you can't have x's and o's set in stone. As the game develops your strategy has to also. The problem with doc is that he is not keen on adapting to anything.
But see this just isn't true. Doc is constantly making changes and adjustments.
Well said.
The entire premise of this thread leaves me shaking my head.
First, last year: If you've ever coached the game, you understand that Doc's mission last year was to blend a battalion of new faces together. Going into the season, I thought it was possible it would take at least two years to accomplish that. Instead, it resulted in a title - and getting all those new faces on the same page is a huge accomplishment.
This year, his hands have been tied from the beginning. He has the league's best starting 5 - and no one to go to on the bench for help when one of those starters go down, go flat, etc.
I know Doc gets a ton of grief for not playing individual posters' favorite kids or players a lot, but that's not his job. His job is to win, and 38-9 with this bench is remarkable.
This guy's a good ball coach. Period.
TP4U Coach for once again giving us a real perspective of what a coach looks at. No one has even mentioned the bringing together of so many new faces and melding them into a team so quickly.
Here's the breakdown:
Returning players:
Paul Pierce - played 47 games @ 37 MPG in 06-07
Tony Allen - played 33 games @ 24 MPG in 06-07
Rajon Rondo - played 78 games @ 23.5 MPG in 06-07
Leon Powe - played 63 games @ 11.4 MPG in 06-07
Kendrick Perkins - played 72 games at 22 MPG in 06-07
Brian Scalabrine - played 54 games at 19 MPG in 06-07
New Players:
Kevin Garnett - played in Minnesota
Ray Allen - played in Seattle
James Posey - played in Miami
Eddie House - played in New Jersey
Glen Davis - rookie
Gabe Pruitt - rookie
Scot Pollard - played in Cleveland
P J Brown - played in Chicago
Sam Cassell - played in Los Angeles C.
9 out of last season's players were not on the team the year before and of the players that returned only one, Rondo, didn't miss significant time or played everyday, and only one, Pierce, played starter type minutes. Two of the returning players were rookies and four of them had ages of 25, 21, 22, and 23 when the season started.
To take so many unknown and unfamiliar faces and in less than a year in the NBA together, blend them into one of the most dominating teams in NBA history is an incredible accomplishment that only the truly best of coaches could have performed.
Doc was unreal and deserves the credit and respect and admiration of all Celtic fans for what he did with this team since gathering them together in Europe for the first time. He has since won 104 of 127 regular season games. Check it out, only Hall of Fame type coaches have ever had winning spans like that.