Boston's meek performances in Games 1-3, all losses, encouraged one reporter to ask head coach Doc Rivers if the Celtics need more personal pride. Rivers took offense.
WALTHAM – The results have been unsettling. The Boston Celtics have been thoroughly controlled by the New York Knicks. They have unraveled in a mess of turnovers and missed shots.
This represents a new level of lopsidedness for Boston. Since acquiring Kevin Garnett in 2007, the Celtics had at least competed in every series, had never looked completely outmatched even when falling to the Miami Heat in five games back in 2011.
Until the past week. Boston's meek performances in Games 1-3, all losses, encouraged one reporter to ask head coach Doc Rivers if the Celtics need more personal pride.
"I think they have that already. I think that is so overdone in my opinion," Rivers replied before a Saturday film session at the team's practice facility. "You don't think they have pride?"
The reporter told Rivers he was just wondering, and the coach continued: "But I'm asking you, you don't think we have pride?"
Finally, the reporter relented. He admitted that yes, he believes the Celtics have pride.
"Exactly," said Rivers. "Just because we have pride, so do they."
"Honestly, I think this group has a lot of pride," he continued. "But we have to play better with that pride. Pride is great. The Knicks, I'm assuming, have pride. But we have to play better, and we don't have a big margin of error. We knew that going into it, and unfortunately we've made errors.
"And to me at the end of the day, that's where I get back to the X's and O's part - we've made a lot of errors. Even early on first quarter, it was still close - the threes we gave up. We gave up shots that defensively, we can't give up. Offensively we broke down on sets that we work on every day. And so as a coach, you just keep pushing them to do it right. And it's hard.
"And sometimes their pride is what gets in the way. Every single guy wants to win. They win so bad they become an individual."
With retirement now an annual consideration for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and the Celtics obviously not the title contenders of yesteryear, Rivers was asked if the end seems more intimidating this season.
"I dread the end all the time," he said. "I really do. I just like to be able to know when the end is, meaning you're in Game 7 in the world championship. Then you know you're playing for the end. I hate when the end can come early, but I dread them all.
"I know as a coach, and maybe as a player too, I don't know when a season has ended and I was not lost for a week or two because I thought we'd still be playing, if it ends early. That's how I'm built. That's how you should be built, as a player and a coach."