Celtics' Reunion Week Doesn't Matter Anymore

Doc Rivers doesn't matter anymore.  He tries to make himself relevant by talking about himself in the days leading up to the game against the Celtics tonight.  He describes his acrimonious split with the Celtics as "his fault" that he walked out on them.  His regret is palpable.  But he knew the score.  In this year of Wiggins, Smart and Parker, it made more sense for mediocre teams to trade down in order to get a better lottery pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.  Rivers didn't want that anymore.  It's just that after all these years, he didn't have to be such a putz about it.

Now the Celtics are in full tank mode and the Clippers are 14-8.  Fast-forward to the question I posed to the boys earlier this morning when I began a recording of the Celtics-Clippers tilt.

"Guess who the Celtics are playing tonight?"

With less than full excitement, "Who, Dad?"

"The Clippers."  I answer.  When C asks me why that's important, I tell him about Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, but more importantly, Doc Rivers.

Doc River Doesn't Like You Either

"I hate Doc Rivers." C explains, without really knowing why.  Perhaps he saw one of his Instagram followers say that, now he echoes that same thought.

But in any event, in this lost season where the Celtics might tank all the way to the Third Seed in the Eastern Conference, this game has meaning.  First it was the woebegone Nets yesterday, now the Doc-led Clippers.  Can the Celtics embarrass themselves in front of all of the their 2012-13 players and coaches during "Reunion Week.  Too bad Lawrence Frank is still employed by the Nets.

7:30pm.  Tommy Heinsohn starts eulogizing Doc Rivers at the beginning of the broadcast.  Give me a break.  I'm more pissed that he didn't win 3 Championships.  That one Championship, while sweet, was disappointing in that it was the only one.  You can blame KG's injury in 2009 and Perkins' injury in 2010.  I blame the coaching.

Sullinger, G's favorite player starts out the scoring with a little runner for a 2-0 lead, then gets stuffed by DeAndre Jordan on his next shot.  Yup, this is going to be a long night, no matter how points Sullinger scores.  But wait.  Lob city arrives as Jordan Crawford alley oops to Avery Bradley for a 17-12 Celtics' lead.  The Celtics take a 23-20 lead after the First Quarter.  Maybe Rivers' tears are about more than Boston.  Like Tommy Heinsohn's osession with Chris Paul palming the ball.

During the Second Quarter, we were reminded about how much Rivers meant to the team.  Even he admitted that they were the best team int eh league in 2009 until KG went down.  The only thing of note was to see this interesting stat - DeAndre Jordan is first in the League in FG percentage but is last in the league in Free Throw percentage. Celtics lead at halftime 45-39.

Another Quarter and another free throw adventure for DeAndre Jordan.  He even air balled a free throw for crying out loud of his 5 misses.  And Doc Rivers is third all time in coaching wins for the Celtics?  That graphic is quite startling.  Clippers take a 66-64 lead after 3.

At this point, both boys tell me that they have to go to bed.  It being a school day and all.  I guess Doc Rivers has made a couple of other kids not care.  Clippers win 96-88.

Good riddance!