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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 17, 2008

Doc Rivers

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach.

Q. Talk about what you saw in Kevin's workout today and where you guys go from here?
DOC RIVERS: Well, we go to practice tomorrow in Denver. You know, we're just going to wait and see. He looked pretty good. Moved well, but other than that, you know, you really couldn't tell a lot. The good thing is he did things pretty freely. He had free movement. But I think we're just going to wait and see in the practice tomorrow. Let him get his legs under him and then we'll go from there.

Q. You guys going to go pretty hard especially with the weekend and would he be involved in everything?
DOC RIVERS: You mean tomorrow?

Q. Yeah.
DOC RIVERS: He'll most likely be involved in the practice. He will not practice the entire practice, I would think.

Q. You're starting Chris instead of Kevin, just compare them and what do you think of Bosh?
DOC RIVERS: Well, I love Bosh's game. I don't think he gets the attention that he probably should get, you know. Just seems like all the other young guys when you mention the Wades and the Carmelos, you barely hear Bosh's name with them, and it should be with them.
I really think he deserves this. He's mentioned the most to play like Kevin, and they are similar. Probably more similar body types and similar games, but they do a lot of the things the same. They both have developed a post game. Obviously, Kevin has his, and Bosh is much better down there, and they still like scoring from the elbows, block shots. There are a lot of similarities.

Q. What did you think of last night seeing Dwight Howard flying through the building and just the whole show?
DOC RIVERS: I thought it was a terrific night. I was laying in my bed watching it on TV. I thought it was a great night for our league. I really did. I just thought it was not only a great show, but it was fun, too. You know, I thought Gerald Green's blowing out the candle, I think you missed that live, probably, but when you see it on the replay you appreciate it more.
And they had great smiles. It just looked like everyone was having a lot of fun and they were competing. Same thing with Kapono, I thought he was phenomenal. But Dwight put on a show that we've not seen very often. I think it's very similar to what Vince Carter did as an individual in the Dunk Contest. I thought Dwight did the same thing yesterday.

Q. Obviously the Boston Celtics don't think much of the Western Conference with Boston's record, but given the disparity in the conferences, is it important for the Eastern Conference to win an All-Star Game? Does it mean anything? And would you ever like to see something like baseball does where there is something put on the All-Star Game to add to it some competitiveness?
DOC RIVERS: I would love to win the game. It's a game. You should try to win it. I they hope all follow that suit. We'll find that out when I get into the locker room and talk to them a little bit more about that.
I would not like the baseball system. I think there would be too many guys that won't have a vested interest in the game. And I would not want one of those guys to have an outcome to where, let's say if we were the team that lost home court where there was a guy that is on your All-Star team that's not in the playoffs. It doesn't mean a lot to him. And I'm sure that same thing happens in baseball. So I would not want that.
The competition of the All-Star Game, I hope it just keeps increasing and getting better. There was a time when those games were played hard, and there was some defense, and so we're hoping that we can bring a little bit of that back.
I do think this from our team, we were destroyed last year. The guys who were part of that last year, I think will remember that. So it could be a really good game, at least I'm hoping for that.

Q. Just want to get your thoughts on all the trades that have been going on is, especially in the Western Conference. There hasn't been much going on the East, but when you see these All-Stars moving, and former MVPs moving, you guys got one this summer. Talk about some of the moves that have been happening.
DOC RIVERS: I don't pay a lot of attention, honestly. I mean, I do because you have to. The Lakers, we're done playing against this year so, I thought that was a terrific trade. And when we see them -- if we see them again, that means we're very happy that means we're both in the Finals and both sides would take that.
The other trade, the Shaq trade, I thought, was a great trade. When you get Shaq, he's proven wherever he's gone they've won. I've heard the negative side of that, I don't see it. We play them on Friday. Hopefully, you know, he's got a rehab for at least another 7 or 8 days, as far as I'm concerned that would be nice. But I think it helps them. I think it changes the way they'll play in some ways, but I don't think they'll do much change. I think they'll play very similar to the Magic Lakers, the way they pushed the ball up the floor. They didn't have it, and they waited for Kareem to come down the floor. I could see them playing that same way.

Q. Relative to Kobe's injury, to what extent when you were a player would people have actually gone out and attacked that injury? How much of that is still in today's game?
DOC RIVERS: You know, I don't know how much that is. You're calling our generation dirty players (smiling).
Well, we had a little rule, if you put something on your hand or on your body, that was a bullseye. I don't know if that goes on anymore. We actually talk about that. I don't think anyone wants to hurt anyone. But if you're going to go out and play injured, we're not going to let you beat us injured. That was the old-school thought. I think that's still prevalent today, but not as much.

Q. I know you've had some of your kids along with you, what has it been like for them to mix in with everybody?
DOC RIVERS: My kids?

Q. Yeah.
DOC RIVERS: It's what's made the weekend for me. I think that's what these weekends are about, honestly. It's about the kids and the fact that I'm a father, I have four, and three of my kids are here, it's made my weekend. They're back there now in the locker room. They took a picture today with Bill Russell. It's funny, my little one actually knew who he was, which was impressive. I think that's due to NBA TV. I really do. You see all the old-time games. Kids have a better history now. It's been special. It's been special for me because of that.

Q. Mike Bibby was on the West Coast and now he's going East.
DOC RIVERS: We don't like that trend, we like another trend, when they're going West.

Q. When you said you're not paying too much attention to it, how do you view this trade?
DOC RIVERS: I think it makes Atlanta better. You know, Mike Bibby's a terrific point guard. He's been hurt most of the year, but now he's starting to round back out in shape. It's an area that the Hawks have been looking for. They not only got a point guard, but they got a veteran point guard that's gone through playoff wars. So it's going to make them better. No doubt about that. It's going to make them very dangerous. Thank you.

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