Dwelling on his Dad Posted on June 14th
LOS ANGELES - Doc Rivers often thinks about his father, a former Chicago police lieutenant who taught him life lessons that the Celtics coach relies on to guide his team.
Grady Rivers preached patience, consistency and hard work. He juggled his schedule so he could watch his son’s games. He coached his kid’s baseball team and proudly watched Doc become a college star and NBA player, and grow into a respected family man.
In November, Grady Rivers died following a brief illness.
Doc Rivers, once criticized for his coaching style, is now within grasp of a lifelong dream, one he shared with his dad. He’s one win away from winning an NBA title that eluded him during a 13-year playing career. Rivers is on the verge of bringing another championship to Boston, city of champions.
Rivers will go for it tomorrow - Father’s Day.
With his team holding a commanding three-games-to-one lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals following a historic comeback in Game 4 on Thursday night, Rivers, whose team won only 24 games a year ago, was asked during a news conference to reflect on his father’s influence.
“I . . . can’t,” Rivers said, choking back tears.
He sat quietly for more than 30 seconds, unable to speak about his father as a respectful silence fell over the Lakers’ practice facility.
“That’s just a tough one for me to talk about,” he said, fighting the emotion.
A reporter offered a lighter question about whether he might coach Sunday’s game with a cigar in his jacket pocket, a la legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach.
“No,” Rivers said, laughing and thankful for a break. “I will not. Red is always on our mind, obviously, but I won’t do that. As far as we are concerned, we have to win a game, and the next game is our focus.”
Finally more composed, Rivers returned to thoughts about his late father.
“He’s just very important in my life,” Rivers said. “It’s still very difficult for me to talk about because I haven’t had a lot of time to reflect on it. It happened during the season unexpectedly. It’s very, very difficult. But I do think about it.
“I think about it a lot.”
The Celtics can win their 17th championship and first since 1986 with a win in Game 5 tomorrow. They put themselves in this position by overcoming a 24-point deficit in the first half on Thursday to beat the Lakers, who left the floor of the Staples Center in stunned disbelief.
The Lakers led for nearly 44 minutes before being caught and passed by the Celtics, who outscored them 47-21 over the final 18 minutes, 4 seconds. It was a monumental collapse, and now Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, who came into the series as heavy favorites to win their 15th title, are trying to put it behind them.
Coach Phil Jackson canceled practice yesterday, giving his players a chance to rest up physically and psychologically. He brought his players in to watch video and did his best to convince them they can become the first team in Finals history to overcome a 3-1 deficit.
It would have been impossible to imagine the Celtics or Rivers in this position a year ago. The team was a disaster.
The league’s most storied franchise had fallen on the hardest of hard times. The mystique had faded and Rivers’ young team had begun to accept defeat. The 46-year-old’s future seemed uncertain as well.
It seemed as if it was only a matter of time before the ax would fall on Rivers, who spent five years with Orlando before joining the Celtics in 2004.
But general manager Danny Ainge believed in him, and that faith has been rewarded.
Following his heart-tugging news conference, Rivers, a father of four, was asked if he dedicated this memorable season to his father.
“I dedicated my life,” he said. “Everything I’m about is from my mom and dad. That can never go away.”
And if the Celtics don’t win tomorrow, they’ll go home with two chances to wrap up the title. If necessary, Game 6 will be Tuesday in Boston.
A win would be followed by a parade. Maybe as early as June 18.
On Grady Rivers’ birthday.
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