Time to rest
If there’s one guy that needs a break, it’s him.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers will head into the offseason with the security of a contract extension but with the instability of coaching a team to the league’s second-worst record. He says he isn’t worried about his ability as a coach.
“I think next year we’re going to be a playoff team,” said Rivers. “I think we’re going to have a chance to win our division. And I’m not going to change as a coach. That means we got better on the floor.”
He warned, “Just because we’re in the second ping-pong ball slot does not mean we’re going to get the second or the first pick. And if we don’t then we have to make decisions.”
Despite his team’s record, Rivers said Tony Allen (before the injury) and Kendrick Perkins were two of the team’s biggest bright spots.
“I thought [Perkins] finally bought into the role that can make him a heck of a player, and a hell of a role player for our basketball team,” said Rivers. “And when the light came on [with Allen], as a coach it was probably the proudest stretch I had to watch him go from what he was to what he was becoming. The biggest disappointment for me was when he went down.”
One player who stayed consistent throughout the season was Al Jefferson.
“Al has not arrived,” said Rivers. “I look at Al, and if he’s climbing a mountain, he’s not on the base anymore. But he’s still climbing. And the thing that I love about Al is he wants to climb.”
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