Who's to blame for this season

[PLamb]

My own opinion is that:

* Wyc and Danny have done just about everything they could have to have given Doc Rivers what he has needed to put a championship banner up
 
* Doc Rivers and the coaching staff have provided all the preparation and system and motivation the team has needed to succeed

* The Celtics have not been a victim of bad luck

* I think in a lot of ways the disappointment for this season rests squarely on the players and father time catching up to them. The players for the most part have played well below expectations. And injuries, some avoidable, some not, and age and the resultant combination of the two have been devastating. Baby's almost self inflicted injury(he should have known better than to get into a fistfight), the very foreseeable injury to Marquis Daniels(he's just prone to injury), KG's known injury and long crawl back from it(which still hasn't been 100% successful) and Pierce's myriad of problems have killed this team. Older players ability to recuperate and heal fast have also.

[PLamb]

http://bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1236075&position=0

Seems Steve Bulpett makes a case for the blame of the season falling not on Doc's head but onto the shoulders of the players

In the wake of Thursday night’s collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers, there were calls for coach Doc Rivers’ ouster that will only increase in volume and number after this debacle. But while Rivers isn’t Red Auerbach, such shot selection would seem to be from the Antoine Walker catalog of fine masonry.

....

Quibble with Rivers’ substitution pattern if you like, but there is no reason that whatever quintet is on the floor should choose not to execute the plans as set forth by the staff.

Don’t take our word for it. Take injured captain Paul Pierce [stats]’s. He put it very plainly at the start of this month down in Washington.

“It’s like you have the answers to the test and you still fail,” Pierce said during a visit to play the Wizards. “It’s just like that. We know the answers.”

That concept was supported late yesterday.

Asked if this is up to the players, Kevin Garnett nodded.

“I think so,” he said. “That’s what it is. Doc gives us direction, and guys have to go out there and follow the plan and execute. That’s all it is. I’m not going to sit up here and give a whole bunch of excuses. That’s not my style. You know, you lose, you lose. They kicked our (butt) tonight, period. Point blank.

“Players have to do more, including myself. We’ve all got to dig deep and see what we’re made of as a team. Seriously.”

Added Rasheed Wallace: “Oh, definitely it’s in this room. . . . We’re the ones out there on the floor. Doc can only do but so much. So we can’t sit up there and say, ‘Oh, it’s Doc’s fault that we lost or Doc’s not doing this or Doc’s not doing that.’ Doc’s not out there on the floor. It’s the five guys that are out there.”

You will now hear claims that the players have therefore tuned out Rivers, that he’s lost the team. These are fallacies. The players like working for this coach and, as Pierce and others have said, they know the plays and defensive schemes are proven.

It will be said then that the coach needs to motivate them better. But if the dignity of the job and earning the respect of your teammates aren’t enough to make players focus, then it won’t matter who’s telling them what to do.

[Cman]

(ahem)
The season is not yet over.

[housecall]

I feel the problems the team has is a combination of bad luck,injuries,possibly some players issues we don't know about.Coaching,coaches are low on my list of issues with this team,its the players who take the court and its up to the players to work out whatever the problems are thats keeping them from finishing games the right way.Remember this is a veteran team,not a collection of rookies and second yr.players.What else can Doc do or say to KG,Pierce or Ray they haven't heard over the yrs.?They know what needs to be done and i still believe they will get it done.

[dark_lord]

to date, the issues with the team are first and foremost the players.  injuries and lack of chemistry also have an impact.

i like cman's thought....the season isnt over.

[cdif911]

Cman is right, season's still going, plenty of time to turn things around, get to full strength and make a solid run

[vinnie]

(ahem)
The season is not yet over.

Factually you are correct, the Celtics still have 25 regular season games and one, maybe two rounds of playoff games.

[cdif911]

(ahem)
The season is not yet over.

Factually you are correct, the Celtics still have 25 regular season games and one, maybe two rounds of playoff games.

Vinnie, you were very down on this team in their first title year under the new big 3, I clearly remember you thinking it was all over against Atlanta, and if they couldn't manhandle Atl, the next series would surely be done quickly; and they won the title.  I'm not saying they are a lock, not by any means, but let's have a little faith