CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 5/12

In a Herald article, Danny defends his decision to extend Doc's contract. I had to read one quote a couple of times to really believe he said what he said.

“It’s easy to find things that every coach does wrong,” Ainge added later. “X’s and O’s are somewhat overrated in my mind. Critiques of substitution patterns and timeouts are overrated because, in my opinion, just about every NBA coach is on a fairly equal field in those regards. Those are the least of my concerns.

X's and O's are overrated? Substitution patterns and timeouts are overrated? I just don't know what to say to this. Not every coach is equal in these regards. X's and O's, substitution patterns, and knowing when to call time outs to settle your team or disrupt the momentum of the other team are crucial to wins and losses. We have lost games because Doc didn't put a defender on the inbounds pass. We have lost games because Doc didn't match lineups with the other team. We have lost games because Doc didn't have any rebounders in the game and we got killed on the boards. I have never once called for Danny to be replaced but if Danny truly believes this, it is time for him to go.

The Globe tells us that Doc's contract is loaded with incentives. The farther he gets into the playoffs, the more he gets paid. I wonder if there are incentives for the other side also. Every time he makes a stupid coaching move, pulls a player who is on a roll, or puts Scal back in the starting lineup, he has to give money back.

Celtics.com has Part 2 of the interview with Chris Wallace. He gives his insights on Oden, Durant, Yi, Noah and others. He echoes Danny's words that the draft is deeper than just Oden or Durant. And he discusses tweeners and players who have to change position from college to the pros.

Bill Simmons offers another of his mailbags over on ESPN.com. Poor Bill is beside himself over Doc's extension. He leads off with this question:

Q: Would you eat a poop hot dog to guarantee the Celts the top pick in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes?
--Tom, Salt Lake City
SG: I'm already eating a poop hot dog -- it's called "the Doc Rivers extension."

And it gets better as he discusses a reality show called "The Celtics GM." and discusses a lot of other topics as only the Sports Guy can.

WLKY.com tells us that Rondo is home after the season and working on his game as well as giving back to the community by running some basketball camps for kids.

The Courier Journal has what is meant to be an encouraging article for Louisville fans but is rather depressing for Celtics fans.

It was 10 years ago this week that Rick Pitino took the 36.3 percent gamble. Ten years ago this week that Pitino left the University of Kentucky to fix the Boston Celtics.
Ten years ago this week that Pitino could not escape the irresistible allure of coaching Tim Duncan, a player with the skills and ego to fix any basketball team.
Ten years ago this month that Pitino had a 36.3 percent chance to win the lottery and select Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft — and lost.

Ten years ago, I remember that horrible feeling watching the draft lottery when we slipped to the 3rd pick. I had endured a terrible season and hopes were high just as they are now that the future would be better. And then one bad move after another by Pitino doomed the Celtics for 10 more years. I say it is time for the Celtics fortunes to turn around. We have suffered enough. I hope this lottery will have a much better result.

Can Danny has just a little piece on Gerald Green coaching his little brother's basketball team. The article makes fun of it, but can you imagine being a little kid and being coached by an NBA player, and the slam dunk champ at that? How great for those kids.

Finally, the lottery watch is down to 10 days. Just 10 more days until we know the Celtics fate. I wish I could be more positive about this but history has been unkind to the Celtics. I think the only time we ever got a #1 pick was back in the 50's. We should have won it in 1997 but the ping pong balls didn't bounce our way. So much rides on this lottery and this draft and this off season. I just hope and pray that our luck is going to change with this draft. Although with Danny making statements like he did in the opening paragraph, I am a bit worried.

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