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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERSJune 13, 2010Doc RiversBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Five Q. Are they doing anything to take something away from Rajon in particular? DOC RIVERS: Not really. You know, for us it's key for us to rebound and get stops so we can get him out in transition. But other than that, nothing really. Rondo just has to stay aggressive. I thought he kind of got back to that in the second half of Game 4. I thought he got away from it, you know, he missed a couple lay-ups. I thought he hung his head a little bit, and that happens. You know, I still think we forget how young he is. So he still has some growing to do. And I think he's actually doing it during the playoffs, and it's good. Q. You have to feel pretty good about your defensive approach to Kobe. In a game like this how much do you worry about him having one of those games, willing his way to it somehow, and how do you deal with that, plan for it? DOC RIVERS: You don't worry about it. I mean, hell, he's Kobe Bryant. We've talked about it before. We are going to have to win a game eventually in this series where he goes off for a big number. But that number, whatever it is, it's still not the final number. Other people still have to score for them. So as far as we're concerned, you know, we're just going to do our best. What we can't do is overreact to it, and I think that's where the great players get you, the LeBrons and the Wades and who we've already faced. They have that big game and everybody over reacts and want to change the defense and want to change things. No, we're just going to keep doing what we're doing. Q. The people in the city seem to really be talking a lot today about how this is your final home game, and they realize that. Are your guys thinking that way at all? Home court is one thing, but obviously knowing that this is your last time on the floor this year? DOC RIVERS: You know, our guys haven't talked about that a lot. I've heard it a lot. I think fans realize that we don't have Game 6 or 7 here, so this is our final home game. Our guys are really just focusing on the game tonight, and I like where our focus is, in this case, over the fans' focus. I don't know if players have a chance to look at big picture, or coaches in some ways. That's probably good. Q. Do you almost have to have two game plans, like one for if Andrew Bynum plays a lot of minutes and another game plan if he doesn't play very much? DOC RIVERS: No, we're going to play the same. Andrew is not going to change how we play. Again, usually the last six or seven minutes of the game Andrew is not on the floor; it's usually Gasol and Odom for the most part. That's what they've done over all year and they've done it in this series. But he is a factor, his size is a factor, his length is a factor, and offensively we do change things when he's on the floor to try to get the size out of the paint, but other than that there's not two game plans. Q. I guess two-part question: How was the extra day of rest? And beyond that, how do you carry some of the momentum from Game 4 into Game 5 knowing that momentum hasn't carried very much in this series? DOC RIVERS: No, it's two good teams, and so far every time one team wins, it feels like, from a coaching standpoint, that the other team comes in with an edge, a mental edge. They're more focused. You know, that was the first thing I talked about with our team after the game was at some point someone has to win two in a row, and actually we're the only one that has to win two in a row. So I'm hoping that that hits home with us, and we have that edge going into the game, the mental edge. Q. I was talking to John Havlicek the other night and he was saying he still feels like such a part of this. Can you talk about having those guys around, what it's like and just the way they've embraced the history of the franchise? DOC RIVERS: Well, it's the best. I don't know -- well, I do know there's no other franchise that can do it in that way. I guess the Lakers would be the other one. They're great because they're around in a positive way, all of them. When I first took the job I wrote every single player that had played for the Celtics, even if it was for one year, and just invited them back. I needed them around. I don't think you should ever run from tradition. I think you should run towards it and learn, and I think our guys have done a very good job with that, especially our young guys. It's just great to hear the stories. You're amazed, it could be 20 years later, and the stories sound the same as now. The language is a little bit different, but the stories do sound the same. It's amazing. End of FastScripts |
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