Halloran: Doc deserves more credit for C’s success
Don’t do this to Doc Rivers. It’s not fair, and you know it. The big knock on Rivers as a head coach has been: “He can’t win in the playoffs.” You say it. It gets repeated. And it becomes fact without any further analysis. And now you’re doing him the greatest disservice. When the Celtics win, it’s because they have great talent. When they lose, it’s Rivers’ fault. And when they play great defense — record-setting defense, as a matter of fact — the credit goes to associate head coach, Tom Thibodeau.
First, let’s actually do some analysis on Rivers’ postseason coaching record. In Rivers’ first year with the Magic, Orlando missed the playoffs by one game. The following year, Orlando went into the postseason as a No. 7 seed, and lost in the first round to the Bucks, who advanced to the conference finals. The next year, the Magic, as a fifth seed, were swept by Charlotte, but two of the games went to overtime. And in Rivers’ last year with Orlando, the Magic were an eight seed, and took a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Pistons before losing in seven games.
Make of all that what you will. But none of those Magic teams won more than 44 games. Then, in his first year in Boston, the Celtics won 45 games and lost in seven to the Pacers. Again, a team slightly better than .500 didn’t make it out of the first round. Surprised? The only way to make the case that Rivers’ teams underachieved in the playoffs is to prove they underachieved during the regular season. And I don’t hear anybody making that case.
Instead, we’ve found another assistant coach we like to think is more valuable than the head coach. This phenomenon may have started in the NFL with Buddy Ryan. Then there was Brian Billick and Mike Martz. As defensive and offensive coordinators, they received higher acclaim than their head coaches. There are even those who like to take the shine off of Bill Parcells’ record by reminding us he never won a Super Bowl without his defensive genius, Bill Belichick, by his side.
Certainly, there’s no reason to suggest Thibodeau isn’t a fine man and a wonderful coach. But he’s not the man in charge. And I didn’t hear anybody ripping him when the Hawks won a couple of games in Atlanta by scoring over a hundred points. Nope, the losses are the fault of the guy who can’t get it done in the playoffs.
As the head coach, Rivers should expect some heat when his teams lose, especially if the 66-win Celtics can’t make it out of the East, but since he has to take the heat, shouldn’t he be given some credit as well?
Be fair.
Bob Halloran is a sports anchor and reporter. He’s also the author of “Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward,” published by The Lyons Press.
