Doc Rivers And His Coaching Experience May Be The Difference In This Series
April 23, 2009 – 10:30 am by Jimmy Shapiro
So far the NBA playoffs havebeen really exciting. Only two games in and only 3 of the 8 home teams held serve. For my money, the Rockets-Blazers series and the Bulls-Celtics series are the two most intoxicating to watch. If the Celtics win their series it will be due to playoff experience and coaching experience. That’s all. The Bulls actually have a well balanced and deep squad (even without Luol Deng). Plus the match-up of Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo has been sensational.
Doc Rivers joined WEEI to talk about the first two games of the series, Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, and once again KG.
On how he would guard Rondo
“I would try to just hang in the paint and just force him to shoot. I would go way under and just make him shoot and he’s making shots. But when he gets to that paint, he’s causing havoc. He’s so quick. We kid each other all the time; when I look at him, I always say “30”. That means I would have 30 on him and he says, “no chance” and I say, “As long as I can play with my rules, when I played. Not these rules that are in place right now.” I don’t know how you can guard a guy like Rondo and even Rose coming at you [with] today’s rules. It’s very difficult because it’s all about foot movement instead of when we played, we had the old handy hand check.”
On who in the league could match Rondo’s speed
“There’s not a lot of them…The rookie point guard in Oklahoma has unbelievable speed; I was shocked to see his speed. I think very few guys. I think him and T.J. Ford when he was healthy. Tony Parker would be another guy.”
On whether or not he thought Derrick Rose would be this good
“Not this fast, but definitely this good. I’ve been high on him for two years…He just has the intangibles of a great player. What I love about him is his demeanor. You don’t know if he has 40 points in the game or 1 point in the game or if the team is up or down. I think his calm at that position has really helped that team.”
On whether or not Garnett could get a technical from the bench
“I hope not. I don’t think the cameras help. Hell, I thought they showed him as much as they showed the game…One of the things I hate is when they legislate excitement. When you see benches up screaming and yelling, as long as they’re not interfering with play, I always wondered why officials say, “Hey guys, you gotta sit down.” I’m thinking, “This is what you want.” I’ve never understood that.”
Will they see Garnett in the playoffs?
“It’s the same answer – I hope [but] I doubt it. My odds haven’t changed. I do like the fact that he cancelled surgery. Our whole thinking there was, if there’s a chance, give yourself that chance.”
Listen to Doc Rivers on WEEI in Boston with Dennis and Callahan
Tags: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, NBA Playoffs, Rajon Rondo
