Bill Simmons the life long Celtics fan is still pissed off at Doc Rivers for being hired by the Celtics, and then walking away from the franchise as well. If you don’t remember, Simmons scoffed at Rivers some 15 months after he was hired.
Doc Rivers stinks as an NBA coach.
After watching him butcher my favorite team for 15 months and 134 games, I feel pretty comfortable making that assessment. On the surface, Doc seems fine. He always dresses nicely, his interviews are good, and his “Come on, guys, let’s go!” clap ranks among the best in the league. When his team blows a winnable game — which happens often, by the way — you can always count on him to look sufficiently disappointed, almost like how Tony Almeida looks on “24” whenever Jack decides to disobey him. Doc has that look down pat. And if you weren’t paying attention, you would almost think that he wasn’t the problem here.
Well, I think he’s the problem.
Rivers didn’t want to coach through a rebuild, and Simmons believes Rivers lied and misled the Celtics about his intentions.
I don't blame Doc for trying to bail, but he can't come back now. He just tried to quit on his players. Now he's going to coach them?
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 16, 2013
Simmons struck again Thursday night.
In a shot at Rivers that likely suggest Simmons believes Rivers has too much power, the Grantland CEO mocked the Clippers acquisition of Austin Rivers, with a fake wojo bomb, that hinted at Rivers getting an extension only Carmelo Anthony could dream of.
Sources: Clippers sign Austin Rivers to a 5-year, $120 million extension.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 16, 2015
Bill salty!