Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers are currently waiting to find out who the winner of the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks first-round series is, as they will be the opponent the Sixers take on in the Eastern Conference semifinals. While the Hawks were able to force a Game 6 in the series, many folks believe that Philly will eventually be facing Rivers' old team in the Celtics.
Rivers had a successful stint with the Celtics, winning a title with them in the 2008 NBA Finals, which is Boston's most recent championship victory. Rivers had a strong working relationship with the C's longtime star in Paul Pierce, but it always wasn't like that, and Rivers recently revealed how his “coming to Jesus” moment with Pierce helped ensure they would be successful in Boston.
“My first year with Paul was rough. We argued, we bumped heads. My coming to Jesus moment with Paul was, we lost a game (Note: The Celtics actually won the game, with the Bucks, though the rest of Rivers’ recollection is accurate). I took him out with four minutes left and sat him. And didn’t put him back in…And I said ‘Paul, I’m going to say this up front, and I’m going to say it in front of everyone, just so everyone’s clear. I ain’t changing…And I give Paul credit, because about four days later, he walks into the office, no meeting. He said, ‘You know what? Let’s try it.’” – Doc Rivers, The Athletic
It's a good thing these two were able to figure things out, otherwise, things could have gone south for the Celtics very quickly. While it was nice for Rivers to reminisce about his time in Boston, he's likely going to be more focused on developing a game plan for them should they end up dispatching the Hawks and advancing to the second-round of the playoffs.
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