The Boston Celtics had a big chance to win their 18th NBA championship in 2010, but the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers had something to say about it, beating them in seven games, taking revenge from the 2008 Finals, where the C’s dominated the Purple and Gold.
They couldn’t keep a 3-2 lead, as Phil Jackson predicted in Game 6 of the 2010 Finals, losing a big chance to beat their archrivals for the second time in three years. A lot of people have claimed that Kendrick Perkins’ absence played a big role in that defeat, but recently, one former member of that team put the blame on the head coach, Doc Rivers.
Glen Davis recently sat down on VladTV to discuss a series of topics. He touched on the 2010 Finals, saying that Rivers’ relying too much on his veterans hurt the Celtics’ chances to win it all, naming two specific games when things were going well for them and then went completely wrong.
“That was Doc’s fault. I blame that on Doc,” Davis said. “Doc has a mentality of rolling with his veterans. The guys that he feels like got him there, but when you go back to 2010, Game 4, right. That was my big breakout game… That game, we had to find energy from something else. It’s the same thing for Game 7, Doc. We’ve got to find the energy from somewhere else in Game 7. So, Rasheed Wallace playing all these minutes. (Kevin Garnett) playing all these minutes. You’ve got to let us give them some break. There was a period in the second half he didn’t sub.”
Davis said that he understands that Rivers wanted to keep the veterans on the court because they were the main reason why they made it to the Finals in the first place, but he also said that coaches need to make adjustments when things don’t go their way.
“I get it. You want your veterans to help you. You rely on your veterans. You rely on the guys that got you there, but as a coach, you have to adjust, and that’s the greatest thing about being coaches, being able to adjust on the fly at this moment… At the same time, I’ve already proven myself in Game 4 that I can get things done. I can go out there and get us some quality buckets, quality shots. So, I feel like he didn’t use what truly got him there.”
Davis’ relationship with Rivers isn’t the best, as the former player has criticized his ex-coach in the past. This is only the confirmation that something is going on between them, but it won’t get resolved now. Rivers is now coaching the Philadelphia 76ers, trying to win another championship to shut his haters down. Davis is hoping to see his Celtics get that elusive 18th title after losing the Finals last season.
