Coach Doc Rivers has put many Celtics fans at ease by announcing that he will be on call and returning next year to coach the Boston Celtics. Read more.
Doc has a PhD in winning, in his tenure with the Celtics he was amassed a 280-212 record, with a 41-30 playoff record. Doc Rivers can also be credited with reviving the Celtics franchise by winning the NBA Championship in 2008.
There’s a lot of question marks heading into the offseason for both Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics. The team is aging, and I don’t mean like a fine wine, but more like an arthritic canine. Free agency is also a huge issue facing the Celtics who may have locked up their skipper for another year, but the status of the rest of the Celtics remains uncertain. There’s plenty of questions for Danny Ainge and the Celtics brass to answer. Can the team find a way to rebuild and successfully compete for a championship next year or is this the end of an era? Paul Pierce and Ray Allen may be on the market and is resigning a duo that largely failed to get the job done against the Lakers the right move for the Celtics to make? Can Kevin Garnett perform and stay healthy for an entire season or do they need to pick up some insurance at the power forward? What about Kendrick Perkins and the questions surrounding his knee? Rasheed Wallace is already ghost, Rajon Rondo is locked up, and appears to be the future of the franchise, but is Nate Robinson a legitimate back up? There’s definitely more questions than answers for the Celtics who may potentially have up to 8 free agents to make decisions on.
For Doc Rivers, work doesn’t get any easier, he’ll have his work cut out for him no matter what team the Celtics put out next year, particularly without Tom Thibodeau, the architect behind the Celtics defense, and now the head coach in Chicago. Doc has grown attached to the Celtics as his second family. But it’s his first family that has caused the veteran coach to consider walking away from the game. Everyone can understand Doc’s wishes to be with his family and be able to watch his kids play sports, and you have to wonder how much Rivers can devote himself to a team that may not be in contention next year with all the question marks in the air.
If you’re futures betting man, the Celtic’s future couldn’t be predicted right now if you had a crystal ball. It could be a rebuilding year or it could be a risky attempt to keep the core of the team together and hope they stay healthy enough to compete, either prospect doesn’t sound all that enticing for the Celtics.
