In general, I like Doc Rivers, and think he's done a decent job here. That being said, I'm not at all in the camp that thinks he's the best (or close to the best) coach in the league. Before I go any further, I know there will be some people who immediately point to the title he won here, the 2010 playoff run, etc. I'll be forever grateful for the title in '08, but when it comes down to it, we also had the most talented and hungry team in the league that season. Not every coach in the NBA would have won it all with that team, but a lot of them would have. On the flip side, we've lost to or been taken to the brink by a number of teams that weren't fit to tie our shoes - '05 vs. Indy, '08 vs. ATL/CLE, '09 vs. Chicago. And I honestly still think he should have been able to coach us past Miami this year, even with all the injuries.
I have two main gripes with him. The biggest one is that he is a horrible offensive coach, to be honest. There's an old axiom in coaching that says "you're either coaching it or allowing it to happen." We've been going on miserable scoring droughts for years now, and he hasn't done anything to improve it. It's one thing if we're continually getting good looks each time down, and for whatever reason they're just rimming out. That's natural with fatigue, age, injuries, etc. But how many times do we go 5 or even 8 minutes without getting a single good look? Happens all the time. And it's one thing if it's just happening when the bench is on the floor and/or the new guys are in. But it happens with our stars all the time. How is this possible? You have one of the best point guards in the league and three other future hall of famers, and you can't get a single good shot in 5+ minutes of play? And this happens time and time again, even against mediocre opponents? I'm not just talking about last night. I'm sorry, but that's mostly on the coach. I'm sure someone out there is about to remind me how good we are out of timeouts. Yes, that's impressive, but again, I'd take 5 minutes worth of good shots over one well-drawn up play.
My other main problem with Doc is that he's too much of a "company man" in the NBA. He never wants to ruffle any feathers with the media or the league office. We have gotten flat out hosed by the refs in a number of playoff series since he's been here ('05 vs. the Pacers, '08 vs. Atlanta/Cleveland/LA, '09 vs. Chicago, '10 vs. Cleveland/LA, '11 vs. Miami), yet Doc just sits there and takes it. He never even comes close to causing a ruckus either during games or in the post-game. In '08 we got completely boned by the refs against Atlanta, Cleveland and LA, but we were so good that we still won. We aren't quite at that level anymore, but I still believe we're good enough to win given a semi-even playing field. Unfortunately, the NBA has proven it'll do whatever it can to ensure that its most marketable players advance. As the head coach, you have to fight for your team. IMO, he hasn't done close to enough to ensure that David Stern and his blind followers wouldn't screw us.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't hate Doc, and I'm not advocating that he get fired. Another key part of coaching is creating toughness in your team, and he's done a great job of that. In the playoffs, they always fight their behinds off (in stark contrast to the evil team in purple). At the same time, I don't think he's even close to the best coach in the league. At this point, I'm fine with him leaving or staying.
