One of the things that the Celtics will miss the most with Dooling's
retirement is his leadership in the locker room. He was a veteran who
had the respect of the young players and the veterans in the locker room
as well. He kept the reserves ready to play when they were sitting on
the end of the bench. He kept the veterans in line.
"With the same approach we took tonight, with
defensive intensity," Bass said of the key to Game 6 Wednesday. "At the
half, we were struggling defensively. Doc didn't think we were playing
for each other and Reverend Dooling stepped up and gave us a little
sermon and let us know that we have to play for each other. In the
second half, that's what we decided to do."
The Celtics will be missing that kind of quiet veteran leadership. They are also missing a veteran back up point guard. Now, here's the radical idea. Derek Fisher is still a free agent. I'm sure he'd sign for the vet minimum. Yes, he's 38 years old, but he is still capable of playing and is still clutch when he needs to be. With 16 years in the league, he is the kind of veteran leader that would command respect from vets and young players alike, and that's the biggest void left by Dooling's retirement. Rondo needs another binkie and Fisher would be a great mentor for him. He would fill both the role of locker room and bench leader along with filling the back up point guard role. Just a thought. A radical one, maybe, but a thought nonetheless.
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