Saturday, July 14, 2012
Doc Rivers: Blunt to the core
I was poking around various sites to get my summer fix of Celts news, now that they're loaded up with so much young talent, and I just stumbled across this minor article about the Orlando Summer League. At the end, in a throwaway bullet item, Doc Rivers is asked about the play of Jajuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. He basically dumped on them. But it wasn't harsh criticism. It was analytical criticism. There's a difference. He just quickly dissected their strengths and weaknesses and left no doubt he wasn't overly impressed. Then it was off to his charity golf tournament. ... His bluntness is refreshing, and almost a little scary. He's certainly no Mr. Sensitive with young players. ... Speaking of the Orlando Summer League, I don't recall summer-league play getting as much attention in the past as it has this year. I even saw the Celts-Pistons game, played in the Magic's high-school-gym-like practice facility, on TV at a local restaurant the other day. Granted, it was NBA.TV and it was a classic dog-day-of-summer afternoon. Not much else was on. But there were a bunch of people watching the game while eating lunch, commenting on the Celts' rookies and prospects this season, etc. Quickie conclusion: There's surprisingly strong off-season interest in the Celts this year. They've made some sharp moves since the 2011-2012 season ended. ... Needless to say, the dismally dull performance of the Sox this year is also contributing to fan interest drifting elsewhere.
I was poking around various sites to get my summer fix of Celts news, now that they're loaded up with so much young talent, and I just stumbled across this minor article about the Orlando Summer League. At the end, in a throwaway bullet item, Doc Rivers is asked about the play of Jajuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. He basically dumped on them. But it wasn't harsh criticism. It was analytical criticism. There's a difference. He just quickly dissected their strengths and weaknesses and left no doubt he wasn't overly impressed. Then it was off to his charity golf tournament. ... His bluntness is refreshing, and almost a little scary. He's certainly no Mr. Sensitive with young players. ... Speaking of the Orlando Summer League, I don't recall summer-league play getting as much attention in the past as it has this year. I even saw the Celts-Pistons game, played in the Magic's high-school-gym-like practice facility, on TV at a local restaurant the other day. Granted, it was NBA.TV and it was a classic dog-day-of-summer afternoon. Not much else was on. But there were a bunch of people watching the game while eating lunch, commenting on the Celts' rookies and prospects this season, etc. Quickie conclusion: There's surprisingly strong off-season interest in the Celts this year. They've made some sharp moves since the 2011-2012 season ended. ... Needless to say, the dismally dull performance of the Sox this year is also contributing to fan interest drifting elsewhere.
