Doc Rivers Wants the Boston Celtics to Hate the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat, the defending NBA champions, have somehow managed to fly under the radar during the offseason. You can largely thank the reloaded Los Angeles Lakers for that.

Doc Rivers isn’t losing focus on what the true enemy of the Boston Celtics is, however. The head coach wants his team focusing all of its energry — and hatred — on the fellas in South Beach.

From Celtics Blog (via YouTube user TheFabEmpire):

“Honestly, I don’t care about the Lakers,” Rivers said. “My honest thought as a coach right now … I have my eye squarely on Miami. I come up to my players during the year — they’re in the facility now — I bring up Miami every single day to them. I want them to hate them. I want them to beat them. That’s got to be our focus.”

“I think the Lakers are better,” Rivers continued. “I’m actually not one that thinks they’re way better. The guy they traded, (Andrew) Bynum, we struggled to guard him. Dwight (Howard) is a great player, but we’ve guarded him pretty well. Offensively, the (Steve) Nash part is different. I look at them and wonder how that’s going to work. I hear they’re going to run the Princeton offense, which I want to see the ball move, I want to see Kobe (Bryant) keep moving the ball. But it’ll be interesting. They’re really good.”

Miami has eliminated Boston from the Playoffs the last two seasons, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue that the result would be the different should those teams meet in the postseason again this year.

Hating the Heat won’t be a problem for the Celtics — they’re beyond that at this point, or at least should be. Beating them is an entirely different story.

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Tags: Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat

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hyperactive

Sign “The Allen Iverson Back to the NBA Petition”
http://www.change.org/petitions/nba-commissioner-david-stern-allow-allen-iverson-to-play-in-nba-again-and-retire-like-a-great
danpowers

shaq also joined the lakers at another age and with more experience, which is the best teacher. didnt look at it that way tho. but you dont think his numbers will go up when he gets the ball down low more often? we are just talking about some figures behind the , anyway when it comes to assists with these guys. i also added somewhere here that neither bynum nor dwight will ever become a divac-like post passer.
Junior Taylor

One way to pretend that you’re busy is to look annoyed.
danpowers

lol
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

oh no, neither are elite level passers by any stretch. But Bynum is bad. Like really really bad. Dwight is just “meh” – Bynum’s numbers might go up, but that doesn’t = his ability going up. He is going to probably get more assists this year, but he is also going to turn the ball over more. He’s going to score more points….but he’s also going to miss more shots. His efficiency is going to take a big hit in Philadelphia. He went from having more talent than anyone else around him and at best, the 3rd best player on his team his entire career, to the best player on his team with very little talent around him. We thought we saw immaturity from Bynum before? He has never experienced what he is about to.
- I am not nearly as high on Bynum leaving and having success as everyone else seems to be. I have always believed, the better talent brings out the better player, the worse talent, brings out the issues with a player. I think Bynum will still be a top tier Center in the league, but I don’t at all think these favorable comparison’s to Dwight and all that optimism will continue into next summer.
danpowers

always depends on the situation. you are right, sometimes guys go down with their “bad” squads but some also rise to the occation. i dont know bynum personally so i dont know what he is made of. i just tend to be optimistic about players when it comes to potential and upside until they prove me wrong.
hardtimz

That kind of hate/talk reminds me of the Jets hating the Pats, did everything they could to send the Pats home. They did, but was not ready for the next game the… Steelers. That’s going to be really tough to rally 82 games+ playoffs and however far they can go. It’s going to be an interesting season…”CAN’T WAIT”!
hardtimz

LOL works every time
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

that’s fair enough to me.
hardtimz

That’s true they all look good on paper…there is a lot said for the word chemistry!
hardtimz

yea, no matter where James played
hardtimz

Yes, one of my favorites too. Signaled that James was growing up…not playing stupid mind games.
http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

Why do people think Bynum still has tons of room to improve by Dwight is finished with improvement? They were drafted one year apart man. Dwight is a sucka, but he doesn’t pout on the floor and he did his damage despite a lot fewer shot attempts and offensive touches. I think people rate Bynum too highly. When you see his turnover rate next year with all those determined double teams, y’all will understand what’s really going on.
hardtimz

great point reminds me of Jets sending the Pats home!!!
hardtimz

sorry to be mean, but…why?
http://twitter.com/AjpDos Allen Powell

Bynum isn’t even close to Dwight as a passer. Bynum is where Dwight was two years ago when he couldn’t handle a double team and was a turnover machine. Y’all will see when the entire offense runs through Bynum just as it has for Dwight for many years. Bynum is a black hole right now.
Max

Great. Thank You.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

Yeah, because that’s going to work out well. Kobe not touching the ball. We’ll see how that goes.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

I highly doubt that those guys feared LeBron at all. Before he got to Miami, they beat him twice in the playoffs. No reason to fear. KG, Ray, Paul and Rondo don’t seem to be concerned about who owns the media. As for owning the league, LeBron’s been the best player for a solid 4 or 5 seasons but team-wise, there was nothing to fear until he joined with D-Wade and Bosh. And even now, they don’t seem to fear them even though they have lost to them two seasons in a row in the playoffs. If they were afraid, we would see it in how they play. Look at the careers of those guys specifically KG and Pierce. Why would they fear LeBron? The hatred, if there is any, is simply from playing against a guy or a team multiple times in the playoffs just as any other rivalry gets started.
roscoe

hahaha…
roscoe

doc is fantastic. for everyone who disagreed w/ me about KD, this is what I am talking about. respect your competitor, but don’t hold his back pack.
roscoe

but hearing the state of the union out of doc is always welcomed imo.
roscoe

grunting works too, but don’t ever smile too much at work.
roscoe

imo drew was doubled quite a bit more than I believe u r remembering. I will say he was turning into a black hole so to speak.
roscoe

dh12 = better defender, better at picNroll, better rebounder, more atheletic
drew = better passer, better hands, better offensive player, better shooter, worse knees
roscoe

@teddy-the-bear: wake up! drew had to defer to KB24 my man. that impacts the stat line imo.
roscoe

does ur guarantee come w/a 30 day return policy?
roscoe

wow
roscoe

Don’t forget da celtics signed the Mav’s Cessna.
roscoe

hype or reality?
huggy55

This video sounded just like what I would hear walking down the street in Miami on any given day.
23

LeBron single handedly ended their title hopes the past 2 years. Even tho their best player played insanely great. The Celtics had Lebron this year, then Lebron sucked the life out of them. He scared them in game 6. And it showed in game 7.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

Rondo didn’t look scared in Game 7. At all. Neither did KG or Pierce. These are grown men playing. Not boys. KG has been playing for 17 seasons. Pierce for 13. Rondo’s a top 5 PG. There’s no fear in those guys regardless of who they’re playing. LeBron didn’t scare them. He just beat them. You can lose without being afraid of who beats you.
Chubachuchi

Haha yall need to check out dude’s account he has tons of these the funniest is the Dwight/Bynum parody check him out
Datkid

the celtics fear no one. that’s why they’re the celtics. Lebron put 40 10 and 10 on them and they wouldn’t back down.
Dagger

Howard’s shot attempts last year: 13.4. Bynum’s: 13.3. Neither player was shooting enough; neither player was getting enough shot attempts. But Bynum was consistently in great position against overmatched defenders, with Kobe frequently choosing to shoot it instead. Looking at usage: Howard was at 26.1%, while Bynum sat at 23.8%. So, in fact, Howard had the ball more often. He also turned it over more often (3.2 to 2.5). Of course, Howard had the ball more and didn’t have as much help on his team, but then Bynum did draw a lot of double teams. The Lakers’ offense was pretty broke last year; it’s not as if the ball was flying around the court from one star to another. Often Kobe would go for his shot against 2 or 3 defenders, or when Bynum got the ball he’d post up against a double team. He was really efficient in those situations. As for pouting: I’ve seen Howard pout plenty of times. To be honest, while both players pout both players were also frequently justified in being pissed on their former teams. If you’re a beast inside, why would you be happy when your teammates are jacking up shots from the perimeter?

Am I saying Bynum is better than Howard? Of course not. But Bynum is no slouch and parts of his offense are better than Howard’s. Given that he’s two years younger, the jury is still out on what his ceiling really is. Like you said, next year will tell us a lot.
roscoe

@byanymeansnecessary: Question_did you watch the olympics? kb24 appeared to do well not touching the ball as much as he did in 08.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

Did you see who he was playing with? LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony? It’s easy to pass to those guys. If Kobe wasn’t all that interested in passing to Gasol and Bynum, why all of a sudden do people think he’ll give up the ball to Gasol and Howard? Have people forgotten that before the All-Star break, Dwight decided he didn’t want to go to LA after Kobe told him that he would be a good fit in LA as his Tyson Chandler? What’s changed in Kobe’s mind since February?
hardtimz

Yes, why? When Allen Iverson was at his best, not many were better than him. Can’t quite remember the game he was playing. M.Jordan was guarding him, and AI crossed over him and still made the basket. For me, AI ushered in the next generation. However he waisted his pure talent. He was not the biggest player out there, but he played tough and a lot of heart. I just feel like given too last chances, didn’t take any of them seriously.
roscoe

To begin with ur argument is weak due to ur evidence’s lack of correlation to the subject.
Question 1: yes i saw who kb24 played with in the olympics
Question 2a: kb24 & gasol play well 2gther… and kb24 did pass the ball to drew. the LAL offense was designed to go high low w/ the ball going into the first big down the floor. So ur question is a bit vague but if you ask a better question I might be able to help you understand. Additionally, kb24 is a 2 which many ppl like u have a difficult time understanding is not traditionally a facilitor as much as u want to complain that kb24 is not magic or bron bron.
Question 2b: S. Nash will be the pg, so lets c how things play out.
Question 3: From ur question it appears to me that u may believe all the hype agents and journailst put out in the media. I have an idea for u. find the podcast of dh12 interview w/ ric b. from espn then tell me what u believe dh12 opinion was at the allstar break.
Question 4: You are asking a question that is based on logical fallacy so there is no need to answer.
Clearly kb24 is a winner & plays team ball when it is the best option… the arguement you and so many others have is “when” should kb24 play team ball or carry the team.
Ur argument would be stronger if u explained why & when is the appropriate time of team ball & when is the time for him to carry the team.
Datkid

so? a healthy wade will do terrible things to Jason Terry’s ancient @ss.
Datkid

by any means has a legit point and none of those are actual points. let me break this down for you. Kobe is now on a team w/ 3 legit of hall of famers… he will rarely need to “take over” if he plays w/in the offense and moves the ball(nobody is saying he has to be magic but he’s not nearly the passer he could be) he’ll win. if he isos and makes everyone spot up, he will lose. period.
Datkid

Everyone seems to have this hilariously huge hard on for bynum this year for no reason. I disagree for like a million reasons. stop saying bynum’s more versatile on offense than howard. bynum can’t run a pick a roll like howard, bynum can’t pass like howard and bynum can only post up kinda better. Dwight has had a fairly effective if mechanical post game for a while. and bynum is just too slow to ever be a better defender. and you can whine about trades and pouting for a while…. fact is dwight has never given up on the magic in the playoffs while he was with them.. he always gave 100%. Bynum blatantly quit against OKC. Howard > Bynum. stop saying otherwise
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000579237351 Ruben Torres

And on the next season they’ll gonna hate the heat again…and again ! ! !
Drig

A gazillion likes. As much as I hate them, intimidated is one word that I’d never associate with this old ass celtics team. Their pride doesn’t let them be. Respect.
Drig

Or the fact that Bynum didn’t have much chance to work on his game for two off-seasons because of injuries. Not saying that I believe them but hard to disagree with what Bynumites believe….
Pingback: Boston Celtics have made Miami Heat their new enemies Doc Rivers – FanIQ (blog) : Hot Miami Heat Blog
23

They try so hard to mask their fears its pathetic. They resort to mind games. The Celtics hate seeing Lebron in the playoffs. If they say they aren’t afraid they’re lying. Everybody in the NBA fears Lebron. Rondo plays his best in the playoffs, yet its never enough.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

Evidence’s lack of correlation to the subject? The subject is Kobe’s desire to pass the ball instead of taking bad, contested shots. Especially with the best frontline in basketball. Kobe didn’t share the ball as much as he should have or could have. That’s really it. Nothing complicated about that. What I believe is what I see, not “hype agents” or the media. The appropriate time for team ball is when you’re playing with the most skilled big man in basketball and another 7’0 player with a good postgame. Phil Jackson in a huddle a few seasons ago told the team that Kobe needed help scoring. That was a message to both Kobe and his teammates. Kobe’s response? “No, I don’t.” Meaning: “No, I can score all the points myself.” With Gasol and Bynum on the team? That’s not a smart way to try to win. My argument is already strong. Kobe decides to shoot too much to try to carry the team when he doesn’t have to. Either you watch and can see. Or you don’t watch so you don’t know what you’re talking about. or you watch but you’re fandom doesn’t allow you to be objective when talking about Kobe. Also, Kobe even took bad shots playing with all of those superstar players during the Olympics lol. It’s who he is at this point since his knees and his age won’t allow him to get to the basket as much as he used to. Bad jumpshots. Kobe doesn’t need to carry a team when the team always has an advantage down low.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

Everyone in the NBA fears LeBron? Have you watched an NBA game since 2003? Even the worst players don’t fear LeBron. Again, these are grown men. There is no fear to try to mask. No one fears LeBron. They respect him, not fear him. There was no fear from OKC in the Finals. No fear from Boston. No fear from Melo and the Knicks. I don’t know what games you watch, but all of the ones I see show no fear from anyone.

Doc Rivers Wants the Boston Celtics to Hate the Miami Heat

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