Doc: ‘We've got to do our coverages better'

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics didn't have to look far to see where the San Antonio Spurs dominated them.  
On Wednesday night, the Spurs recorded more than half of their points in the paint, outscoring Celtics 58-34 in the area during their 112-100 win. "They played well," said Brandon Bass. "They took advantage of all of our mistakes and we weren't able to do that on the other end."
The Celtics entered the game allowing 42.9 point per game in the paint to their opponents. The Spurs easily passed that mark with a balanced effort from their bigs and their guards. Jason Terry noted it seemed like "everybody" on the opposing team was able to score in the paint.  "We've just got to try to keep our guys in front of them," Terry said. "It's easier said than done. But every team can attack, so I've got to stay down in my stance and be more alert."  
Rookie Jared Sullinger, tasked with guarding future Hall of Famer big man Tim Duncan, learned as Duncan posted 20 points and 15 rebounds.  
"Rebounding," he said when asked how to limit the Spurs. "Two is just being able to guard a little bit better. We're working on that every day."  
The Celtics are still learning to gel with one another nearly a month into the regular season. There are the basics of protecting the paint -- the C's have been playing basketball long enough to be well aware of the fundamentals -- and then there is the approach to doing so.   
Moving forward in the season, head coach Doc Rivers will look for his team to alter their plan of attack, an adjustment he believes will pay off in the paint and all areas of the court.   
"I think we've got to do our coverages better, just bottom line," said Doc Rivers. "Harder and all that, that sounds great. That's what everyone says when you lose -- 'You've got to play harder.' Well, we've got to play smarter. We have to know our coverages better. And when that happens, everybody is on the same page and it allows our rotations to be freer. It allows our bigs to get back in the paint."