What's a coach to do? Rivers isn't sure. He knows this much: If guys don't run the floor, he'll find someone who does. If guys don't get after it defensively, he'll find someone who does. And if the guys don't rebound, he'll . . .
He'll hope Antoine Walker and his bruised knee gets better really, really soon.
"We're not a physically imposing team," Rivers sighed. "Other teams score on us with ease."
You think this season has been easy? You have conveniently blocked out the turmoil surrounding Doc's no-nonsense style earlier in the season. You have forgotten the benching of Paul Pierce in the fourth quarter of a 1-point game against Milwaukee in early December, when he failed to fill the lane in transition. The Celtics hung on to win, but not before the star and the coach engaged in a very public and heated on-court argument. Remember when Rivers tossed Ricky Davis for his senseless yapping during an open practice? Then there was Pierce's comment that the Celtics never gave up 100 points when Rick Pitino was in charge.
Ouch. It was a shot directly leveled at Rivers, and it could have caused a different coach some serious angst.
"I wasn't too bothered," Rivers said. "I was thinking, `I haven't gotten to him yet.' It was too early. I had already decided he wasn't a bad kid, but he was an emotional kid. I knew he might pout for a while, but he'd be back."
He was right. Pierce returned to the fold and has stayed there ever since. He hasn't always liked what his coach has said or done, but he's bought into it all for the stretch run.
"The toughest thing is coaching a great player and asking him to get out of his comfort level," Rivers explained. "They have trouble understanding. They look at their game and say, `Hey, this works for me.' Then you've got to come back with, `Yeah, but it doesn't work for the team.'
