Throughout his 13-year playing career in The National Basketball
Association, current Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers was a
tough-minded point guard. Rivers has brought that same mentality to the
bench with The Celtics. Since 2008, The Celtics have been a perennial
title contender in The NBA which was highlighted by winning The NBA
Championship in 2008. After losing in The Eastern Conference Finals last
season to The Miami Heat, The Celtics were stuck in first gear to start
this season as they hovered around the .500 mark. Things got worse on
January 27 when point guard Rajon Rondo suffered a torn ACL that has put
him on the shelf for the remainder of the season. A week later
promising rookie power forward Jared Sullinger’s season would come to an
end as the result of a back injury. The writing was on the wall for a
Celtics fire sale as forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were rumored
to be sent out of town.
Instead of folding up shop and worrying about next season, The
Celtics are 13-4 since Rondo’s injury which is a testament to Rivers.
Rivers wasn’t a quitter during his career and he has passed that message
on to his team. After The Celtics 107-102 overtime victory over The
Atlanta Hawks last night in Beantown, Rivers’ squad is now in sixth place
in The Eastern Conference. As far as things go in The Atlantic
Division, The Celtics are just 2 games behind The Brooklyn Nets for
second place and 4.5 games behind the division leading New York Knicks.
defensive teams in The NBA and this season is no different as the 95.9
points per game that their opponents are averaging is 7th in The NBA.
The Celtics are only allowing opponents to hit on 43 percent of their
shots from the floor and just 33 percent on three-point attempts.
again this season. Pierce is the team’s captain and he has been leading
by example. In February, Pierce had back-to-back games against The
Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets where he shot under 20 percent from the
floor as people were beginning to wonder if the 35-year old was
starting to slow down. For the month of March, Pierce is shooting nearly
52 percent from the field which included 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7
assists in last night’s victory.
A supporting cast on The Celtics consisting of guards Jason Terry, Avery Bradley, and Courtney Lee all bring something different to the table. Terry is the old pro who won an NBA Championship with The Dallas Mavericks. Bradley is a pesky defender who averages 9.6 points per game, but he has been known to frustrate opposing guards as his 1.3 steals per game lead the team. Lee is an extremely versatile player who can do it all for Rivers on the defensive end while providing a slasher for The Celtics offensively. Garnett has seen The NBA wars for numerous seasons and at 36-years of age he isn’t ready to slow down. Garnett’s 7.8 boards per game lead the team, but it is his toughness and grit anchor this Celtic team for Rivers as he is the glue for this team defensively. Garnett is constantly barking out defensive calls for The Celtics. It sometimes appears as if Garnett knows the opponents offensive plays better than they do, but when you’ve played in The NBA for 18 seasons like Garnett you won’t get fooled too often by a backdoor screen..
You cannot talk about toughness and determination for The Celtics and Rivers without mentioning forward Jeff Green. Green sat out the entire 2011-2012 campaign after undergoing a heart procedure and his career was in jeopardy. Green has now risen from the ashes to average 14.8 points per game over the last two months while providing depth to the team.
When you add up all of these factors it equates to Rivers as he is the chef that is mixing the key ingredients for The Celtics and their surge to the postseason. Boston still has some tough contests remaining on their schedule which includes a game tomorrow with The Oklahoma City Thunder, but just like a junk yard dog, The Celtics and Rivers always have plenty of bite.
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