To be perfectly honest I never thought there was any debate, the answer for me is a resounding YES. However, the longer I spend on these forums the more I get a sense that a very sizable chunk of the Celtics fan base (or at least this forum) don't like Doc as a coach.
So I've been giving it a lot of thought and still came up with the same answer: yes. Now I know Boston fans (and I've been guilty myself on a number of occasions) are notorious for overrating our own players, but I don't think this is the case.
Yes Doc has some of the tightest rotations in the league. No he does not let his young guys see any reasonable amount of court time unless he is forced. Yes everyone knows the last shot of the game is going to be Pierce from the elbow. And people definitely like to take shots at his lineup construction and minutes distribution.
But don't the results speak for themselves?
In the last 5 years we've won a championship, been a Perkins injury away from another, and took Miami to 7 games last season in the conference finals (where I thought we were overmatched but played beyond our means).
Maybe he is only suitable for a team full of vets, but the question is: is he a great coach?
I'd say he is most definitely in the top 5 in the league, at the VERY least top 10. He's being talked about as next in line to take over for Team USA. Yes he can be frustrating, but I don't know how you can challenge his credentials.