Doc Rivers: ‘We Still Don’t Know What The Expiration Date Is’

Bob Ryan reports: “When this Celtics unit was first assembled, the operative phrase was ‘three-year window.’ ‘Yeah, we got ’em,’ says coach Doc Rivers, whose team defeated the Raptors, 91-87, in an exhibition last night at the Garden. ‘I mean, we still don’t know what the expiration date is. It could be a year, it could be two years, it could be the middle of this season.’ This much we know: it was all worth it. The scoresheet after three years is one championship, one Game 7 loss in the second round (without Kevin Garnett), and one excruciating Game 7 loss in the Finals. What president of basketball operations Danny Ainge did by taking enticing young talent and draft picks (you’re free to factor in the largesse of Kevin McHale) and turning a 24-58 team that had lost 18 straight into an instant champion will go down as one of the great managerial maneuvers ever. Anyway, they’re back again, the basic core fortified by a cavalry that includes the old (Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal), the young (Avery Bradley, Luke Harangody), and the in-between (Delonte West)… Year 4. Call it Bonus Year, call it Retribution Year, call it Geezer Year. Call it I Can’t Believe It’s Happening Year. But it’s here.”