“They should be better than any team I’ve ever coached, I really believe that. They’re more athletic. They don’t have the veteran IQ but they should be in that area. We have a couple of individual defenders that can be dominating on defense. We have great speed but we don’t have the size in some ways as some of the teams I’ve coached.” – Doc Rivers, on the 2013-14 LA Clippers
Wait, this coming from the same Doc Rivers who coached the 2007-08 Celtics? The team that won the NBA championship, dominating Game 6 in a fashion never before seen in an NBA Finals close-out game? The team that had 66 wins – something only 12 other teams in history have ever achieved – and featured one of the best defenses the NBA has ever seen?
Doc uttered this quote no more than a week ago in regards to a team he has not coached for one game. Rivers is pumping his team’s confidence through the media, surely, but there also seems to be a little something extra behind these comments.
Let’s rewind to a couple months ago, when Rivers and Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge publicly disagreed over how Rivers ended up in L.A. Ainge said leaving the Celtics was all Doc’s decision, claiming he had discussions with Rivers about being a Gregg Popovich or Jerry Sloan figure in Boston on his way to chasing Red Auerbach‘s win record. Celts owner Wyc Grousbeck agreed with Ainge, saying: “Doc Rivers left us, period… It was his idea and he left.”
On Boston’s WEEI radio station, Rivers said he was “very disappointed” in how Ainge and the Celtics portrayed the situation, saying his departure was more of a mutual decision between both sides. Rivers said he hadn’t even thought there was a chance of coaching somewhere else until Ainge approached him with the opportunity of leaving – and only then did he hear about the Clippers job and express an interest.
Seems like a classic case of he said/she said… until you see Rivers’ quote from just the other day: “The truth was this: I really didn’t want to go through a rebuild… for a coach, it’s brutal. Showing up, getting your ass kicked, it’s brutal.”
Doesn’t sound like a guy who wanted to stay in Boston.
No matter which side of the story you believe, there was undoubtedly some animosity stemming from Rivers’ exit from Beantown, and Doc used the media to address that. Rivers has always had a great relationship with the media, and has made headlines almost daily thus far with the Clippers. The purpose of these comments has been two-fold: first to get back at the Celtics brass who marred his last days in Boston, but also to give his new team positive reinforcement heading into the season.
In a recent interview on Yahoo!, when asked about the risk in going to the Clippers, Rivers said, “To go to an organization that hasn’t won but [two] playoff series in their entire history, in a town where the other team is the best franchise in sports history – that’s risk.” Now, besides the fact that Yankees or Canadiens fans might have a bone to pick with that statement, some Boston folks might be a little perturbed as well. The Lakers franchise does have a robust 16 championships – if you include the five that were won while the franchise was still in Minneapolis. But the Celtics, who have been in Boston since their inception, have won 17 titles and maintain a tradition unmatched in the league. Think Rivers would have made that same comment a year ago?
The ultimate bombshell came in an interview on ESPN when Rivers said this Clippers team should be the best team he has ever coached. Rivers explained how his Clippers team has their own version of a Big Three in the form of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Rivers went on to say that although the Clips don’t have the veteran IQ or size like some of his previous teams, they have great speed and athleticism that can make them a dominating defense. Veteran IQ, size and great defense – sound like any of Doc’s former teams?
All of this preseason discourse may irritate most of Rivers’ loyal fans, but at the same time, it may be just what the doctor ordered (no pun intended) for L.A.
Keep reading to see how the Clippers might become the new Celtics…
The Clippers had a great deal of talent the past few seasons but were never able to get over the hump. Vinny Del Negro‘s coaching style and substitution patterns came into question, with many in the media and even in the locker room simply not believing in the coach. No one with the Clippers will have the same doubts this year with Rivers – a proven winner – manning the sidelines. Rivers reached the mountaintop before and convinced three future Hall of Famers to sacrifice personal numbers for the sake of the team.
For Rivers to say this Clipper team should be better than any other team he has coached, while also serving as a dig to his former Celtics, is a strong expression of support for his new team. Rivers is a master motivator, and it seems he decided praising his guys through the media is the best way thus far. The Clippers were missing something the past few years, and Rivers seems to think it is a confident, brash, “take no prisoners” mentality that his Celtics teams featured behind Kevin Garnett. Griffin and Jordan have that mindset on offense, trying to dunk on anyone and everyone, but in the past they have not featured that same killer instinct on the defensive end.
Jordan seems to be Rivers’ new pet project. He has done nothing but rave about how Jordan looks in training camp and has constantly complimented him in the media. Rivers says he thinks Jordan could be Defensive Player of the Year this season, saying he has all the physical tools necessary and is at the point in his career where he is ready put them all together. Jordan has always been a physical freak, and Rivers is doing everything he can to help his big man make the next step – even saying he wouldn’t have done the proposed trade of Jordan for Garnett. L.A. needs Jordan to be great for the Clippers to do damage in the Western playoffs, and Rivers is doing everything he can to make sure his big man’s confidence is sky high going into the season.
The Clippers nucleus of Paul, Griffin and Jordan is a great foundation. Rivers has had an infatuation with Paul for years and has tried to bring him to Boston on multiple occasions. Paul has always been a feisty player, a style Rivers loves. Some would argue CP3 almost takes that feistiness too far, as he is a perfectionist and gets on his big men constantly, which often creates tension in Hollywood. With a great coach like Rivers in the fold, those issues should dissipate, and perhaps Griffin and Jordan will begin to embody some of the tenacity their point guard possesses.
The rest of the Clippers roster is nothing to sneeze at either. The additions of J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley will give the Clippers dimensions they did not have in seasons past in terms of spreading the floor with three-point shooting – giving Griffin room to work on the block and opening up driving lanes for Paul. The Clippers also feature one of the best bench scorers in the league in Jamal Crawford, who came in second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last year. Forming the rest of the bench unit is Antawn Jamison and Darren Collison, who should provide some great backup minutes at the point.
There’s a definite method behind Rivers’ madness. His recent comments are part of a well-devised strategy not only to build the confidence of his own team, but also to send a message to the rest of the league. The Clippers will come to play this year, you can be sure of that. Rivers’ Celtics were not a likable bunch outside of Boston, but they were a tight-knit group who stayed together through a roller coaster playoff run on the way to a championship. Think Garnett cared whether Joakim Noah liked him or not while he was screaming that anything is possible? Rivers has always expressed his admiration for Garnett, and must realize this Clipper team needs some of that nastiness.
Rivers can’t instill that attitude on the court like Garnett can, but he is doing so in other ways. Rivers is no longer with the Celtics, so he couldn’t care less about what the Boston faithful – or fans of any other team for that matter – think of him at this point. Whether it means saying the Lakers franchise is greater than the Celtics or this installment of the Clippers should be better than his championship team, Rivers will say whatever is necessary to motivate his team – and that is why he is a great coach.
The Clippers are primed for a deep run this year, and Rivers has a lot to do with it. Doc is instilling a different mentality in his team, one that will go a long way in bringing them postseason success.
Information from ESPN, The Boston Herald, and Yahoo! has been used in this story.
What do you think?
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