The Rivers family: torn between family ties at the Garden
On Wednesday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers and his son, New Orleans hornets guard, Austin, faced off against each other on the court. However, for Kris Rivers, wife to Doc and mother to Austin, the decision of who to root for wasn’t so simple.
“I was nervous for both sides, this was really not fun to watch. I found myself cheering when Austin made a good play, and then when the Celtics were called for a travel I was like, ‘Come on!’ ” Kris told the Boston Herald after the game.
Before the game, Austin predicted to reporters that his mom would be rooting for him.
“I was actually cheering for Austin to play well, because he hasn’t had a whole lot of minutes lately and you always want your child to play well,” said Kris. “But my heart remains with the Celtics.”
For Doc, the experience was also a very strange ordeal. He was caught up between being a father and wanting to watch his son play and coaching the other team.
“It was funny, he did something and I was about to say something. I caught myself. I forgot he was on the other team,” said Doc. “It was a strange dynamic. I didn’t enjoy it, honestly. I know it’s neat for everyone else, but as a father, I don’t know if I enjoyed that.”
The Hornets snapped the Celtics’ six-game winning streak, winning 90-78. Austin was proud of his team and was more focused on having fun out on the court than anything.
“I’m going against my father, let’s have fun and compete and help my team, and let’s just see what happens. I think that helped me tonight,” said Austin.
