Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers ready to give it Another Try
Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers finally revealed that he will still be on Boston’s bench next season. After thinking of giving up his job for his family, the 2008 NBA Champion coach decides to give it another try next season after his family encouraged him to do so.
"A lot of soul-searching with the family," Doc Rivers said.
"Talking to my wife, she was really the one who said, 'You've got to.' I just think she wanted me out of the house more than anything. My kids all said, 'You're a coach. That's what you are. And you're a parent, and we appreciate both.' And so that made it easier."
Retirement was his first option after their heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers. He said that he wants to spend a lot of time with his family and he wants to watch his children play in their respective fields. His son Austin is currently playing for the USA Under-18 National Team and is one of the most coveted high school players in the country. The Winter Park High School stand-out scored 35 points in their win against Canada this week.
Having Rivers resign is just one of the things that the Celtics has to deal with this off-season. Rivers is back, but the question still remains if the core of the team will still be intact. Rasheed Wallace has already decided to call it quits leaving a big hole in their bench to fill in.
Their Team Captain Paul Pierce also opted out of his final year contract and is reportedly not ruling out the possibility of playing for a new team next season. The Celtics can’t afford to lose Pierce who has been with the Celtics for his entire career. Pierce, who averaged 18.3 points and 4.4 rebounds a game last season, is expected to talk immediately with Boston’s official to discuss a new contract.
On the other hand, one of their big three, Ray Allen, is out on the NBA market right now. There’s a huge possibility that he will not be back for the Celtics next season. The 35-year old sweet-shooting guard has attracted a lot of teams. Experts believe that Allen will be courted by teams like the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, and New Jersey Nets to be a complement for free agent superstars that they might land.
Rivers however expressed confidence that the two main guys will be back because they have unfinished business with the Celtics.
“I’m confident, but I'm not overconfident," said Rivers when asked about the status of Pierce and Allen.
"We want to go after this one more time, and we have Kevin Garnett and Paul and Ray hopefully all coming back, so why not? Let's see if we can do it one more time," he added.
But with or without Pierce or Allen next season, the Celtics also needs to bolster their roster if they want to be back in the Finals once again next season. They have been bothered by a lot of injuries in the past two seasons and this will again be a great concern for them this year. Kevin Garnett is not getting any younger and his knee has been bothering him in the past two seasons. They might also miss Kendrick Perkins until the end of this year because of a serious injury.
Resigning Doc Rivers will not give the Celtics a guaranteed success next season. They have a lot of holes to fill in and the other teams, which are way younger than them, are expected to improve their line-up for next season which will make it difficult for them to perform like they did last season.
Tags: