No Foolin', KG and Ainge Out for the Playoffs

April is now the cruelest month for Celtics' fans. Not only is All-Star Kevin Garnett out for the Celtics' 2009 play-off run but word is that Celtics' General Manager Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack as well.

I'm really not sure which is more surreal. On one hand, Celtics' GM Danny Ainge is only 50 years old and a former 3-sport athlete who is still in great shape for his age. On top of that, he is a Mormon who doesn't smoke or drink alchohol, yet after falling ill the other night, they found out that his artery was 100% clogged!

On the other hand, we were told all along that Kevin Garnett was going to be fine. His injury was mild and he could have come back sooner but that the Celtics were just giving him more time to be safe. They said he was going to be back for the last week of the season but since the playoff seed was solidified they thought starting up again in the playoffs would be the best just to get a couple extra days of treatment. Now Coach Doc Rivers tells everyone that he saw KG in practice on Thursday and there is no way he can go in the playoffs and probably will need surgery after the season!

Much like last year's injury to Andrew Bynum, Laker players and their fans were told repeatedly that Bynum would be ready for the play-offs until it was finally declared that he was done for the rest of the season. Now Celtic fans are left with a lot of questions. With the best medical expertise at their disposal, how is it that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge didn't know how serious KG's injury was and who really gained from this non-disclosure? Their players? The opponent? Certainly not the fans who have all year for another successful playoff run and now must pray for a Willis Reed-like apearance late in the play-offs by Kevin Garnett.

As Rick Pitino once said, "Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish aren't going to be walking through that door"...And now neither will Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, so it appears that the Celtics and their fans will need a lot more than the the luck of the Irish to repeat as World Champions this year.

Great minds think alike: Part 2

No more rants about Doc Rivers' play-off philosophy, substitution patterns, or lack there of. I just can't take it anymore, so I'll let people ike ESPN's Bill Simmons do the venting for me. In his recent article 'Pre-Game Speech', Simmons outlines his disgust for the team's play-off performance in a pretty funny way.

Great minds think alike

Celebrated basketball writer Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, ESPN, and NESN echoes my concerns regarding Doc Rivers play-off substitution patterns in his article 'Point System' from today's Boston Globe.

The Truth Will Be Known in Game 7

The Celtics lost a 12 point lead, their composure, and eventually Game 6 to Atlanta 103-100 Friday night. The series is now tied 3-3 and shifts back to Boston for a decisive Game 7.

The sports casts, news articles, message boards, and blogs are littered with questions and criticisms. How can the play-off team with the worst record challenge a team with 30 more wins? How can a team with the best road record lose 3 straight road games in of all places Atlanta? Why did Eddie House and Tony Allen only play a combined :22 seconds in the last game? Why was Rajon Rondo taking the last shot of the game?

In their history the Celtics have never lost a Game 7 after leading a series 3-2, but Coach Doc Rivers has never won a first round play-off series and is 0-2 in Game 7. Will the Celts continue their Game 7 dominance or will the Atlanta Hawks pull-off the biggest upset in NBA history? All these questions and more will have to wait until after Sunday's game.

Celts lose their cool and series lead

After having the best road record in the league this year, the Celtics have dropped two straight in Atlanta to tie their opening playoff series at 2 games a piece. Again, Coach Doc Rivers used peculiar substitution patterns and odd defensive match-ups that allowed the young, spirited Hawks to hang in there and eventually win the game 97-92. If this keeps this up and the Celts lose the series to a team with 30 less wins, then the only bench Doc will be managing next year is of the park variety in the Boston Commons.

Will Doc need malpractice insurance?

To begin, I am not a Doc Rivers basher and actually thought the coach did a great job this season. However, after the Celtics lost to the lowly Atlanta Hawks 102-93 last weekend, one has to question his playoff rotation.

If Doc's plan is to have Sam Cassell play a lot of minutes in an effort to slow down all the greyhounds the Haws have, it's just not working. When you're behind in a play-off game yet keep Eddie House and Tony Allen on the bench, you're losing the athleticism and a 40% 3-point threat that could get you back in the game. When Ray Allen got cold during the season, it was House that would be the spark off the bench to bail the team out of their shooting woes. Now Doc is giving all their minutes to Cassell. Both House and Allen are down from 19 min during the season to 4 min in the playoffs and the Celts' offense and tempo is completely different as a result. On top of that, Doc played the invlauable Leon Powe only 6 min in the last game and kept him on the bench the entire second half. Now if Coach Rivers thought that perhaps Powe did not match-up well with the Hawks, then the 9 point loss on Saturday only proves that he was sadly mistaken.

Finally, Casell's reputation has been that he pressures his coaches for more playing time, so if Doc Rivers is being influenced here (ala John MacNamara & Red Sox vets Jim Rice and Bill Buckner or Grady Little & Pedro) and the substitution pattern that worked so well during the season is now being abandoned in the playoffs, then the season will be a great disappointment and only Doc would be to blame.

Doctor's orders?

Celts' Coach Doc Rivers has decided to give the PGA tour (Pierce/Garnett/Allen) a rest before the NBA play-offs start. A couple of weeks ago Rivers said the team would practice less as the the grind of the season wore on the team. Then he said he would just alternate the practice routines to keep everyone fresh. Now Doc has decided to give his starters (other than Kendrick Perkins) games off during the last 6 games of the season.

True, chasing the best record all year long has been a grind, but the only player that probably needs the rest is Paul Pierce who has played every game this year. Both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have already missed time due to injury and are averaging less minutes per game than in previous years. Rajon Rondo is young and still needs his playing time to improve his game. At this point, any unnecessary rest could derail the team's momentum heading into the playoffs. Coach Rivers has done very little wrong this year, so let's hope he doesn't start now.