Doc's Rotation Management/Tommy Questions the Coaching (merged)

[hpantazo]

Tony Allen's defense is overated. Physically he is capable of great defense, mentally he is not. A good example is the game in boston where detroit where the pistons, coming out of a tome out, saw tony allen and reminded each other that he would go for the up fake. One up fake and two free throws later the pistons left with the victory. Add to that the consistently poor decision making on offense and I don't want Tony Allen on the court in a playoff game. As for House, Like the previous post said, look at his past playoff performances.

Doc does a great job all year of finding specific roles for players like Big Baby, Powe, and especially Eddie House. Time and time again he would go to these guys in crucial times in a game and they came through.

There were several games that Eddie came in and buried teams outright with his threes or would bring the Celtics back from a 8-12 point deficit real quick with his instant offense. Not only that he would spread the floor on offense which is what they are sorely lacking right now against Cleveland. Big baby also did the same with his stregnth and hustle. They were a team and everybody contributed.

Then they acquire Casselll and PJ Brown and when the playoffs begin Doc gives all those minutes to these old vets. Everything that we did all year is thrown out the window. Its changed the whole complexion of the team and anyone can see it's not working. In case you forgot Tony Allen can play some defense too when needed and there have been plenty of times it's been needed.

Go with what got you there Doc before it's too late. You built this team's charcter back in Rome in the preseaseon and in my opinion you blew that up in the playoffs. Give Eddie House some run in the 1st and 2nd half like you did all year.

[Roy Hobbs]

Just throwing House out there isn't the best idea.  He has been out so long now. 

Unfortunately, that's probably true.  Still, players come back from injuries, so there's still some hope that he could be an effective player.

All I know is what we're doing now isn't working.  Sam's play on the road has been pretty consistently brutal; it would be hard for any NBA caliber point guard to play much worse on a consistent basis, so I'm baffled why Eddie is in the dog house.

[Roy Hobbs]

Let me add that Eddie's two main strengths are ball movement and floor spacing.  Those are two major concerns right now with our offense stagnating.

[crownsy]

yea, i don't get the sudden undying loyalty to sam cassell and the benching of eddie house either.

I just don't get it. why did sam achive instant sudo-starter status come playoff time with doc?

In the regular season, i liked how doc used sam, 5-10 minutes a night most nights, with eddie getting 5-8 too.

suddenly its playoff time and its "well, sam gets all eddie's minutes to, and far more than a backup PG should"

fustrating....

[wdleehi]

I think it is time to tighten the rotation.


They already did it at the swing positions.



Pick one big man off the bench and go with him.  Last night, Perkins numbers weren't great, but his effect on the floor defensively was. 


Bring in the bench big man earlier in the 1st and 3rd.  That way, when KG goes to the bench at the begining of the 2nd and 4th, Perkins can come back in. 



And tighten up the PG spot.  Give Rondo playoff starter minutes.  36-42 minutes. 

[Redz]

Just throwing House out there isn't the best idea.  He has been out so long now. 

Unfortunately, that's probably true.  Still, players come back from injuries, so there's still some hope that he could be an effective player.

All I know is what we're doing now isn't working.  Sam's play on the road has been pretty consistently brutal; it would be hard for any NBA caliber point guard to play much worse on a consistent basis, so I'm baffled why Eddie is in the dog house.

I've been Sam's biggest supporter since he got here (and before), but he's just got to hit those ten footers. Those were not the "forced", "ballhog" variety.  Those were open shots that were needed.  I made the comment last night at half time that the Celts would win the game if Sam hit his first shot of the 2nd half.  It was a killer when he missed them.  The Celts had the ball and the lead a precious few times and failed to build a cushion.

I don't know exactly what to do with Sam at this point.  He can be incredibly valuable if he's hitting those shots, but pretty much worthless if he's missing.

I'm all for giving Eddie a run at this point but he'll need to be on a short leash because of the lack of minutes he's had of late (and that's not the ideal situation)

On the bright side PJ had his best game as a Celt!

[WheresEddie?]

Eddie was playing 19 min a game before Cassell arrived. He brings that dimesnion that we need right now in spacing the floor and getting the ball up quickly. He's a scrappy defender and can rebound for a little guy. He was one of the biggest surprises on this team for his play all year and now again because he's left out of the playoff action.

5 road losses in a row, you would think Doc might throw him in there one of these games in the 1st quarter for some run and see what happens. Nope just more Sam I am every time and the losing continues. Tommy Heinsohn is right about the chemistry thing and right now after a historic season we've lost it. Time to change things up a bit Doc, it's those adjustments that win championships and right now you are sticking to your guns and losing.

[BrickJames]

I'm in support of putting House into the rotation. We don't need to look at stats to determine whether to put him in - we all know what he can do, and that is hit some 3s.

No, he can't - at least based upon past playoff performance.  That is what I was referring to.  I was saying *not* to look at his stats, but rather to focus on the bricks he laid at crucial times in prior playoffs.

If there was no concern about his performance we would not have acquired Cassell and/or he would already be in the rotation.  There is a good reason he isn't, and I'm sure Danny/Doc and pals are aware of it.  There is also a good reason why they are managing a basketball team, and we are incessantly barking about it in a forum.

We need to have a little faith here.  The main issue is - our veteran leaders are laying stink bombs all over the place lately.

This, friends, is not good.

[Tommy Gun]

IMO Doc has been badly out coached in both Series...He was a good guy to get this team through the Youth movement..But he might be the wrong guy to get us deep into the playoffs..

The playoffs are about match ups and adjustments and I just don't see Doc making the right adjustments or exploiting match ups..

At some point the players can only be held so accountable, they can't expect to make changes on thier own

[WedmanIsMyHero]

It seems to me, like when I read this article today,

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2008/05/13/fastbreaks.cavs.celtics/index.html?eref=T1

that Doc always seems to find someone to blame.  He never takes responsibility for the poor play of the Celtics.

Here is a question to mull for the next few days. . and I would be really interested to see what examples people can dig up.  How often does Doc take personal responsibility for poor performance by the team, i.e. letting the buck stop here, instead of blaming someone else?  I don't know the answer.  I am curious

[Tommy Gun]

IMO Doc never blames himself..He puts a lot of it on the players..And he is master a using buzz words and media speak that covers his ass.

[Celtic Cid]

i posted mid way through the year about Doc Rivers being a terrible coach for the Celtics. our playoff record so far should be proof the guy needs to go after this year. you can see the players tuning him out by the look on their faces. now you have Doc blaming the players for not handling the stress of the games correctly as if his substitutions are great. did you see Garnetts reply?

Coach Doc Rivers said his team needed to play better "under stress" during the final stretch of games. Pierce and Garnett begged to differ.

"I wouldn't say we're lacking poise," Garnett said. "In a situation like ours, we are trying to do everything that Doc wants us to do. He makes all the calls. He gives us direction. For the most part, we pretty much try to do what he wants."

Said Pierce, "I don't know what he means. I'm stressed every game. Stressed to get a win."

If you cant see that Garnett and Pierce both arent happy with Doc as our coach then you've got blinders on and must have voted for and still support George Bush for president.

Cid

[reggie35]

All I know is what we're doing now isn't working.  Sam's play on the road has been pretty consistently brutal; it would be hard for any NBA caliber point guard to play much worse on a consistent basis, so I'm baffled why Eddie is in the dog house.

easy, because Doc is stubborn. much like a donkey. would you let a donkey lead your hundred million dollar enterprise? that's baffling. the owner's are just as stubborn as Doc. they wanted to show they were right in sticking with doc and now they're paying for that decision.

[RonJohn]

They will not win it with Doc Rivers as coach. I have been saying that the entire year.

He's lost the players. Last night TNT showed him screaming at Paul and Pierce didn't blink. He's lost this team. They've revolted.

[BrickJames]

I'm sure Wyc's wallet isn't too baffled right about now...

Edit: Eddie "I'm in the dog-" House.  I like it.  Even better than "Eddie Homeless" or Eddie "We must protect this" House Bench.