Yikes... Ray frustrated with Doc?

[nickagneta]

I had a huge problem with Doc in a couple of areas.

1.) Timeout usage in the 4th quarter. The team was screamimg for a timeout with about 6 minutes to go when LA took back the lead. None came and eventually the lead got out to 5 before the TO was taken with about 4 minutes remaining. Wrong time for that timeout.

2.) Ray should have been in the entire second half and his number should have been being called right up until the last couple of minutes. He was the only guy that showed up to play, use him.

3.) I think it was imperative for Doc to realize that the only 2 guys the Lakers had who could hurt the C's last night were Kobe and Sasha. But he never went with a lineup that had Ray on Kobe and Posey on Vujacic. Ray's our best defender on Kobe and no one else but Posey could have held Sasha back or denied him the ball like Big Game James.

4.) What the hell was that trap on Kobe in the last couple of minutes?

Awful is being kind.

[crownsy]

i had some problems with doc last night, but to say it was a mistake to try rondo now that we know he was hurt?

thats hindsight coaching and not fair, you go with your starting PG when he says he can play, and to his credit he got him right back out when rajon didn't have it.

if i could coach games this morning that happened last night, i'd be a fantastic head coach. doc did alot of questonable things last night (cassell for far to long, going away from ray, not establishing KG till the fourth) but im not going to get on the guy for trying to play his starting PG.

[CT34]

I had a huge problem with Doc in a couple of areas.

1.) Timeout usage in the 4th quarter. The team was screamimg for a timeout with about 6 minutes to go when LA took back the lead. None came and eventually the lead got out to 5 before the TO was taken with about 4 minutes remaining. Wrong time for that timeout.

2.) Ray should have been in the entire second half and his number should have been being called right up until the last couple of minutes. He was the only guy that showed up to play, use him.

3.) I think it was imperative for Doc to realize that the only 2 guys the Lakers had who could hurt the C's last night were Kobe and Sasha. But he never went with a lineup that had Ray on Kobe and Posey on Vujacic. Ray's our best defender on Kobe and no one else but Posey could have held Sasha back or denied him the ball like Big Game James.

4.) What the hell was that trap on Kobe in the last couple of minutes?

Awful is being kind.

Oh I knew I was missing something....Why didn't Doc trap Kobe the final minute of the game?  He trap him twice and got burn once with the 3 point shoot but after that it seem like Doc was scared to trap Kobe.  Please you let the other guys beat you not Kobe.  Why he didn't trap Kobe it's beyond me.  

[CT34]

i had some problems with doc last night, but to say it was a mistake to try rondo now that we know he was hurt?

thats hindsight coaching and not fair, you go with your starting PG when he says he can play, and to his credit he got him right back out when rajon didn't have it.

if i could coach games this morning that happened last night, i'd be a fantastic head coach. doc did alot of questonable things last night (cassell for far to long, going away from ray, not establishing KG till the fourth) but im not going to get on the guy for trying to play his starting PG.

Sorry but that is BS.  I could see if Eddie House wasn't playing well then yes you go back to Rondo if he can play.  But the team was playing good at the time and Eddie House was playing with a lot of engery, getting rebounds and spreading the floor.  I would have sat Rondo the rest of the game.  It wasn't like Rondo was doing much last night when he was healthy.

[Chris]

[Ray] Allen was the hottest player on the court. After that 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, he was 8-for-11 from the floor. He had made all five of his 3-pointers. He was carrying his team, and then for some reason Doc Rivers ripped the team out of Allen's hands and gave it back to Garnett and Pierce on nights they clearly didn't have it.

And Allen doesn't pretend to understand why.

"That's just where the offense went," he said. "I think from a coaching perspective, that's where the plays were directed. That's what we ran. For me, any time my number gets called, I'm going to be ready to shoot the ball."

So, someone asked Allen, wasn't your number called in the fourth quarter?

"What you saw is what we got," he said.

Interesting. That sounded very much like a player pointing a finger -- softly, nicely, but clearly -- at his head coach.

Link.

Eh, I think he could be pointing the finger at his teammates as much as the coach there. 

Either way, to me it is a non-story.  Ray was frustrated after a loss, and he never actually called anyone out.  Seems like an everyday occurance in a pro sports lockerroom to me.

[crownsy]

if he ment his teamates why mention the coaching staff two times? (coaching prespective/when my numbers called)

agree overall though, probley a non-issue.

[Roy Hobbs]

Fair enough 37 out of 82 is large enough, although the solidly entrenched in the middle at the 66th percentile might be stretching it a bit.

Well, we were within 8 minutes, total, of the 14th place team, Phoenix.  A lot of teams are bunched together right there in the middle.

[MBz]

I don't blame him.  He was playing great ball.  Even if he wasn't shooting the ball should have been in his hands, he made a few real nice passes and he needed to be the guy last night.  I would have been running the pick and roll with KG and Ray Allen all 4th quarter.

[wdleehi]

Celtics regular offense wasn't working last night.  (the defense was and kept it close)


The one time the Celtics offense clicked was in the third when they went to KG down low.  House on the floor kept it hard to double.



The best set up was KG in the low post, Ray with the ball at the three in position to feed KG, and Perk set up outside to set a pick for Ray.


When Perk's man dropped to double KG before he got the ball, Ray off the pick created a wide open three. 

When Perk's man was out to defend the pick and roll, KG had single coverage. 


When one of the other two defender came accross, House, Pierce (or Posey) was open. 

That should have been the offensive strategy at the end of the game.  Inside/outside with KG and Allen.



Ray definitely frustrated last night.  He was hot.  It was his game to win.  The ball an opportunities didn't go to him

[Chief]

if he ment his teamates why mention the coaching staff two times? (coaching prespective/when my numbers called)

agree overall though, probley a non-issue.

I really don't see Ray in green for long. He'll win his ring this year and then get traded for a younger player.

[wdleehi]

if he ment his teamates why mention the coaching staff two times? (coaching prespective/when my numbers called)

agree overall though, probley a non-issue.

I really don't see Ray in green for long. He'll win his ring this year and then get traded for a younger player.

If they get their ring, they get the chance to repeat unless someone knocks off Ainge's socks.

[Who]

Doc has done a bad job all season of getting Ray Allen involved offensively

[Andy Jick]

it's not just ray...

we've also witnessed the disappearance of kevin garnett during stretches as well...or, he's not posting up and instead squaring up 20+ feet away from the rim.

i hate this offense and have never liked it...it's a motion offense that has the big men playing 18 feet away from the rim.  if you recall, it's about the same thing pitino was using and that's why he went after a different type of big man (finesse / shooters).

but to keep this in perspective - if the celtics win i doubt we hear a peep out of ray.  this game came down to one critical sequence: eddie's missed shot in the key (that would have tied it) that instead turned into a sasha 3-ptr. that put the lakers up 5.  ballgame.

i'm not bothered by ray's comment - he's done this all year.  and for the most part i agree with him.  he is a rhythm player, and when he isn't being used correctly his misses get amplified down the stretch.  that's when we start griping, but it's on the coaching staff to get this guy into the flow.

let's not forget: he was THE man in seattle - everything ran through him.  now he's supposed to buy into this "ubuntu" (or whatever the hell it's called) and ray's trying to translate this word into his game. 

does anyone think it's a secret why garnett said sometime ago that he was "debating" with ray?  don't be blind and naive - it's about the flow of the offense and where ray fits into it. 

doc isn't just a babysitter or an orator - he's the coach of this team that needs to think just as hard about offense as he does defense.  and i haven't seen that balance yet from him and it bothers me.

[fan33]

Ray was our best player on the floor last night, obviously on offense but he also played stellar defense on Kobe, keeping in front of him and right up on his shooting hand on all but maybe 6 of his shots; Simply spectacular smart and atheletic hoops being played by Ray which showed no signs of anything but his being the second best player on the floor and thts only due to his not being the go to guy on this team as Kobe is for the lakers.

I saw the interview, and Ray made as tempered and factual a response as I could imagine any profesional making. He is correct in his factual reply, wasn't edgie about it and handled the question as well as the coaches decision matter of factly, when asked.

Ray is a class act and has a hella lot left in the tank as evidenced by his excellent defensive game while playing for the most minutes per game season long.

on a night that Both k.G. and Paul were stinkin up the gym, the obvious choice to go to down the last 5 minutes should have been Ray, as much as Kobe was for the lakes. No question!

[Chris]

Celtics regular offense wasn't working last night.  (the defense was and kept it close)


The one time the Celtics offense clicked was in the third when they went to KG down low.  House on the floor kept it hard to double.



The best set up was KG in the low post, Ray with the ball at the three in position to feed KG, and Perk set up outside to set a pick for Ray.


When Perk's man dropped to double KG before he got the ball, Ray off the pick created a wide open three. 

When Perk's man was out to defend the pick and roll, KG had single coverage. 


When one of the other two defender came accross, House, Pierce (or Posey) was open. 

That should have been the offensive strategy at the end of the game.  Inside/outside with KG and Allen.



Ray definitely frustrated last night.  He was hot.  It was his game to win.  The ball an opportunities didn't go to him

Good points. 

I really think that the C's took what the defense gave them most of the night.  At the end of the game, they might have overthought it a little, but I also think the Lakers defense picked up significantly. 

I need to watch the game again, but at the end of the game when Ray did get the ball, he seemed to be swarmed, and didn't get the open looks he had earlier.  But I need to watch more closely to see if it was because of different play calls, or the defense adjusting.