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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 15, 2010

Doc Rivers

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Six

Q. Are you surprised 3-2 at this stage in the series, you guys are up and there's no clear MVP performance from game to game from one player?
DOC RIVERS: You mean for us?

Q. Yeah.
DOC RIVERS: No, I'm not that surprised by that. We've been a team all year. It's been different guys, and the reason we're here, I think, is because our guys accept that. I don't think they worry about who the MVP is. I don't think they care. I think they're more concerned about winning.

Q. Does it shock you that Kobe is playing like MVP and they're still down?
DOC RIVERS: Well, he is an MVP, so it's not a shock. He's a great player, and great players play great on big stages. We're not surprised by that. We felt that he would, and we felt that we could still win games.

Q. Did you anticipate and did you talk to Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins that the Lakers might try to get a technical foul from them which might potentially eliminate them from the next game?
DOC RIVERS: Yeah, we don't talk about it a lot. They've been under that for the last couple games. They only have one more game to go, and that's this one. Whether we win or not will not matter as far as if they get a tech in that one. This is the last one that they're under -- I don't know, what is that, a cloud? I don't even know what you call that, but they're under it. This is the last game for it.

Q. What did you think of Ray before you got him in terms of his defense? And once you got him, what changes did he make defensively or what did you ask him to do defensively that maybe no one else had?
DOC RIVERS: Well, I asked him to play defense. I thought it was very important for our team, and I also thought he would. I really did. When he was in Seattle he was trying to carry an entire team at that point. He had the ball in his hands entire possessions. I mean, that's exhausting. I thought he would do it because he wanted to win, and he had a group of guys that were willing to do it. You know, and the fact that we had Kevin I thought really allowed me to sell it.
He's been fantastic. Mentally tough. A lot tougher than I thought. I didn't know if he was or not because he was a scorer, and an outside shooter. Then when we got him, we found out he's a tough, tough guy.

Q. Also your defensive philosophy in this series was to do the best you can against Kobe but don't let anybody else go off. Was that the same philosophy you had in the previous three series?
DOC RIVERS: Well, it's been our philosophy throughout. By the way, we do try to stop Kobe and LeBron, we just haven't done a very good job of it because they're great. But we have to play defense on everyone. You know, we're not saying that -- what we're saying is we can't get mesmerized by one; we have to guard all five.

Q. You obviously have gotten a lot out of your bench in Games 4 and 5, and Phil was talking a couple minutes ago about how the home team usually has an advantage with regard to the bench. Do you have to manage your bench in this game and possibly in Game 7 differently than you would have at home?
DOC RIVERS: Well, you hope not, but you're prepared to. I think Coach is right. I think role players tend to play better at home. I don't think that's anything new. We knew that. We do have a different cast of players with Rasheed being a veteran and Nate and Baby are so emotional they could possibly play well on the road. You just never know what you're going to get from them. But that is true, you do prepare yourself to extend your starters' minutes on the road. You always do.

Q. 2008 you guys faced a Game 6, the core of your team hadn't been there, you guys found a way to do it, close it out. Does that mean anything tonight?
DOC RIVERS: I don't know. If it does, I hope it helps us. But I'm not sure if it does or not. It should in some ways, our starters. But I'll tell you guys, every game is different, every series is different, and even though a lot of guys have that experience, you can't bank on that being a factor for you. You know, the key for us is to play the game, the 48 minutes, and not worry about the 49th minute. I think that's when teams get themselves in trouble.

Q. We're on the verge of a draft where a lot of promising players will go to all sorts of different situations. How much is Rondo a product of the environment he's been in with you guys initially and then after the Ray and KG trades and the guys that have gone off. What would have his career path been if he had gone to a struggling team and stayed there?
DOC RIVERS: That's a good question. I don't know the answer actually. I think it's been very good for him to have the veterans around him. Being around Kevin and how professional he is and Ray and how professional he is and Paul and just watching how Paul plays and works, it has to help. I think it's been great for him and Perk and Baby, I think all of them. More the professionalism and routine for young guys. Most young guys come in the league, they don't even know what a routine is, where if you ask a veteran what he does on game day, he can probably tell you to the second every step that day until the game starts what he's going to do. So I think all that stuff has helped, and it's scary to know that the draft is close. I hadn't thought about that at all.

Q. Both times you've done the cross-country flights during the series you've had one extra day off. Are you more cognizant of getting guys rest?
DOC RIVERS: I haven't figured it out. I don't think anyone has. This was a tough one. It's just a tough one. With us not a lot of time. We watched some film and walked through stuff in ballrooms.
It's a tough one. I wish there was more time, but there isn't. Both teams are in the same predicament, so we'll deal with it.

Q. What things did you stress to the players after the last victory that you wanted to see them continue to utilize tonight?
DOC RIVERS: Well, the first couple were not very positive honestly. It was funny, we won the rebounding but we really got crushed rebounding as far as I was concerned. The offensive rebounds is what allowed them to stay in the game. We turned the ball over too much. And the first thing we talked about is we got away with that in a home game, we will not get away with that on a road game. We have to do a better job taking them off the offensive glass. We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We gave them too many scoring opportunities. That was first. The second is we've just got to stay focused and play.

Q. There was a lot of talk the last series about treating Game 6 as a Game 6. Obviously these circumstances are a little different, but can you talk about the urgency of Game 6? And is there still that kind of discussion?
DOC RIVERS: Always, and teams tend to say that more after they win the Game 6. They say they treated it as a Game 7, and when they lose the Game 6 they're saying, well, not really. But it's a fact, obviously, for us. We want to avoid a Game 7. We just want to avoid another game. We've got a chance to win now, so that should be our urgency, is right now.
But you know, the Lakers have the same urgency, and their urgency is to play another night. I think you're going to see both teams' best tonight.

Q. Do you have any sense what you might get from Kobe Bryant? I mean, Phil talked about him riding the hot hand, but on the same side was looking for more assists out of Game 5. What are you preparing your guys for?
DOC RIVERS: His best. I mean, that's all you can assume for is he's going to give us his best game, very similar to last game and maybe more, maybe more assists, more rebounds. That's why he's Kobe. But that's fine. I mean, we understand that. But we have to figure out a way of winning the game if that happens.

Q. This question doesn't work after the game if things go your way, so I'll ask now: How does it feel for you being on the cusp of your second championship in three years as a coach?
DOC RIVERS: Don't know. Don't have a feeling right now about it. I tell our guys, you shouldn't feel anything until you do it. You know, you've got to just stay focused on your job and doing your job first. I can tell you all about 2008, I can't tell you anything about this one because we're still in it.

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