Doc Rivers feels at home calling Celtics-Lakers for ESPN
Doc Rivers’s nine-year tenure as Celtics coach ended more than a decade ago, following the 2012-13 season.
He’s coached two NBA teams since: the Clippers — where the Celtics sent him for a first-round pick after he elected out of being part of a rebuild — for seven years and the Sixers for three.
Yet when he calls a reporter to talk about his new role as a color analyst on ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team and the Celtics’ Christmas Day matchup with the Lakers, it’s a 617 number that pops up on the screen.
“Yep, I still have the same number as when I coached there,’’ said Rivers with a laugh. “I might be the only guy in the NBA who doesn’t change his phone number every two weeks.”
Of course, Rivers’s connection to Boston is deeper than a longstanding familiarity with the area code.
He coached the New Big Three Celtics of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen to the Celtics’ most recent championship in 2007-08, a six-game victory over the Lakers in the Finals. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long already since the franchise raised its 17th banner to the TD Garden rafters.
Rivers is a believer that this year’s Celtics team is fully capable of hanging Banner 18, provided some crucial variables go their way.
“First, we forget they were one game away from reaching the Finals last year,’’ said Rivers, who was fired as Sixers coach over the summer after they were eliminated by the Celtics in the second round. “So it’s not like they were light years away, they were right there, and then [Jayson] Tatum sprained his ankle and they lost Game 7 [of the Eastern Conference finals to the Heat.]. And they got to Game 6 in the Finals against the Warriors the season before.
“It’s funny, they are a veteran team with young people. Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown and even [Derrick] White are still pretty young, or right in their prime. But then they have [Kristaps] Porzingis and [Jrue] Holiday and Al [Horford]. They really do have a great mix.
“And I think they’re a better team than last year. I think the Porzingis and Holiday moves make them definitively a better team than they were last year. I think Porzingis gives them a weapon that they’ve never had. Holiday gives them a defender and just a leader. I never thought Marcus Smart got enough credit for how important he was to that team, and they couldn’t have replaced Marcus with a more perfect person.”
But Tatum’s ankle injury on the first possession of Game 7 was a harsh reminder that factors beyond a team’s control can affect whether championship aspirations are fulfilled.
“Getting there is hard, winning is hard, and, and you need everything to go your way,’’ said Rivers. “You need everything. You need shots to go in, your key guys to play well, health, and breaks. That’s a lot. And you’ve got to have all of it.”
Rivers said one advantage the Celtics could have in their championship quest is the relative lack of depth in their conference. He believes three teams — the Celtics, Sixers, and Bucks — could be true contenders, with the Heat always a compelling wild card.
But in the Western Conference? ”You could name five teams in the West right now that you could say might win the title,’’ he said. “And that’s amazing when you think about it. Maybe six.”
He counts the Lakers among them, despite their 15-14 record and 10th-place standing in the conference as of Friday.
“LeBron [James] is having his best season in years. The energy level that he’s playing with is unbelievable,’’ said Rivers. “People keep asking me, ‘Can he do it all year?’ And I’m like, ‘Who cares? He can do it in the playoffs. We know that.’ Of course he can’t do it every game all year. But what he is showing is that he has that energy back and he’s going to be able to use that in the playoffs and that’s going to be hard to deal with when the time comes.”
Rivers, who was part of ABC’s NBA broadcasts in the 2003-2004 before returning to coaching, said he’s enjoying the return to television. He’s known Doris Burke for years, and Mike Breen, also the Knicks’ play-by-play voice, is one of his best friends dating to Rivers’s time as a player in New York.
“I hate to say this because it’ll just blow his head up even bigger,’’ said Rivers, “but working with him, I have a new respect for him. He’s just a freaking pro. Watching him work has been eye opening. Because I always see him on a golf course, slamming his golf club down or being upset. And now I’m seeing this pro at work and you really realize why he’s a Hall of Famer.
“And overall? This has been fantastic for me. I get to reevaluate the league. When you’re coaching in one spot, you don’t get to see the league and evaluate talent and teams and coaches. It’s nice to take a bigger-picture look at the league. So it’s been a joy for me. I love it. I love it. I’ve had a great time.”
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