<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A word that has dogged Celtics [team stats] coach Doc Rivers for the past two seasons is ?rotation.? Fans and media clamored for a steady rotation, while the Celtics coach countered that this is not the right mix of players to warrant one. This season, whenever he seemed on the verge of sticking with one, injuries forced him to go back to the outer reaches of his bench. He was close again during the team?s recent run of five wins in six games, when he played only nine guys in a 58-minute, double-overtime victory against Minnesota on March 4. But injuries to Ryan Gomes and Delonte West got in the way again. ?We had a great rotation,? Rivers said after Wednesday?s 109-88 rout of the Hawks. ?It was nice. It was down to really nine, which is what I have always liked. Unfortunately, I had one year of a nine-man rotation here, and that was the first year. Other than that, we just haven?t had the team to do it.? He conceded he might not bother trying for the rest of this season. With only 18 games left until the lottery draw, he said there will be more experimentation down the stretch. Among the tinkering he planned to do in the final month included getting rookie Allan Ray more time at point guard. ?We don?t have that many practices left, so we have to do it in games,? he said. ?A couple of times (Wednesday), we had Allan Ray bring it up, but I am going to force him into point guard minutes, whether it fits or not, because I want to see if it does.? As much as he said he liked the shorter rotation from earlier this month, he noted that it is difficult to project that on to next year?s team. ?We had it in that stretch, and it was probably going to be that, but the problem with saying that you are going to go back to it is that you are probably going to add two or three more players,? he said. ?Then you have to figure out again who belongs.? </div> http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/vi...850&format=text
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> ARCHIVES C's, Rivers going with the flow By Win Bates, Enterprise staff writer BOSTON — Celtics games aren't about winning any more and really haven't been about winning for quite a while now. At least some of their fans want to see them lose every night to have a better shot at the first pick in the NBA Draft in May. The coaches and players don't feel that way, but head coach Doc Rivers freely admits that the rest of the schedule will be used to look at different players in different roles to see how they fit into next year's team and Celtics' teams down the road. “We are going to try a few things the rest of the way, there's no doubt about that,” said Rivers after the Celtics picked up their 19th win of the season Wednesday night, 109-88, over the Atlanta Hawks at TD Banknorth Garden. “We have a few things in mind that we want to see with certain players and this is a good time to look at those things and see what we see. “We came into this season wanting to identify the core players on this team, and as the season has gone on, I think we have learned quite a bit about the players on this team, and that learning process is still going on. “Hopefully, by the end of the season, we will have a good handle on that.” With the Celtics as young as they are with 10 of the 15 players on their current roster owning three years or less experience in the NBA, they obviously aren't going to be a force in the NBA right now, so what they are looking for are those young players who can show that they can fit in somewhere down the road. The backcourt is where there seems to be the most intrigue. Rivers says to expect to see more of Allan Ray, the rookie guard who recently spent some time in the Developmental League, because he wants to see if he can play point guard in the NBA in the future. “That's the reason we sent him down to the D-League in the first place was so he could play the point, but he was getting quite a few shots down there, and I'm not sure he really worked that much at the point,” said Rivers. Ray's contribution to Wednesday's night win was on offense as he scored all 10 of his points in a six-minute span from late in the first quarter to early in the second quarte. While he handed out just one assist, he did play over 16 minutes and the coach says you'll continue to see Ray on the court for the rest of the season. Besides Ray, Rivers wants to see just what roles his latest starting backcourt of rookie Rajon Rondo and third-year man Delonte West will have in the future. Rondo had one of his best games as a Celtic with 10 assists, which is what the Celtics are looking for from him. He also scored 13 points and had three steals, and has impressed Rivers with his assorted skills. “Rajon is starting to realize that teams are playing off him, so now, he is cutting to the basket more,” said Rivers. “Before, he was trying to prove to them that he could shoot from outside, but he is more effective when he goes to the basket and gets layups with his quickness. “I think he is more effective when he is a passer first, because when he does that, he will get his shots.” Rondo says he tries to adjust to what the opponent is doing defensively, and that determines whether he is going to look to pass or shoot. “I just try to take what the defense gives me,” said Rondo. “If I can get to the basket, that's probably what I do best, and when I penetrate, I can also dish it off to someone else if the defense comes to me. “I'm still learning about playing the point, but I think it's a position I can play.” West has played both guard positions, and Rivers says he hasn't decided which of the spots is better for him, and right now, he is happy to use the former St. Joseph's standout in both roles.</div> http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articl...ts/sports02.txt
