Many claim that Doc Rivers being in the hot seat is unfair, but if the players do not perform to their ability, the coach is responsible and should be partially blamed for.
Advertisement
“… This is the team I wanted to come to”. “And what I love is he gives us another ball handler, and you can see that with the first group”.
So, the group is back, and after navigating through the playoffs with a razor-thin roster, Doc Rivers put on his general manager hat and added Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith and Wes Johnson to bolster the depth surrounding the big three. By all accounts, it was a successful offseason for the Clippers, and yet, they’re still not the frontrunners in the West, not with a healthy Thunder team, the Spurs with LaMarcus Aldridge and the defending champion Warriors.
“But it still doesn’t equate that you’re better yet, until you get on the floor – for us, for San Antonio, for whoever made the changes”, Rivers said. “But I think for me, it was more about getting to know him myself”.
“But even though you add all that talent, it still doesn’t mean you’re better”. He played in only five games last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who no longer have a direct affiliation with the Clippers. He averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game last season, and was simply a force in the paint.
Paul was asked how he plans on dealing with what figures to be the highest expectations ever for a franchise that has yet to get to a conference finals in 44 seasons. “So, obviously, everyone’s still getting used to each other”.
While the Clippers continued to perpetuate the stereotypes about them, how we think about them is still subject to change.
“For us, we’ve gotta come out full speed ahead and be ready to go”. Also on that bench will be the rapidly improving Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford, the two-time Sixth Man of the Year.
“That would be nice, yeah”, he said. It would be nice to get off to a fast start, but it won’t be the end of the world if we don’t.
“But I anticipate us doing that”. All three are in contention to start at small forward, but it looks as though Rivers is leaning toward Stephenson, despite his preseason woes.
Rivers explained his decision by saying he liked the way games flowed for both the starters and reserves whenever Stephenson started. Rivers said he would mostly use it for information gathering and to tout charity events. Redick, Paul Pierce and Wesley Johnson can all be around for at least the next couple of seasons.
“I’m not going to go insane”, Jordan, who has not spoken with reporters since October 20, said earlier in the preseason, “but the guys are looking for me on duck-ins and easy baskets running the break, transition baskets, things like that”. I’m a believer that teams can get stale. The issue seemed to be more important to the players.
Though the Clippers have never made it to the Finals yet alone a Western Conference final appearance, it should be motivating enough for the players to uplift this franchise and strive to get the organizations first title.
Advertisement
“I had a tough year (in Charlotte), but that was just the past”, he said. It’s one game (in the regular season), but I think he has a chance to be really disruptive to other teams.
