Celtics' Doc Rivers speaks about team unity

The Celtics, in what we now know was their championship season, needed a concept that would bring them together - something that would bond 9 new players plus 6 existing players into 1 team. That philosophy was captured in one word - Ubuntu. Think of a rope - it is made strong because the individual twine is woven together as one.

Watch the interview (thanks to Marquette Magazine) with Boston Celtics' Head Coach Doc Rivers and Stephanie Russell (Exec. Director for Mission and Identity). Concerning teams, two quotes really stand out - 1) "a person is a person through other persons" and 2) "being a coach, the way you introduce something the first time is the most important time."

http://www.marquette.edu/magazine/recent.php?subaction=showfull&id=1223391536&archive=&start_from=&ucat=12&

Letting players coach

Recognizing the valuable learning that takes place when players teach, Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers commented "it makes them think, which is good." In a weekend Boston Herald article, Coach Rivers outlined why he has allowed the players to run their scrimmages over the past few days. The concept of role reversal has worked in the coach's favour, as evidenced when he offered "they get frustrated when guys don't execute, and then I say 'yeah, that's how I feel all day.' It's a good learning tool for everyone." The complete Herald article follows:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20101024doc_rivers_allows_team_to_run_scrimmages_coach_plays_along/

Playoff strategies - apply them all season

On March 16th, thoughts were provided regarding tournament strategies and how they should really be applied all season. The same can be said of the NBA playoffs. The lessons and messages from the coaches of the four semi-final teams have likely been stressed repeatedly. Even though the playoffs seem to provide the bigger spotlight and microscope, if the concepts below aren't addressed in the regular season then a team will not even make the playoffs. Some recent quotes to ponder:

• "Most disappointing to me was I didn't have our team better ready to play," (Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy)
• "It's my job. I'm the coach of this team. It starts with me and I'm not happy with where we had our team tonight or anything I did." (Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy)
• "He's leading the team. He's playing with great focus. He's giving an amazing effort, never giving up on any possession." (Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers commenting on the play of his point guard, Rajon Rondo)
• "We've found a number of ways to score." (Lakers coach Phil Jackson commenting on his team's unselfishness and every player being involved)
• "Every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down.......they go somewhere else" (Suns coach Alvin Gentry regarding the Lakers having many players that attack, the sharing of the ball, and the subsequent difficulty to defend)
• "It was a defensive game, and we like those.......everyone is healthy, everyone's listening, and everyone's buying into our defensive schemes." (Celtics coach Doc Rivers)
• "As a coach you try to look at situations and try to put them in the best positions to see if they can execute and do some things that would help us defensively. Didn’t work, so we’ll try something else." (Suns coach Alvin Gentry on defensive game-planning, using his defenders, trying to exploit a team's weakness)