High praise from Doc Rivers for the Celtics: "They could make a run"

The Celtics have been gradually entering the national media spotlight recently with the help of Isaiah Thomas being named an All-Star and most importantly, sitting alone in third place in the East heading into the break. Following his club's loss last night, Doc Rivers had some nice quotes about the C's. From ESPN's Chris Forsberg:

"They could make a run," former Celtics and current Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Listen, they're not scared of anybody. They've got a bunch of junkyard dogs who can play. … You better be ready when you play them or you're going to lose to them."

Doc Rivers is still a pretty big name in the NBA, so it always means a bit more to hear appreciation from guys like that, at least guys with rings. Other big names who have given the C's their due are Lebron James and Gregg Popovich. The key difference here being that Lebron and Pop didn't really go out of their way to credit the players, instead, they credited Brad Stevens. After sweeping the Celtics last postseason, Lebron said "(that's) a very well-coached team" and Pop has never been shy giving Stevens some love before and after games either.

While they aren't wrong by any means (trust me I'm all over the Stevens bandwagon myself), it was a nice change of pace to see an opponent give the players some respect. Especially an opponent who we are so familiar with. Doc had more to say about the roster:

What does the win mean in the long run? Probably not a whole lot. But it can certainly serve as a confidence booster moving forward and is definitely a step in the right direction.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

For more Celtics news and information follow Nolan on Twitter @NolanChuck
Share