Celtics coach Doc Rivers was characteristically modest on Wednesday night upon being congratulated for his Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honor.
“I’m lucky,” he said before Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. “I have great players. Really, that’s all it is. I’ve got a great group of guys, and they pay attention to me half the time. Really, I’ve just got a good group of guys. That’s all it means.”
The job might seem easy with the coach surrounded by Hall of Fame talent every night, but Rivers has had a lot of personalities to juggle in his locker room — more than ever, as the C’s have added Nate Robinson, Delonte West and two All-Stars named O’Neal over the past calendar year.
“It’s a great position to be in, and a lot of coaches probably envy Doc, but I don’t,” said Ray Allen. “Not knowing what he has to deal with. You’ve got to make sure that as a coach, you suppress the anxiousness of the guys that want to play more and want to do more. We all want to do more, but you’ve got to know sometimes that what you’re doing is good enough. Those philosophies come from the coaching staff.”
Rivers’ Celtics are now 13-4, tied with Stan Van Gundy‘s Orlando Magic for the best record in the Eastern Conference. They’re a leading contender for an East title that would be their third in four years. Rivers has put the Celtics on the map as a perennial threat to win an NBA title.
“He’s done a great job of managing some egos, and some stars, and possibly some Hall of Famers,” said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. “They’ve been able to go through adversity in the sense of their injuries the last couple of years, and they’ve won a title. They’ve been there, and they continue to be there. The expectations are for this team to win a title, and he keeps them right there.”
