the Year Award. Maybe Doc doesn't deserve to be in the top ten, but it's about time he starts to get his due as one of the NBA's best managers of talent.

Nobody talks about his role in molding a team of star-studded individuals who had never won anything into a championship team in their first year together. Most of the credit for that goes to Kevin Garnett and his infectious energy and boundless leadership. The credit that doesn’t go to Garnett goes to Pierce and Ray Allen, for sacrificing their own games for the good of their team.

Nobody talks about his role in the development of the other two young starters, Rondo and Perkins. Those guys were supposed to be the weak links who would hold Boston back from being true contenders. But somewhere they found the confidence to play alongside three Hall-of-Famers and the know-how to find their way. They played with belief and they played with aggression. But none of the praise goes to Doc Rivers for helping the young starters play to their capabilities. People said Rondo progressed well because he has “swagger.” And Perkins was alright because he knew his role and had the tutelage of assistant coach Clifford Ray.

The Celtics’ defense was great, too, but Doc didn’t get any credit for that, either. It was Tom Thibodeau who received all the adulation. After all, he – not Doc – was the defensive guru brought in from Houston to shore up the Celt’s “D”.

In football, linemen often get no credit when things are going well and they are blocking their man, even pancaking their man, from reaching the quarterback. But as soon as the quarterback is sacked, linemen are noticed, and never in a good way. Coaching is often the same. When things are going wrong, it’s the coach who’s the first one out the door. It isn’t the players who get fired – or “sacked”, if you will – it’s the coach. When the losses mount up, it’s always the coach who feels the most blame, who encounters the “hot seat.” After a loss, there’s always an adjustment the coach could have made, a play the coach should have called.

But when things start to go well, nobody pays attention to the great play call, or the perfectly-timed substitution. It’s the players who earn the wins; the coach who screws up the losses. Other coaches have received credit, but it takes years of winning to establish credibility in the thankless profession that is coaching. Guys like Jerry Sloan, Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson have finally earned the recognition of being great coaches, but the esteem didn’t come easily; it took time and year after year of winning.

People will always be skeptical of Doc Rivers. Due to the nature of his profession, every loss is magnified, every mistake exaggerated. But keep track of all the good things he does. Next time a player goes down to injury, don’t merely blame Doc for playing him too many minutes; watch as Doc plugs in the next guy and somehow persuades the team to move on smoothly. Next time you see the Celtics move the ball swiftly and selflessly around the perimeter, don’t just thank the heavens that your team was blessed with such worthy passers; give Doc a little credit for instilling a team-first mentality.

Doc will always have his detractors, and he may never get his deserved due for leading Boston to its first championship in 22 years. But he’ll be happy with winning games.

No matter who gets the credit.