 |
|
I don't think that Doc Rivers is afraid of anything, especially the Knicks |
During his successful playing and coaching careers in the NBA, Doc Rivers has heard plenty of criticism, something to be expected as the head coach of a high-profile team like the Celtics for almost 10 years and as a player for the Knicks (from 1992-94) in the biggest city in the United States with the most rabid fans.
Simply put, Glenn "Doc" Rivers has put up with a lot of crap during his nearly 30-year NBA experience. And in that time, he has mastered the art of using said criticisms to motivate himself and his teams by saying his own out-of-the-box things as well.
In no season more than the current, Doc has heard pundits from around the country bash his Celtics squad — decimated by injury — for a perceived lack of effort and noted abscence of execution from his players.
Coming into the 2012-13 season, Boston — although an aging squad still dealing with the loss of certain Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen — was projected by many to win the East's Atlantic Division over the 76ers (who fell off a cliff this year with Andrew Bynum, the Knicks (who have stunned the NBA to win the division) and the upstart Nets (who are firmly settled into the No. 4 seed) who have thrived after escaping the wet blanket on success that was Newark and East Rutherford.
But, as is always seen in the NBA, things did not work out according to plan. And the Celtics have had a dismal season by Celtics standards, currently sitting at 41-39 with a looming 2/7 playoff matchup with the Knicks.
Doc Rivers will not budge, though. Even with starting point guard Rajon Rondo out with a torn ACL, the Boston head coach still has utmost faith in his team to knock off the Knicks in a 1st-round upset, a belief that is pretty hard to rationalize from an outside perspective but one that the Boston players, fans, and coaching staff might feel.
From ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg: "No, it'll be a fun series. Obviously, they earned winning the Central–or whatever division we are in…."
Other than that zing on the division-winning Knicks, Rivers went on to talk about how he thinks that the series will be evenly-matched, hard-fought, and may get a little chippy, which is to expected from a Knicks-Celtics clash.
Doc Rivers' confidence may exude itself through sarcasm and even some humor, but the confidence he has in his squad is secure: He has the utmost belief that Boston will make it through the first round en route to a hopeful deep playoff push. Good luck to him.
