Doc Rivers: trades are on the way if team doesn't start to "play hard"
According to Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn, Doc Rivers ripped into the Celtics Sunday night after their loss to Detroit 103-88. One tactic he unleashed was threatening to shakeup the roster to get players who are “committed to being a good basketball team.”
I gotta either find the right combination, the right guys or we’re going to get some guys out of here,” he said. “It’s the bottom line, because this group right now, they’re not playing right and it’s in them to play right but right now they haven’t been because I’m not getting to them or they’re not getting to each other. Either we gotta do that or we gotta make changes. I’m saying if we don’t get it right we may (make changes).
Boston (20-20) has lost three straight after going on a six-game winning streak where many felt the team had turned the corner. Rivers shed some light on the winning streak saying it may not have been quite as positive as perceived.
I said we’ve got to find something where every night all 12 guys play the same," Rivers said. “We did it for three games in a stretch. I told them game four and five in that (six-game winning streak) was garbage, we just won the game.
Games four and five were against Phoenix and Houston respectively. The Celtics won those games by an average of 10 points.
Rivers added he thinks the team is not playing hard right now.
I don’t think the guys are honest with each other. I just don’t think we have committed to being a good basketball team. I think this team wants everything easy. They want the easy way out. They want to win easy. I told them, the only way you’re going to win easy is you’re gonna have to play hard. The harder you play the easier the games become.
Boston has been linked to several trade rumors already, with DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Marcin Gortat, etc. Many of the trades proposed have not been based in much reality because the Celtics simply don’t have much to give up or at least are willing to give up.
It’ll be interesting to see in the coming days if Danny Ainge pulls off a major move giving up Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger or even Rajon Rondo, or some combination of those players, to make a real change or if a lesser player like Brandon Bass or Courtney Lee is sent off to make a statement that management is serious and the team needs to get its act together. Or, as Rivers says, the team could just start trying harder.
