On the flip side, we've seen the same weaknesses over and over. The offense has generally not been good, and is entirely predictable. We've seen the team get gassed out and collapse in the fourth quarter repeatedly. Losing the 2010 NBA Finals and the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals having led both series 3-2 were critical losses. Throw in the Magic series in 2009 (albeit w/o Garnett) and that's three playoff series where the Celtics have lost having lead 3-2. As coach, Doc Rivers has to be held accountable for much of that.
Those are successes as much as they are failures. In 2010, we were supposed to lose to the Cavaliers and the Magic and we beat them both. We were supposed to be gone long before the Finals and we got 6 minutes away from a title.
Did anybody really think we were supposed to beat the Heat last year? We came minutes away from making it to the Finals.
We've outperformed for a few years now. Everyone has been saying this team shouldn't have gotten as far as it did. KG and Pierce got older each year. Rondo was the X-Factor that got us close and KG and Pierce still had enough to make a difference. Each year, our supporting cast got a little more depleted. As much as this says Doc is to blame, Doc shined.
I'm not necessarily advocating for Doc's firing. I do think he's best served when he has a strong coordinator presence like Tom Thibodeau or Lawrence Frank.
I believe we agree on this. Losing those two guys was as big as us losing key player after key player to either free agency or retirement. We've lost a ton of players in the last few years and those 2 Assistants were BIG loses too. I still think we've been death by 1,000 cuts. We kept getting pieces cut. We finally bled to death.
As for 2010, I guess we see it differently. Not a believer in the whole "supposed to lose" argument, that is mostly media-driven. I think that the 2010 team could have (and should have) won the title. I get that KG was not 100%, but that team operated throughout the regular season with the proverbial "turn on the switch" mode. Rasheed Wallace pretty obviously took games off and you could see that attitude permeate across the team, particularly Rondo. Doc rationalized the regular season with "we chose health" theme. Ultimately, that team should have pushed for home court advantage in a relatively weak Eastern Conference. Having home court over the Lakers (who won 57 games in the tougher conference) probably would have resulted in #18.
We were clearly not a favorite going into the 2010 Playoffs. That Playoffs to me was nearly as enjoyable as the 2008 Victory. Game 7 against the Lakers was one of the most painful things I seen. That 4th quarter was amazingly 1-sided on Ref calls. But we were 6 minutes away regardless. I agree they did flip the switch. And what a switch it was. But the supporting cast was a lot better too. Sheed, Robinson, Big Baby, Tony Allen. I think they played their A-Game that playoffs. And Rondo passed the torch to himself that year in the Playoffs. And KG and Pierce played great. Yeah, the regular season sucked. But they came alive when it was time. This year, we just don't have the horses. KG and Pierce was considered "past their prime" then. It's 3 years later. Plus we don't have Rondo and Ray is gone. It's death by 1,000 cuts. We're literally bleeding to death.
I do not agree with the assessment that we've outperformed. That really depends on your baseline expectation for the team. In my mind, a team with Pierce, KG, Ray Allen and Rondo should have been a high seed going deep in the playoffs.
And that is EXACTLY what they did and that is EXACTLY what we don't have now (No Ray, No Rondo).
Please note, I'm not picking on You personally or anyone here. You at least say more than just "Fire Doc, I could have done better, he so stupid, insert this player here, post up in the paint" remarks. I say this with all due respect. We have a difference of opinion and I respect that. It beats "Anyone with a brain can see" comments.
But I also believe Doc had as much to do with our success as much as he gets blamed for our failures. And I think he's done a lot of things that he's done that drive people absolutely MAD and INSANE, because he just doesn't have much else to work with. We don't have a REAL big man, a true point guard, shot makers, or a great supporting cast. The man can't do much else. He doesn't have the talent
THIS YEAR, to work with. Yeah, his system is played out. But it's played out with this cast. I think if he had pieces, he
"MIGHT"??.....(I dunno)....change his habits a little. If he doesn't. Then yeah...give him the boot.
He needs better talent to work with though. A Big Man and a lot more. Just a lot of newer, in-or-before their prime pieces. Another elite player. I think next year a core of Rondo-Green-Bradley is a good start, but we have a long, long ways to go. We are just way too depleted now and I think this outcome was going to happen sooner or later no matter who was our coach. We need better pieces. And
eventually Doc may need to go. But I don't think he needs to go based on his past performance and this year. I do think going forward though, he should be more and more on the hot seat. But only to the level of talent that he actually has. This year was NOT a great Doc year though. But, I don't think he was the sole reason we are this bad. We just finally bled to death.
