Ainge & DOC ON WEEI

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Ainge & DOC ON WEEI  Empty Ainge & DOC ON WEEI

Post by 112288 Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:28 pm

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rivers: 'We're not going to panic'

Having lost four straight games to drop three games under .500, the Celtics are clearly still trying to figure things out, a fact coach Doc Rivers acknowledged in his weekly interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI on Thursday morning.

“I don’t think the new guys understand what goes into winning consistently yet,” he said. “I think they’re getting that, I think it’s coming. I think you can see that. But no one is going to care as much as guys who have won a title. I think that’s literally impossible. They have something at stake, they’ve invested something already and they’re protecting something. The new guys want that and they have to find out how to do that.”

Specific roles have not yet been defined off the bench, Avery Bradley has just joined the rotation for the first time and Jeff Green and Brandon Bass have been inconsistent from game to game.

Could it be time for a shakeup?

“We’re always going to look to improve the team but we’re not going to panic,” Rivers said.

After all, the Celtic started last season 13-17 before figuring things out and making a run all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Are we seeing a similar scenario play out in 2012?

“Every year’s different. I’ve heard it lately, the last year thing. I don’t like the use of it,” Rivers said. “Last year’s last year and this year’s this year. I agree that last year there was more doom and gloom because we didn’t see the different players we could use. This year we think we have more, we just haven’t gotten more out of it. Like I told my players last night, it always starts with the coach and I have to figure out how to get more out of each guy.”

With the injury to Chris Wilcox and rookie Fab Melo not yet seasoned enough despite a dominant stretch in the D-League, the Celtics are in need of size.

“Our depth hasn’t shown. That’s one of the things we thought we’d have going into the year,” Rivers said. “That would be our biggest disappointment. I don’t know if we’re big enough yet. That’s something we’ll see.”


In an ESPN Insider piece posted on Wednesday, Kevin Pelton suggested the Celtics as a potential landing spot for Kings big man (6-foot-11) DeMarcus Cousins, who at 22 has high upside (he is averaging 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season) but was suspended earlier this season for conduct detrimental to the team. Pelton suggests a trade of Bradley and rookies Fab Melo and Jared Sullinger to Sacramento in exchange for Cousins.

Would the Celtics consider such a deal? Like Rivers stressed, the Celtics aren’t going to panic. At least not right now. But what if this team is still mired below the .500 mark when the February trade deadline rolls around? What if they’re still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture?

Between now and then, Rivers’ hope is that roles become more clearly defined and guys like Green start to deliver more consistently.

“He’s had his nights. I’m patient with Jeff,” Rivers said. “I understand what he went through last year (heart surgery). To me, I think patience is more important with him. We push him like no other. I’ve probably been on him more than any other player, I’m just trying to find the right button for him.”

And if Rivers can't find the right buttons for Green and the rest?
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Ainge: C's problems can be fixed

It appears that Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers are on the same page when it comes to trying to right the Celtics' ship before it's too late. Both are in wait-and-see mode.

A few hours after the Celtics coach said on WEEI "we're not going to panic" in response to a question on whether it's time for a shakeup, Ainge reiterated the message during an interview on the same radio station.

"I think Doc is probably going to try and tweak the lineup again and do some things different. We'll just try to be patient with this team as long as we can," said the president of basketball operations.

He said the return of Avery Bradley adds a new dimension to the team that could help turn things around, and that once the new starting lineup settles in and players perform to their potential, many of the problems will be corrected.

"This will be the first game coming up against the best defensive team in the league right now in [the] Indiana Pacers where we have our best lineup that played last year, and that was with Rondo and Avery and Brandon and KG and Paul. That lineup hasn't even played one minute together this year, so I'd like to give that a shot."

On the Celtics' struggles at making stops, he added:

"For whatever reason -- I'm not sure if they're incapable or they're not or they can't physically. Time will tell on that. But the reality of it is they haven't. And it's not just the new guys. I don't think our veteran players that have been here have played up to their capabilities yet either. I mean, we went from being the best team in the NBA last year defensively to the 21st best defensive team in the league right now, so that's concerning. But, I do believe that that can be fixed with attitude and health and practice time. I really do believe that. Our guys know how to do that."
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WEEI

DANNY AINGE: 'I'M HOPEFUL, BUT CONCERNED'
By: Christopher Price


Making his weekly appearance on "The Big Show," Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge acknowledged that the team "is not playing well," but at the same time, he said he continues to "see good signs." "I'm hopeful, but concerned," he said

"i thought last night was a step forward," Ainge added. "We don't have moral victories, but I thought our effort was better. We're still out of sync offensively. I think defensively has been the biggest problem over the course of the year, but last night, I think our problems came more in the halfcourt offense."

Here are some more highlights of his Q&A with Glenn Ordway and Michael Holley.

Did the games against the Warriors and Kings make you think different about what this team is and what this team needs going forward? "No, not those two games. The whole picture. That was a bad stretch -- every team has that, especially the Kings game. I think we were banged up. That was not us. The Warriors game, we did not play well. The Clippers game, we did not play well. I'm just looking at what we're capable of becoming, and I think we haven't found the right pieces. I think Doc is probably going to try and tweak the lineup again and do some things different. We'll just try to be patient with this team as ling as we can."

Can this be fixed with words, an attitude adjustment, or do you need make some deals? "Right. I think it's up to the players now. I think that Doc has certainly given them the right words and the right tools to play better. I think that these next couple of weeks are going to be huge to see where we are as we're starting to get healthy. I think Rondo is still not healthy. I mean, he's played the last few games banged up, and we're not the same when he's not 100 percent. And that's clear. He had a couple of good spurts last night, but he couldn't sustain it. I think that we really need to get a feel for our team. This will be the first game coming up against the best defensive team in the league right now in [the] Indiana Pacers where we have our best lineup that played last year, and that was with Rondo and Avery and Brandon and KG and Paul. That lineup hasn't even played one minute together this year, so I'd like to give that a shot."

On defense, this team is not making stops. The newer guys almost seem to be confused on the defensive end. Is that a learning process? "For whatever reason -- I'm not sure if they're incapable or they're not or they can't physically. Time will tell on that. But the reality of it is they haven't. And it's not just the new guys. I don't think our veteran players that have been here have played up to their capabilities yet either. I mean, we went from being the best team in the NBA last year defensively to the 21st best defensive team in the league right now, so that's concerning. But, I do believe that that can be fixed with attitude and health and practice time. I really do believe that. Our guys know how to do that."

On Kobe's comment about his team being "old as [bleep]," and if that's one of the concerns about this Celtics team. Is age a factor in their struggles, particularly when it comes to Pierce, KG and Jason Terry? "I would say those three guys are probably the least of our concerns, so I would have to say no. I would have to say no, that's not the case. Those are things that I worry about -- how much they have in the tank. And I know it takes a lot for them to get ready to play. I've said that a lot, KG and Paul, how professional they are. How much time they put in to get ready to play. But those guys aren't the main issues. I think they can all step up and play better defensively, night in and night out, possession by possession. But we have a lot of young guys on our team. We have Jeff and Courtney and Avery and Rondo and Brandon, and those guys are all in their prime or less than their prime when it comes to their age."

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