EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - It was April 13, 2007. The Celtics finished the season with a 104-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks to lock up the second-worst record in the NBA and the second-most ping-pong ball combinations in the NBA draft lottery.
Rivers had endured a season full of criticism of his coaching credentials, second-guessing of his substitution patterns, and derogatory assessments of his X's and O's acumen, but he remained steadfast in his belief that he was a capable NBA coach.
"I know I know what I'm doing," said Rivers that night. "You just wait for the day when you have the tools to prove that. I was laughing with someone the other day. I said, 'How did [San Antonio Spurs coach] Gregg Popovich get Tim Duncan?' They had a terrible record and he was the coach. Could he coach that year or did he become a better coach all of a sudden?"
Rivers proved prescient. Given the tools, the much-maligned coach has led the Celtics from the lottery to one win from hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy as NBA champions. In his first NBA Finals, he's outcoached Lakers bench boss Phil Jackson. That was supposed to be the Lakers' biggest advantage in this series: The Zen Master, winner of nine NBA titles, against Rivers, who despite leading the Celtics to the Finals for the first time in 21 years, still had his doubters.
But in the Celtics' incredible, instant classic 97-91 comeback win in Game 4 Thursday night, in which they rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit and trailed by as many as 24, Rivers came up with the master move. He switched to a lineup of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and reserves Eddie House and James Posey. Garnett and the four shooters spread the floor, forced the Lakers to stop double-teaming, and closed the quarter on a 23-5 run to trim a 20-point Laker lead to 73-71.
"Well, that changed the course of the game, obviously," said Jackson. "They spread the floor with that lineup and put some pressure on us to have to match up on screen rolls and also have some 3-point shooters available, and they hit shots in the second half."
Rivers also listened to one of his players. At halftime, Pierce implored Rivers to let him cover Kobe Bryant in the second half. Rivers made the switch and Pierce contained Bryant.
Checkmate.
"He knows the game better than anybody I've played with on this level," said Pierce.
Rivers, who has a 339-328 career coaching record in nine seasons, four in Boston, demurred when asked how it felt to have people declare he's outcoaching Jackson.
"I don't think it's true," he said. "I mean, Phil to me is the best coach, at least of my generation, to coach - him and Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich are the three best. I'm not in that class and don't deserve to be in that class. I ignore it.