If you watched Thursday nights Game 1 between the Celtics and Lakers, then you might have seen a brief story ABC did on Doc Rivers, and the $2600 he hid in the ceiling of the Staples Center. Wait, what?
Following a win over the Lakers last February, Celtics coach Doc Rivers demanded $100 each from Boston's players, coaching staff, and even team managers. He stuffed the dough in an envelope, and told his team - his entire traveling organization, really - that they can have the money back the next time they play the Lakers inside the Staples Center.
The motivating factor here (as much as $100 can serve as motivation to multi-millionaires) was that Rivers did this after Boston's last regular season game in Los Angeles, meaning if they wanted to get their money back, they were going to have to advance to the NBA Finals (and hoped that the Lakers did the same ... Doc's little plan kinda would have looked silly if Dallas or Phoenix beat L.A.).
Well, the Celtics made it (hopefully you know that by now), and everyone got their $100 back on Tuesday. Except for Eddie House, who was traded to the Knicks shortly after Doc's gesture. Sorry, Eddie.
You can watch video of Doc discussing the time he hid money in the ceiling, the oldest motivational trick in the book.