When Doc Rivers took over as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, he brought with him a winning pedigree. Rivers enjoyed a 13-year playing career in the NBA as he averaged 10.9 points and 5.7 assists per game. Rivers will always be remembered for his time as member of the New York Knicks in 1993 when he got into fight with Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson who has gone on to be elected as the mayor of Sacramento, California. In 1999, Rivers embarked on a head coaching career in the NBA that has also seen him employed by the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics. In his 15 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, Rivers has only had three losing seasons including the 2003-2004 season in which the Magic fired him after a 1-10 start. The Los Angeles Clippers on the other hand have only managed to have four winning seasons since 1984 when they moved to L.A. from San Diego. Two of those winning seasons have come in the past two seasons as the Clippers have become contenders.
Rivers led the Celtics to an NBA Championship in 2008 and he was arguably knee injuries to both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins away from winning at least two more titles. After being bounced in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs last season, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge felt that it was time to rebuild his team. Rivers didn’t want to be a part of the rebuilding that is currently taking place in Boston. After firing Vinny Del Negro as their head coach at the end of last season, the Clippers needed a man to lead their team with a championship resume to get them over the hump and that duty is now in the hands of Rivers.
You would think that the presence of Rivers would mean that the Clippers are clamping down on the defensive end, but they are currently allowing 100.1 points per game which is 13th in the NBA. Last season under Del Negro the Clippers only allowed 94.6 points per game which was fourth in the league. What Rivers has done is open things up on offense as the Clippers are averaging 106 points per game which is third in the league. Coming into the season Rivers knew that he would have a great offensive club this season and instead of rocking the boat he has made the necessary adjustments to make the Clippers better on the offensive end.
Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is enjoying the best offensive season of his brief four-year career. Griffin is averaging a career high in points with 23.0 per game along with shooting over 70 percent from the free throw line for the first time in his NBA career. Griffin is looking to shed the label of just being a dunker as we are seeing the evolution in his game as he continues to improve his offensive game; mainly his mid-range jump shot. Along with Griffin, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is a charter member of “Lob City”, but like Griffin, Jordan is improving offensively. This season Jordan is averaging a career high in minutes with 35.7 per game which is up nearly 11 minutes from last season. Rivers’ trust in Jordan is paying off as the big man is currently leading the NBA in rebounds with 14.0 per game while also being a prime candidate to be the NBA’s Most Improved Player this season as he is averaging more than 9 points per game. In his eight-year NBA career shooting guard J.J. Redick has built a reputation as primarily being a three-point specialist, but in his first season with the Clippers he is averaging a career high in points with 16.3 while also connecting on 40 percent of his shots from downtown.
Clippers starting point guard Chris Paul has been out of the lineup since January 3 when he suffered a shoulder injury, but this team hasn’t skipped a beat with Darren Collison taking over as the floor general. Collison is no stranger to backing up Paul as he filled in for Paul during the 2009-2010 when both players were members of the New Orleans Hornets.
The Clippers are currently in first place of the Pacific Division with a record of 34-16 as they are looking for only their second division championship in franchise history with the other one coming last year.
Rivers understands that he was brought to Los Angeles to get the Clippers to a championship, but first he has had to change the culture. The Clippers share the Staples Center with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have won 16 NBA Championships which is second in league history while the Clippers have never made an appearance in the NBA Finals dating back to their time as the Buffalo Braves. Rivers’ first order of business was to cover up the Lakers championship banners and retired numbers that are displayed during Clipper home games. Rivers didn’t do it as a sign of disrespect to the Lakers, but he wants the Clippers to establish their own identity. If and when the Clippers do win an NBA Championship they will still be the little brothers of the Lakers in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean that this team cannot strive for a title.
Yes the Clippers are not stellar right now at the defensive end of the floor, but under Rivers they will make the key stops when they need to.
In spite of the Clippers 111-92 blowout loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors last Thursday night, Rivers has his pulse on this team. During his playing days Rivers was coached by Mike Fratello, Larry Brown, and Pat Riley. Rivers has taken the lessons that he learned from all three of these men and transferred it to his coaching career. During his time as the head coach of the Magic, Rivers was done in by injuries to forwards Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. During his time with the Celtics, Rivers was able to get veteran players Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen to check their egos at the door in the midst of winning an NBA Championship. The jury is still out with the Clippers as they will have to prove themselves in the playoffs against the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trailblazers in order to advance to NBA Finals.
Through 49 games last season the Clippers were 34-15, but they will solely be judged on what they can do in the spring during the NBA Playoffs. The Clippers have the firepower that is needed to win an NBA Championship, but having the ability and the mental toughness are two different beasts. Opposing players tend to go after Griffin who has yet to retaliate. Clippers general manger Garry Sacks did sign veteran forward Matt Barnes in 2012 to toughen this team up. The role of enforcer is long gone from the NBA, but Barnes fits into the role of the kind of players that Rivers had with the Celtics as this Clipper team must remove themselves from the “soft” label that they currently have.
Rivers has depth on this team with former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner in shooting guard Jamal Crawford who is averaging 17.9 points off of the bench and veteran swingman Jared Dudley who is averaging 8.1 points as the Clippers have might have one of the deepest teams in the NBA.
Rivers has a championship pedigree as he is changing the culture of a team that was a laughing stock for decades in the NBA. Now it is just a matter of the Clipper players making things happen in the playoffs in Los Angeles.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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