Larry Brown Sports

Unless the Boston Celtics’ only goals heading into their game against the Brooklyn Nets were to get into a fight, have a star player get ejected and leave some nasty scratches on Kris Humphries, Wednesday night wound up being a night to forget for the guys in green. Doc Rivers was understandably unhappy after the 95-83 loss, and he certainly wasn’t impressed with his players for mixing it up with the opposition.

“I don’t think anybody should get thrown out of a game,” Rivers said when asked about Rajon Rondo’s first-half ejection, via WEEI.com. “We all have to keep our emotions. Hell, we didn’t come to play, as a team. That was awful, basketball-wise. If I’m Brooklyn and (other teams) in the league, you have to think we’re pretty soft, the way we’re playing. We’re a soft team right now. We have no toughness. That stuff is not toughness, all that stuff is not toughness.”

Jason Terry ripped Humphries after the game and called him a fake tough guy, but it sounds like Doc thinks his team should take a look in the mirror if they want to see a lack of toughness. In fact, Rivers said he believes that some of the newer Celtics players feel a sense of entitlement just because they wear a Boston uniform.

“You know, Kevin (Garnett), Paul (Pierce) and Rondo and a couple other guys – it’s almost like they understand the jersey they’re wearing and the pride,” Rivers explained. “And everyone else – and not everyone – it’s almost like they think because they put the jersey on that they are something. You’ve got to earn it here.

Fortunately for the Celtics, Wednesday night was only game 15 of a very long season. That being said, it will take more than just a Celtics championship tattoo for newcomers like Terry to prove they are what Boston needs to capture banner number 18. And Rondo? In hindsight, the swing he threw at Humphries was probably a bad idea.

Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE

Glen Davis is off to a hot start in his second full season with the Orlando Magic. The power forward is averaging nearly 15 points and 9 rebounds per game, and new Orlando head coach Jacque Vaughn has even named him a co-captain along with point guard Jameer Nelson. Davis never really seemed to fulfill his potential with the Boston Celtics, and he recently spoke about the difference in coaching styles between Vaughn and Doc Rivers.

“Different guys,” Big Baby told the Boston Herald before the Magic took on the Celtics. “Doc is more of a military-minded kind of guy, and Jacque is more of a Gandhi kind of guy. Soft but powerful.

“Doc’s more get the job done, and Jacque Vaughn is more the kind of guy who will ask you, Would you feel comfortable getting the job done? I think that’s different with players. But in my system, I think I just feel better functioning in Jacque’s system. Doc wasn’t the kind of guy to pat you on your back and say, good job, man. He’s more like, OK, move on. In a way that’s positive, but some players are different. Jacque’s a different kind of guy. He pats you on your back – good job. That’s his motivation. But at the same time he still holds you accountable if you’re doing things wrong.”

We certainly know Big Baby is sensitive, as evidenced by the time he cried when Kevin Garnett yelled at him or flipped on a fan who called him a name. Many players would tell you that Rivers is as much of a players’ coach as you will find, but some guys just don’t mesh well with their leaders. Davis praised Doc for getting his career off to a solid start, but based on the production it would seem that Davis, Rivers and the Celtics’ veterans just weren’t the best combination.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching change situation that took place a little over a week ago was about as bizarre as it gets. The fact that it occurred just a handful of games into the regular season made it even stranger. As you know, the Lakers eventually settled on Mike D’Antoni as their next head coach after firing Mike Brown. Whether D’Antoni was the right choice or not, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers feels that the Lakers disrespected Phil Jackson.

“I didn’t like the way it was done,” Rivers told Chris Russo of SiriusXM Radio’s Mad Dog Radio, via the L.A. Times.  “I don’t think you embarrass anybody.

“Whether you like Phil or not, he’s won a lot of titles and I think he was owed more than that treatment, in my opinion, especially (from) that franchise.”

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak recently said the decision to go with D’Antoni over Jackson was strictly a “basketball decision.” There’s nothing wrong with that, but like a lot of others Rivers feels that the Lakers were wrong to essentially offer the job to Jackson and then rescind their offer when he accepted.

As Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk mentioned, Kupchak basically confirmed that the Lakers never expected Jackson to accept the offer since he made it quite clear he was done coaching basketball. They had to make the offer to appease Lakers fans, but the situation got sticky when Jackson agreed to come out of retirement and owner Jim Buss was already set on D’Antoni being his guy. Even D’Antoni admitted he was stunned he got the job, which is all part of the embarrassment for Jackson that Rivers is referring to.

The NBA season begins on Tuesday with an exciting matchup between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Not only is the game a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, but it also marks the first game for Heat guard Ray Allen against his former team.

Allen chose to sign with the Heat in free agency and was called a traitor for choosing to play for Boston’s rival. Allen’s first game with the Heat — and first against Boston — will be a huge story line Tuesday. Naturally, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was asked about Allen leaving Boston during a recent interview. Rivers was completely respectful towards Allen, but he did point out that Ray did not have a good team attitude last season after being replaced by Avery Bradley in the starting lineup.

“You worry about a guy’s feelings, but you worry more about the team. If anything, Ray probably didn’t like that,” Rivers told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz on Friday. “I’ll always look at myself first with Ray; he wanted to ball more and things like that. I tell my guys every year, if you’re here for me to run stuff for you to look good, you’re in the wrong place. If you’re here for me to run stuff to make the team look good, you’re in the right place.”

Rivers also said he knew Allen wasn’t going to re-sign with Boston when the shooting guard stopped returning his and GM Danny Ainge’s phone calls.

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For some reason Ray Allen thinks Celtics fans will understand why he left Boston for Miami, but he’s wrong. The Celtics would not have won a championship four years ago without Allen, but the fact that he took less money to join the enemy when Boston is attempting to gear up for another title run has not gone over well with the fans. It also sounds like it hasn’t sat well with Doc Rivers, who said his relationship with Allen won’t change but that he is “disappointed” with the shooting guard’s decision.

“Just because I disagree or I’m disappointed in Ray’s decision doesn’t change the way I feel about him,” Rivers said according to the Boston Herald. “He talked to me. It was a good talk. You know how I am. A guy makes his mind up, I’m not going to try and change it. I respect him for all he did for us, and I thought he should have stayed with us. Actually, you just have to let it go.”

When Avery Bradley replaced Allen as the Celtics’ starting shooting guard last season even after Allen returned from injury, it was no secret that Ray was unhappy. With Boston signing Jason Terry, that would have likely meant less minutes for Allen with three solid shooting guards in the mix. Combine that with rumors that Allen struggled to get along with Rajon Rondo last season and it’s not exactly shocking that he left. However, Rivers thinks his decision may have had something to do with the Celtics focusing on Kevin Garnett when the offseason began.

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Tiger Woods could continue his incredibly inconsistent play for another five years and more than half of the golf world would still be checking the leaderboard on Saturdays and Sundays searching for his name. Doc Rivers is apparently no exception. As you have likely heard, Tiger won the Memorial on Sunday and tied Jack Nicklaus with 73 PGA tournament victories. He did it with the help of an amazing chip-in for birdie on 16, which is the shot that delayed Rivers from leaving his house.

“It was unbelievable,” Rivers said according to the Boston Herald. “I was trying to leave my house, and that delayed me, but that’s fine. That’s really cool.”

Fortunately for the Celtics, Woods was able to win the tournament by two strokes and a playoff wasn’t necessary. Had the Memorial gone into extra holes, I’m not sure Boston could have pulled out an overtime victory with Paul Pierce sitting on the bench. Good thing Tiger’s chip-in was for birdie and not for par.

To see a video of the amazing shot by Tiger that made Rivers late, click here.

Photo credits: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE, Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE

With the way the Celtics shot the ball in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami, they deserved to lose. The Heat capitalized on several easy-chance buckets and were able to hold off a few runs by Boston to protect their home court. The Celtics probably would have lost the game regardless of how it was officiated, but that does not excuse the actions of the game’s referees on Monday night.

Perhaps the officials were expecting a chippy series and wanted to put an end to any dust-ups before they began, but referees Ed Malloy and Danny Crawford took it too far on several occasions during Game 1 — particularly when Malloy gave Doc Rivers a technical for yelling, “Come on, Eddie!” It was the fourth of five Celtics technicals on the night.

“I know mine wasn’t (deserved),” Rivers said after the game according to WEEI.com. “I don’t know how long I’ve been in the league, but that has to rank as the worst I’ve ever had. I would have liked to have earned it.”

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