Hollinger: Rivers and Del Negro are Dumb and Dumber

[FireDocRivers]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-090427

John Hollinger takes Doc Rivers to task ... Here's just a taste.

"Boston's violation was particularly egregious, as the Bulls inbounded the ball inside the 3-point line before passing it back out for Ben Gordon's game-tying 3-pointer in the first overtime. With the ball near the free-throw line, there was no risk whatsoever of fouling a 3-point shooter, no way to spin a story about what might have happened. Boston was one arm chop away from a 3-1 series lead ...

"Between the lineups and the timeouts, we had the basketball equivalent of a kindergarten class (Boston-Chicago) followed by a grad school seminar (Adelman vs. the Blazers)"
 

[furball]

I'd love to ask Hollinger what he would be saying if Rondo nailed the final shot. 

[D Dub]

Hollinger is a fool.  His own freakin network has Doc quoted saying he wanted the foul.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290426004

[KCattheStripe]

Hollinger is a fool.  His own freakin network has Doc quoted saying he wanted the foul.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290426004

He needs to be stat man, not coach man.

[fairweatherfan]

Haven't we already established that Doc is the worst coach ever to win 62+ games in consecutive years and a championship?

[FireDocRivers]

Haven't we already established that Doc is the worst coach ever to win 62+ games in consecutive years and a championship?

Avery Johnson is Doc's neighborhood, with 60 and 67 wins in consecutive seasons and an NBA Finals loss.

[celticinorlando]

Doc said they should have fouled...i am confused on why the players didn't do it and why they were even guarding noah...serious communication problems...

[fairweatherfan]

Haven't we already established that Doc is the worst coach ever to win 62+ games in consecutive years and a championship?

Avery Johnson is Doc's neighborhood, with 60 and 67 wins in consecutive seasons and an NBA Finals loss.

Sorry, horseshoes and handgrenades, Doc is still the worst.

[Amonkey]

I can't see how fouling would've guaranteed the win.  At that point, the game was 8 seconds from ending.  If they had fouled right away, they could take 1, maybe 2 seconds away.  If they made both free throws, we would be up by one with the ball and 6-7 seconds left.  We get the ball and get fouled right away, that might take 1, maaaaybe two seconds if we are lucky.  Then there is the possibility of missing a free throw, leaving the game up by two (or maybe one if we missed both free throws) with still 4 seconds to go and a time out.

I don't know that's icing on the cake.  A gifted shooter like Ben Gordon has just as much a chance of making a three with 4 seconds to go that could be for either a win (if we were missed a FT) or tie the game.

I think Doc played it safe.  Instead of giving the chance of losing the game, he'd rather see defense make a play and the worse case scenario is tying the game.

[butterbeanlove]

Either Doc didn't adequately prepare them or... I don't know because we haven't heard from Ray Allen on this yet.

But... Doc's quote is double-speak. He indicates that "we always foul" but he doesn't explicitly say that he told them to foul there and then he makes up an excuse for what happens if we don't. I CALL BS.

So my question is: do you trust Glenn to make the right call there, or did consummate professional Ray Allen forget what his coach told him in the huddle seconds earlier?

I still like us in this series.

[Change]

Celtics Fans are idiots for caring about that loser's opinion. Doc said he instructed his team to foul. Vinny just drew up a good play and Ben made a lucky fadeaway shot. Stuff happens and you move on. Game 5 probably another 20 point blowout.

[TerreHaute]

When was Hollinger's last coaching job? Maybe he considers supervising his kid's 5th grade team a lesson in game management (I don't know if he has or kid or not). As a former coach, I think it is safe to say these decisions become a little more difficult when you are on the bench rather than in your recliner. Or better yet, when you have a day to think about mistakes other people made.


The only problem I had with Doc was repeatedly going with PP at the top of the key when he was clearly having trouble getting a shot off against a smaller player. Did he notice that Ray Allen had hit a few shots down the stretch, or that when we moved the ball we got some pretty good looks?

In the end, it was a great game. Both teams had ample opportunities to win that they blew, and the Bulls had a bit more gas in the tank at the end. Move on and win the next two.

[jdpapa3]

Hollinger's a clown. He got verbally abused at the group panel for basketball analytics at MIT. Cuban was going in on him.

[pearljammer10]

Doc is dumb. Negro is dumber. And Hollinger is Dumbest...







Seriously, this guy is and always has been awful.

[Brickowski]

Oh please.  X's and O's were never Doc's strength.