Doc Rivers is Not Good At His Job

Well, if his job is to tank, that is.

Boston won its 21st game of the season Monday, smacking the Toronto Raptors 95-87 in a game likely watched by a dozen or more on League Pass.

The Celtics led by a decent margin (9 pts) going into the fourth, and Doc Rivers again had a stud lineup of Telfair-West-Green-Gomes-Powe on the floor. Except this time, Boston didn't immediately start to suck. They held the lead, and Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson came back in to close it out.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say most Boston fans want Doc to tank the season, nefariously or not. The respected Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog wants to see The Truth in suits instead of sneaks, and it seems most other Celtic diehards agree.

Is it possible Doc was a little too obvious in that incredible Charlotte loss, to the point where some combination of Danny Ainge, owner Wyc Grousbeck, even David Stern politely requested he not be so blatant in adding to the loss column? Did Doc sabotage his own attempt to sabotage the season?

Boston is getting dangerously close to Milwaukee and Charlotte in the standings. If the Celtics finish ahead of the Bucks and Cats in the end-of-season ledger and one of those two squads ends up with Oden or Durant, you can bet Mr. Rivers -- fairly or not -- will be seriously hated in New England.