Full Court Press: 12/9/04
The last week has not been kind to our guys in green. After 3 straight losses, the team captain is calling on his teammates to execute the offense, the newly acquired future HOF point guard is calling on the captain to execute the offense, and Mike Gorman, the team’s long time play by play TV guy, has spent a number of days in the hospital with diverticulitis. Sheesh…
A veteran team would struggle through a stretch like this, but how this still wet behind the ears collection of talent turns around the current skid will largely depend on Doc Rivers. This week the Full Court Press will take a look at the Celtics coach after almost a quarter of the season complete. How will he continue the development of his younger players? Will he be able to keep Gary Payton interested enough to avoid demanding a trade? Can Doc get his players to run at a consistent basis? And, given this week’s events, what happens to Paul Pierce? Without further ado…
Kevin:
One can only imagine what Doc Rivers Christmas list must look like this year: The top item is probably a team captain who has the good sense to act like one in front of his teammates. Or perhaps a starting point guard with the perspective to realize his proper place as a role player in this autumn of his career. Or maybe a time machine to speed along the desperately needed development of his young talent. Or, fittingly, a copy of Chicken Soul for the Beleaguered Coachs Soul. In reality, Doc is unlikely to get any of things. One thing he will get, however, is my sympathy. Hell also get a thumbs up for the job he has done with this leaky ship thus far.
Perhaps the fairest litmus test for the new coach is to compare him to his predecessor , who achieved both success and popularity before he hit the road. Im talking about Jim OBrien, of course, not John Interim Carroll. So lets look at some revealing differences in coaching styles between OBrien and Rivers:
1) OBrien was defense first while Rivers preaches a greater balance on both sides of the court. Clearly OBrien achieved success with his philosophy, especially during the 2002 playoff run. That said, one question always lingered with me whenever I watched his Celtics scramble like madmen on D: Whats the price for all this extra defensive effort? Essentially, the result was a sedentary half court offense where a reliance on the three-pointer became the norm, which is no way to win consistently or over the long run. In contrast, watching Rivers preach the running philosophy, which is to say a search for easier baskets, has been refreshing. Just remember, Rome wasnt built in a day and neither are fast-break oriented offenses.
2) OBrien essentially handed the keys over to his star players. To me, this was perhaps OBs shrewdest move in the wake of Rick Pitinos hasty departure. While Evil Rick demanded the spotlight, OBrien quickly gave the reigns to Walker and Pierce, thus gaining their loyalty and placing a greater sense of responsibility for winning in their shoulders. And it worked. Kind of. Unfortunately, this philosophy also came with a price, which was the teams inane tendency to run the offense through Walker and Pierce on almost every possession. Now its just Pierce, who still clearly doesnt trust his teammates and thinks he has to do everything on his own to win. Thats why Rivers benching of Pierce last week was so significant. It was the very essence of a coach asserting control over his star player and therefore his team. The guy in Foxboro wouldve done the same thing, dont you think?
3) OBrien was reluctant to play his young guys. Scream Kedrick Brown all you want but the fact remains that OB preferred playing veterans. Joe Johnson wilted under OBrien, who had a lightning quick hook to the bench following rookie mistakes. Rivers, on the other hand, has shown faith in Al Jefferson and would likely show equal faith in Delonte West if his hand would ever heal. The future of this team is in the hands of players like Jefferson, West and Perkins, not Tom Gugliotta and Gary Payton. Its good to have a coach again who knows that.
So considering all these positives hes brought to the table, lets give Doc Rivers our love and support this holiday season. Im afraid hes going to need all the help he can get.
Jon:
In putting this little piece together, I thought I should call a septuagenarian friend of mine to get his thoughts on the Celtics coach. The former basketball coach said to me, “ok, you’re Doc Rivers, you’ve got a guy who is one of the top talents in the league, a future Hall of Fame point guard to implement your new offense, the trust of the entire organization, and some rookies with tremendous upside potential.” When you put it that way, life should be good the former Atlanta Hawks star, but I’m not sure Rivers shares this rosy outlook.
Despite the difficulty Rivers currently finds himself in, little of this should be attributed to him. Doc has instituted a fast paced, uptempo style of play that is not only a good fit for the team assembled for him by Danny Ainge, but it is much more pleasing to the eye than any brand of basketball these parts have seen since Bird, McHale, and Parish were walking through that door and weren’t old and gray. This uptempo style of play has infused the games of slashers like Ricky Davis and Marcus Banks; not to mention given more confidence to rookies like Tony Allen and Al Jefferson.
Now the comparisons between Doc Rivers’ offense and Jim O’Brien’s offense are inevitable, but they are not flattering for Rick Pitino’s former lieutenant. Even in its infancy, Doc Rivers’ offense has shown more ball movement in 17 days than the Celtics have exhibited as a team in the last 12 years. During the first quarter of the Kings game, the Celtics were moving so well without the basketball that it had appeared the teams had swapped uniforms. A key component in this improvement in the half court, has been the increased attention Doc has given to fast break basketball. The days of Antoine Walker, who RealGM poster Ritalin Reggie nicknamed “Empty Trip”, leading fast breaks to a certain demise are over, and in his place are crisp outlet passes to any number of guards to push the ball up for positive result more than half the time. Contrast that with the Obieball Celtics where even 6 fast break points in a game would be noteworthy. My how times have changed.
Of course the personnel that O’Brien worked with is very different than the composition of the current Celtics squad. Rivers has six players on his roster with a year or less of NBA experience, not including Jiri Welsch who played sparingly in Golden State his rookie season. While this inexperience creates an unhealthy amount of inconsistent play, this is also an opportunity for Rivers to begin his tenure in Boston with a clean slate and develop a style of play with these younger players before they are brainwashed into terrible habits. (see Pierce, Paul and Walker, Antoine) Celtics fans are already rejoicing at the end of the three point barrage that was more offensive than offense.
Now all is not rosy with the arrival of Doc Rivers, but even these negatives are expected with the amount of turnover on the Celtics roster, the relative youth of the players involved, and the inconsistencies that always accompany a coaching change. I continue to question the use of Walter McCarty and Tom Gugliotta when neither player has brought much to the court, and both have played more minutes than 2003 first round pick Kendrick Perkins. But these coaching moves pale to the manner in which he has handled the difficulty Paul Pierce has encountered in grasping a true offense for the first time in his NBA career. Sure Doc pulled Pierce from a game in the 4th quarter with the game on the line, but after giving Pierce an appropriate amount of time of digest what he did wrong on the court, Doc placed Pierce back into the game and won it with clutch shooting. How Doc and Pierce’s relationship progresses will be something to watch, but Rivers has hand here and Pierce knows it. It behooves Pierce to fall into line soon, or he may get the “Empty Trip” treatment in a one way ticket to Chicago.
