"If you come off the two series they just had, I mean, they beat two very good teams, and they made us look like we weren't very good teams, OK?" Van Gundy said. "I think you have to be fair and say a lot of it had to do with them, and they are playing very, very well right now." The C's have been underdogs in the last two series. Then they waxed the Cavs and Magic, leaving no doubt as to the better team.
No one saw this coming; all winter long Boston appeared talented, but faded. They had an incredible start, but an uninspired second half of the season. KG's injury kept the starting five apart for long periods. They backed into the playoffs--though, in the East, that wasn't too difficult.
At some point, NBA observers have to start giving Doc Rivers his due. That hasn't happened as of this writing. Rivers hasn't built a sizable resume'. So even if Boston goes all the way, we can't quite put him in the Phil or Popovich category, yet. To get on that level, he'll need success with a different group of players. Maybe with a new team. Doubtful he's going anywhere, any time soon. We can talk for miles about the Big Three, and Rondo, who's in the process of taking over this team.
But Rivers deserves credit too. He'll have to win the title again, to get some.
