I am guessing that was because he was specifically asked to do that and deferred because he was playing with the eventual MVP.
If he goes to Houston and his best co-star is Jalen Green, I am guessing that changes
Game 7: Knowing More Than Who Our Parents Were
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If he goes to Houston and his best co-star is Jalen Green, I am guessing that changes
I don't get the Doc hate. He was the last coach to win a championship here. I have nothing against him.
All-time NBA record while winning a Game 7 is 2, by the 1979 Bullets, over the Hawks, with Dandridge and Hayes. For the Celtics, it's the fourth ever time they've won a Game 7 with only 3 10+ point scorers:
2008 vs. Cavaliers: PP, KG, PJ Brown
1984 vs. Knicks: Bird, DJ, Parish
1962 vs Lakers: Sam Jones, Ramsey, Russell
All three prior Boston teams not only won the Finals that year but did so over the Lakers in the Garden. Foreshadowing?
I think for a lot of people, it was the, “I’m not sticking around for a rebuild,” stuff, but I agree. Ubuntu forever.
Rob Williams played 30 minutes in the game tonight which is the most he has played in a playoff game this season but only by a couple of minutes. He played almost 28 minutes in G6. He did not produce spectacular box score stats or even have any leaping out of the gym blocks but his presence on the floor changes the game particularly on the defensive end. I’m hoping we see more of the two big lineups with Rob Williams and Al Horford against Miami because those two combined with Smart and the Jays are a defensive menace and I think defense is the path to winning the next series.
Small sample size, but in the 11 games for Philly that he played and Embiid didn't (7 regular season 4 playoffs) he has taken 15.9 shots a game compared to 14.4 overall with Philly. I'd be pretty stunned if the Houston Harden with the 35-40% usage rate comes back no matter what team he plays for next year.
I’m stunned that people dont understand the Doc hate. He’s a shameless whiner. Teams are extension of the coaches, so his teams are often filled with shameless whiners.
He refuses to take any responsibility for anything so he’s been on a tour of throwing former teams under the bus so he can look better.
I posted the JJ redick tweet earlier which was a clear shot at Doc. Redick is a really reasonable guy and almost always comes down on the side of the players or coaches. For him to basically tweet out a fuck you at Doc immediately after the season ends…I think there is something there
EDIT: I just want to add to this. Can you imagine any coach using their press conference, on the day of Game 7, to whine about officiating in Game 6? I seriously can’t imagine any other coach doing that. It’s serious loser behavior
He refuses to take any responsibility for anything so he’s been on a tour of throwing former teams under the bus so he can look better.
I posted the JJ redick tweet earlier which was a clear shot at Doc. Redick is a really reasonable guy and almost always comes down on the side of the players or coaches. For him to basically tweet out a fuck you at Doc immediately after the season ends…I think there is something there
EDIT: I just want to add to this. Can you imagine any coach using their press conference, on the day of Game 7, to whine about officiating in Game 6? I seriously can’t imagine any other coach doing that. It’s serious loser behavior
Tatum was fantastic today - (finally) in a big spot. But let's see him win a championship before the coronation.
Today was a great day for him no doubt, and I'm happy he put on this big-boy pants and got the job done. But this franchise is about championships and this particular team has "the" most talented roster in the NBA.
Lead this team to a championship and all the chatter will go away - forever. Don't revert back to the '0-for-something quarters' that place your team in a hole. The greats don't do that.
Has Tatum taken a big positive step today? Yes.
Has he reached the top of the mountain? No - not yet.
Agreed. If Boston Celtic legend Darko can win a title at 18 Tatum should have 3 by now.
Blake also took a shot at Doc when he lit it up shooting unguarded 3s in that Philly game earlier in the regular season. He said something along the lines of Doc Rivers made no adjustment and that was typical. I can understand the Lob City guys being pissed at him with how much he's thrown them under the bus in recent years.
I harbor no ill will toward him myself. He helped us get #17 and that season will always be a happy memory.
Eh. I don’t hate him at all. I just think he’s over the top with his constant politicking and I like a good twitter pile on.
Doc seems like a real decent human being. I like him and wish him well as long as it doesn't involve a conflict of my very narrow self interests, which includes but is not limited to a very partisan view of the Celts and my 6-decades of despising Philly ballers.
Doc seems like a nice guy outside of basketball and I have no real ill will towards him, but my own take for not liking Doc is threefold:
1. He signed a contract extension in Boston knowing full well that part of that contract would include a re-build of the team. Allen/Garnett/Pierce, even if they retired as Celtics, were getting old and weren't going to be competing for championships as a core into their late 30s. I truly believe that when he talked to management, the deal was "we'll pay you well, you get a couple more shots with this team, but the back-end of your contract is going to be providing continuity and stability as we transition to the next phase". Doc agreed but as soon as that transition happened, he noped out and wanted to just compete for championships with veteran teams (hence going to the fully formed Clippers and 76ers). Which, fine, you don't like working with rookies and re-builds, leave that to people at the end of their career with few options or up-and-comers trying to make a name for themselves, I appreciate that. But don't sign a contract knowing that's part of your assignment and then just ditch when people ask you to actually honor that. Compounding that, he insisted that wasn't the reason he left but I still don't even understand the reason he gave.
2. I haven't followed him closely since, but it used to bother me when he coached the Celtics that every loss was the player's fault. "We got outhustled", "We didn't show up", "The guys need to play better and they know that", "No way you can win when the other team comes out and competes and we take plays off" were all constant refrains after a loss. Maybe it was true, but it seemed like he was constantly throwing his own team under the bus and couldn't even muster the "we got outcoached" or "I need to make the adjustments" or "you can't put this on any one person" nonsense that coaches usually spit out to at least cover their guys.
3. He is not a bad coach, but he has to be one of the most over-rated coaches. The last 15 years, he has only coached teams with championship aspirations and they haven't gone that deep in the playoffs. There are a whole bunch of articles out today about his teams not being able to hold leads and him losing something like 10 game 7s in his career and no other coach has ever lost more than 5.
1. He signed a contract extension in Boston knowing full well that part of that contract would include a re-build of the team. Allen/Garnett/Pierce, even if they retired as Celtics, were getting old and weren't going to be competing for championships as a core into their late 30s. I truly believe that when he talked to management, the deal was "we'll pay you well, you get a couple more shots with this team, but the back-end of your contract is going to be providing continuity and stability as we transition to the next phase". Doc agreed but as soon as that transition happened, he noped out and wanted to just compete for championships with veteran teams (hence going to the fully formed Clippers and 76ers). Which, fine, you don't like working with rookies and re-builds, leave that to people at the end of their career with few options or up-and-comers trying to make a name for themselves, I appreciate that. But don't sign a contract knowing that's part of your assignment and then just ditch when people ask you to actually honor that. Compounding that, he insisted that wasn't the reason he left but I still don't even understand the reason he gave.
2. I haven't followed him closely since, but it used to bother me when he coached the Celtics that every loss was the player's fault. "We got outhustled", "We didn't show up", "The guys need to play better and they know that", "No way you can win when the other team comes out and competes and we take plays off" were all constant refrains after a loss. Maybe it was true, but it seemed like he was constantly throwing his own team under the bus and couldn't even muster the "we got outcoached" or "I need to make the adjustments" or "you can't put this on any one person" nonsense that coaches usually spit out to at least cover their guys.
3. He is not a bad coach, but he has to be one of the most over-rated coaches. The last 15 years, he has only coached teams with championship aspirations and they haven't gone that deep in the playoffs. There are a whole bunch of articles out today about his teams not being able to hold leads and him losing something like 10 game 7s in his career and no other coach has ever lost more than 5.
Nowhere near as heartwarming as the other two stories, but I was watching highlights on my phone while taking a dump this morning and heard my daughter on the other side of the door saying "JT for threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". I told her that's right...and to please let daddy defecate in peace.
This is a pretty great summation.
Doc does seem like a good dude. Almost everyone seems to like him.
my only change is that I will continue to root for him to lose. There’s something visceral about watching him complain during the game that just makes me root against him. I feel the same way about Nick Nurse (another guy that is supposed to be very decent)
Incredible. Three timeouts used from Doc and it still wasn't enough. They could not find an adjustment that worked.
"Just an incredibly courageous job by Embiid dealing with this high volume of adversity; can't say enough about his advanced skillset for a big man."
- Doris, somewhere, probably.
Fascinating and telling two stats:
- JB outscored Embiid + Harden (25 vs 24)
- JT outscored Embiid + Harden + JB (51 vs 49)
I know it’s been 40 years but I’m now able to let 1982 go. You would think the 4 straight finals 84-87 would have done the trick but it didn’t. Sixer loathing needed closure.
(I think the 1971 Bruin memory stirred this up).
Hopefully the Celts are playing in June. They have the team.
(I think the 1971 Bruin memory stirred this up).
Hopefully the Celts are playing in June. They have the team.
To @Brand Name: REALLY nice job with the G6 & G7 Game Thread starts. Whatever "it" was, wherever it came from, I felt it. And I liked it. Hope to see more of it in the ECF!
I feel like one of these needs a comma or something. Is it supposed to be JB outscored Embiid and Harden individually.. and Tatum scored more than both of them combined?
JB outscored Embiid and Harden combined, Tatum scored more than all three of them combined.
THAT...is a great graphic. My son had gone up to take a pre-work shower just when it was the first line. He came down to go to work at the second line. His jaw could not have been any further than 6" under the floor.
I have to say though, that Joel Imbiid seemed completely professional, and composed in defeat...finishing extended hugs and ear-whispherd comments with not one, two, but a whole host of Celtics after it was over. I gained a great deal of additional respect for him. He was held down, but he rose up in my mind.
I think that's what some may see as his weakness though.. losing doesn't seem to bother him all that much as if he's sort of used to it...especially against the Celtics.
I know it is not you saying this. And I understand that there is a segment of a fan population that feels that way. But… showing humanity and sportsmanship is a sign of weakness?
I don't think that's what I was trying to say.. I get sportsmanship and humanity.. but isn't there a difference between not being angry at all about losing? Maybe today's athletes are completely different.. and I think they are.. but I don't feel like I can remember Bird and Dr J having long extended hugs at the end of a game... or even MJ after he lost any series
I do think his ability to not be angry is commendable.
edit: what I was mainly trying to say is that losing doesn't seem to bother Embiid... I could be wrong.
He had a bunch of quotes about how painful losing is to him. So, I’m not sure this is true.
And as a hockey-Stan, I look at how teams/players pound the $&#^* out of eachother for a series, and then hug it out after the deciding game
Also, this is now a thing the whole league does and didn’t in previous generations. While part of me misses the bitterness of the rivalries—think even Rondo’s hatred of the Heat—I love the “game respects game” attitude today. Like, Smart swapping jerseys with Maxey as a sign of respect for the series the kid just had was really awesome.
You know.. that is something I love about hockey too.. although I feel it has a much longer tradition in that game. I do feel like there are plenty of stories of people not being particularly nice in those handshake lines, but those negative interactions are usually looked down upon.
I think that's fair to say about some athletes, but Embiid was [pretty famously] sobbing on the court and on the way to the locker room after losing to Toronto in the 2nd round a few years ago. Does he get tight and play worse when it matters the most? Yes. Does he have a tendency to blame others when things go south? Yes. Is there any reason to think he doesn't care about losing? No, if anything he's got the opposite problem.