Current and former members of the Celtics put together a video tribute to Gorman’s time calling the storied ball club.
On this past Sunday (April 12), Hall of Fame Boston Celtics broadcaster Mike Gorman was feted by the city and league he spent the last 43 years calling Celtics games in. The Mayor of the City of Boston, Michelle Wu, declared it “Mike Gorman Day,” and Gorman’s peers, co-workers, and members of the Celtics organization and their fans united to give him the send-off he deserves.
Current and former members of the Celtics also put together a video tribute to Gorman’s time calling the storied ball club.
Take a look at the clip embedded below to see it for yourself, courtesy of the CLNS Media “Celtics All Access” YouTube channel.
The Bucks have improved in some key areas that will help in the long run
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had an excellent week and are headed into an even better weekend.
I’ve seen some hemming and hawing online about the Milwaukee Bucks this week.
When you zoom in, you can totally understand why. The Bucks just lost two straight games to the Lakers and Pelicans. Specifically, with the Lakers game, Milwaukee blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead that looked insurmountable until it wasn’t.
Even when you zoom out, things can look concerning. Looking at raw win-loss totals, the Bucks just don’t seem better under Doc Rivers than they were under Adrian Griffin. Griffin was 30-13 with Milwaukee. After losing two straight, the Bucks are now 14-13 with Rivers. That’s much closer to .500 than anyone expected this team to be.
While that might be mildly concerning, there’s plenty of reason not to worry about this.
You can certainly base your concern on the raw win totals, but I don’t think that tells the full story with the Bucks. First, you’ve got to remember that when Rivers first took the job the Bucks started 1-5 through six games. You don’t just throw those games out, but considering the adjustment period there, it’s understandable that the team didn’t hit the ground running. Since then, that would mean Milwaukee has gone 13-8, which still isn’t world-beating but is much better than 14-13.
One thing that has been concerning is the Bucks’ regression on offense. Overall, it’s floating closer to the middle of the pack since Rivers’ hire. It’s also suffered in crunch time — the Bucks’ net rating in the clutch in the Rivers era is just +3.9. That’s good for 11th best in the league, but it’s nowhere close to elite.
That failure in the clutch allowed Milwaukee to blow that massive lead to the Lakers. Rivers said the loss would be a “good lesson” for Milwaukee, but there’s not much time for the team to learn lessons about each other. The playoffs are in just a few weeks.
Overall, Milwaukee is fine. Yes, some things certainly need to be cleaned up. But the time for doom and gloom is not now. Not even close.
The Celtics’ kryptonite
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics are the best team in the NBA if you ask just about anybody who has been paying attention this season. If you ask Dejounte Murray? Boston is probably just another team.
He’s played a key role in foiling Boston not just once, but twice this week. Our Cory Woodroof has more here:
“The Celtics have now lost two games in Atlanta this week, with Hawks guard Dejounte Murray scoring a career-best 44 points on Thursday night and knocking down (essentially) a buzzer-beater to take down the Celtics in overtime, 123-122.
This falls right after Monday night’s 120-118 victory over Boston, with both games surprisingly won for Atlanta without superstar Trae Young.”
As I wrote in today’s Morning Win, Murray shot the ball 44 times to get 44 points. But the Hawks needed every single one to get this win.
Shoutout to Dejounte Murray, man. Getting the job done.
What I’m watching
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
This weekend will be choc full of good basketball, but Friday’s Timberwolves-Nuggets game is one of the season’s most important games so far.
A lot is riding on this one. If Minnesota wins it locks up a crucial tiebreaker over Denver with the playoffs just a few weeks away.
Where things stand: The three-team race at the top of the Western Conference is close.
— The Nuggets are the No. 1 seed with Oklahoma City and Minnesota trailing by a half game.
— A win from Minnesota on Friday gives the Timberwolves sole possession of the West’s No. 1 seed.
— The Thunder still come into play depending on the team’s conference record. OKC’s season series with Minnesota is tied.
This is going to be a fun one. You don’t want to miss it.
Milwaukee Bucks wing Khris Middleton was about to record a triple-double for the second time in his NBA career, but there was one problem.
It was the fourth quarter and the Bucks were already winning by so much that Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers knew it was about time for Middleton exit the game.
The Bucks were leading, 107-86, and Middleton had already reached his 10 rebounds and 10 assists. But he was still one point shy of reaching a triple-double for just the second time in his NBA career. So rather than exiting the game, Middleton tried pleading with his coach for one last shot.
"Let me get a triple-double. One more point."
Khris Middleton, who had 9 points, expressed his displeasure with Bucks coach Doc Rivers for not letting him get a TD heading into the timeout 😅
Rivers obliged, Middleton scored on a mid-range jumper, and everyone (except the Thunder) walked away happy.
It was the first triple-double for Middleton since Jan. 20, 2018 and now, it comes with a very fun story to tell next time he recounts how it happened.
Doc Rivers gives his thoughts on the development of Philadelphia 76ers youngsters Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed.
MILWAUKEE — The first rookie class of the Doc Rivers era for the Philadelphia 76ers was led by Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed. Both were selected in the 2020 NBA draft, and they developed and learned from Rivers to become the players they are today.
Maxey is a legitimate All-Star who had to earn his minutes under Rivers in his rookie season. He had shown flashes, but Rivers wasn’t going to hand him anything. He had to grow as a player, especially when it came to finishing at the basket. Now Maxey is among the best players in the game.
“It hasn’t been a surprise,” Rivers said of Maxey’s ascension. “I thought he had a chance to make the All-Star team last year. He’s just a phenomenal kid. He’s got great confidence. He’s a great shooter, and I thought the league had caught in on that at least last year.”
One of the biggest areas of improvement for Maxey is his ability to finish at the basket. As a rookie, he relied a lot on his floater, and Rivers wanted him to get out of that mindset.
“What he’s done consistently, you know, his first year, he struggled finishing,” Rivers explained. “He took a lot of floaters and in each year, he’s kind of figured out where he can — he’s got the Tyrese move now where he gets fouled going to the basket. I don’t think it’s a foul now. Last year, I thought it was a foul. I’m just happy for him because he deserves it.”
As for Reed, he still has some development to go in his young career, but the big man has made serious strides. He has improved his understanding of the game on either end of the floor and he has improved as a 3-point shooter. He has improved year by year.
“The raw stuff was there,” Rivers said of Reed. “Being a good rebounder, being a hustle player, that’ll never go away. I think where my guess is they’re trying to develop is all the little things. Seeing the game better and stuff and that takes time. It takes repetition and I think there’s been progress there.”
[lawrence-related id=90977]
Maxey and Reed are, obviously, better players now than they were in the 2020-21 season, but they wouldn’t have been able to make those strides without the guidance of Rivers. It’s obvious that he had an impact on their young careers.
76ers fans still despise Doc Rivers, and who can blame them?
Doc Rivers has been a lightning rod of controversy lately.
After a poor start with the Milwaukee Bucks, JJ Redick ripped his former coach for never taking accountability. This after Rivers openly expressed skepticism as to why Milwaukee hired him in the first place. (Why would he say that out loud?) Setting aside that bringing anyone in at midseason is a little silly, it’s not as if Rivers has an excellent record of success in his previous stops.
For example, when he recently coached the Philadelphia 76ers to exactly zero Conference Finals appearances.
76ers fans have clearly not forgotten how little Rivers optimized their team. When the coach made his Philadelphia return on Sunday with the Bucks, he was heartily booed.
Rivers’ 76ers held a 3-2 series lead and lost to the Boston Celtics in last year’s playoffs. In the year prior, they underachieved entirely and fell in six games to a less talented Miami Heat team, also in the second round. Two years ago, despite being heavily favored, they allowed Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks to clinch a berth in the Conference Finals over them.
Was Redick right about Doc’s accountability? Or was the former NBA sharpshooter off the mark?
Fans of the Boston Celtics and the NBA more generally have found themselves divided over Doc Rivers’ job at the helm of the Milwaukee Bucks and his detractors, most notably former NBAer and current broadcaster JJ Redick. The “Old Man and the 3” podcast host took Rivers to task for supposedly shirking responsibility for his teams on social media recently.
A not-small portion of the NBA media landscape leapt to Rivers’ defense, including his son and fellow broadcaster Austin Rivers, and current Bucks guard Patrick Beverley. A back-and-forth then ensued, and the rift still seems to be in place because of the comments.
Was Redick right about Doc’s accountability? Or was the former NBA sharpshooter off the mark?
The hosts of Fox Sports Radio’s “Ben Maller Show” weighed in on a recent episode. Check it out above!
Is Rivers a bad coach? Definitely not. Is he the source of the Bucks’ current woes? Not really! Does he have a track record of deflecting blame, regardless of whether he deserves it? Absolutely.
Former Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has a bad habit of throwing his former players under the bus at times to deflect criticism of his coaching. While at times it may be justified, it also often has landed poorly among those who have played for him in the past. Such was the case with ex-NBAer and current broadcaster JJ Redick, who took Doc to task on social media.
That, in turn, rankled Rivers’ son, Austin Rivers, who replied to Redick’s critique by saying via Clutch Points “In terms of accountability, your best years in the NBA were when you played for him and the (Los Angeles) Clippers … It’s just very ironic and kinda weird that you have this energy towards him.”
Redick’s words also irked current Milwaukee Bucks (who Rivers coaches) guard Patrick Beverley, who wrote “This Man Doc actually saved your career. Started you when no one else wanted (to). And (you) retire, go on TV and say that.”
New ep of the Celtics Lab Podcast on YouTube, via @CelticsCLNS ☘️🧪📺
What to make of All-Star Weekend 2024 with @CAlmanza1007
Redick could not help but reply, saying, “Pat my guy, I had a four-year offer with player option for the same money to be a starter for a different team. (expletive) ‘saved my career,'”
Is Rivers a bad coach? Definitely not. Is he the source of the Bucks’ current woes? Not really! Does he have a track record of deflecting blame, regardless of whether he deserves it? Absolutely. But then again, that may be true of many of us — most of whom are not being paid like an NBA head coach.
Doc Rivers managed to admit something that he probably should have kept under the lid.
If you have any affiliation with the Milwaukee Bucks, now is probably a good day to step away from a microphone.
For some reason, several important figures within Milwaukee’s organization (including Giannis Antetokounmpo) have had enough questionable quotes in the past few days that a break is needed more than ever.
But instead, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers managed to admit something that he probably should have kept under the lid unless he was given some sort of truth serum.
During an interview with Frank Isola and Ryan McDonough, the coach said that he was just as confused as the fans were when Milwaukee decided to fire Adrian Griffin earlier this season.
“To be honest, I told our owners when they called, I said: I don’t understand why you’re doing this. One of the things they said was well it doesn’t matter. We’ve done it now and we want you. So that was a tough one. That’s where you had the hesitation.”
It makes sense why Rivers was confused because nearly everything about his hiring process, including his role as an advisor to Griffin, was befuddling.
But the most confusing aspect of this entire saga is why either party was interested in this particular partnership. Rivers put himself in an impossible situation by taking this gig and it seems he knew that right away.
This Doc Rivers situation just keeps getting messier
If there’s one thing we all know about Patrick Beverley, the dude is never afraid to speak his mind about almost anything.
That’s especially the case when it comes to his team and teammates. He rides hard for the people in his corner. And that’s exactly what he’s doing right now when it comes to the criticisms being thrown at Doc Rivers.
JJ Redick absolutely ripped Rivers on First Take after some of the coach’s comments about his team over the weekend. Rivers said that he had some players who were “in Cabo” before the All-Star break, implying they were ready to go on vacation already. And that’s why the Bucks struggled going into the break.
One person who didn’t, though, was Beverley. He called Redick out for being so critical of Rivers — especially after playing for him during his stint with the Clippers.
This Man Doc actually saved your career. Started you when no one else wanted 2. And u retire go on TV and say that. @jj_redick
“That man Doc actually saved your career. Started you when no one else wanted to. And you retire go on TV and say that”
Spicy. Not shocking, though. Rivers is Beverley’s current head coach. Of course he’s going to defend him. Those are some harsh words for Redick. Saying that Rivers saved his career is a surprising move from Beverley here..
Pat my guy I had a four year offer with player option for the same money to be a starter for a different team. FOH “saved my career”. https://t.co/5lXowm2j8e
There is an oft-repeated truism about fans of the Boston Celtics that suggests that fan base has got more mileage out of a single title (in 2008) than some clubs who have recently won several. A similar logic seems to apply to former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, who has bounced from one shortcoming to the next while sometimes throwing his players and coworkers under the bus seemingly without pushback. At least, until now.
Former NBAer and host of the “Old Man and the 3” podcast, JJ Redick recently laid into Rivers for exactly this. It came after another bout of Rivers deflecting accountability during a rough start to his takeover of (some would call stealing) the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coaching gig from Adrian Griffin as a consultant.
“I’ve seen the trend for years,” said Reddick via Awful Announcing. “The trend is always making excuses.”
“Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard … it’s always an excuse,” he added. “It’s always throwing your team under the bus … there’s never accountability with that guy.”
