The LA Clippers have fallen short of expectations year after year, and Doc Rivers should be held accountable
The LA Clippers are having a good season this year, currently clinging to the fifth seed in the Western Conference and on course for a first-round playoff date with the Utah Jazz – a team that they have dominated in recent history.
Furthermore, for the sixth year in a row, the Clippers have punched their ticket to the playoffs. This is undoubtedly a good team, but that is their exact problem.
LA has been a good team for several years now. They have yet to take the next step to elite status, though, and Doc Rivers is the reason why.
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Doc is not only the head coach, but also the president of basketball operations. What that means is not only is Doc the chef but he gets to buy his own groceries as well, picking and choosing what players best fit his system.
The Clippers have been loaded with talent year-in and year-out but they continue to melt down and fold in the most critical moments.
In Doc’s first year (2013-14), he guided this team to over 50 wins to go along with the third seed in the Conference and a first round playoff series victory over the Golden State Warriors. Even though it wasn’t a series win against the Warriors of today – the 73-game wining, back-to-back NBA Finals appearances Dubs – it was a solid start to his tenure in LA.
They did, however, bow out the very next round to the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games.
In 2014-15, the Clippers once again finished as the third seed in the West after another 50-plus win regular season. To the surprise of many, the Clippers took out the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round. This finally felt like the year for the Clippers – their chance to break through.
Instead of making the Finals for the first time in team history, LA famously blew a 3-1 series lead after dominating the first four games in the second round against the Houston Rockets. LA lost the final three games of the series by a combined 46 points.
Year three for Doc and the LA Clippers went just as it always had. Another 50-plus win regular season, securing homecourt advantage and a favorable first-round playoff matchup (this time against the Portland Trail Blazers).
Entering the series, no one really gave Portland a shot against LA. Sure, the Blazers were a talented team but they were essentially a two-man show, with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum expected to carry much, if not all, the scoring load.
Instead of coasting to a comfortable first-round victory, the Clippers lost in six games.
In fairness, the Clippers did suffer major injuries to both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who both missed the latter portion of that series. Although the injuries were unfortunate, it was yet another early playoff exit for the Clippers.
Fast forward to present day and you will reach year 4, and this is arguably the worst job Doc has done during his tenure with LA.
It’s been an up and down year to say the least. Both Paul and Griffin have suffered injuries, which forced them to miss 21 games each. When both have been on the court, however, the results have been wildly inconsistent.
Clipperholics
At times, they’ll play good basketball together. And, on occasion, will look like the NBA Title contenders that they probably should be on paper. However, there are other times when they make you scratch your head and wonder what position they will be in the NBA Draft lottery, instead of what seed they’ll be in the playoffs.
For example, during a recent game against the Sacramento Kings (who shipped off their best player, DeMarcus Cousins, weeks ago), the Clippers led by 18 points with a little over five minutes remaining. The game seemed in the bag. Fans started to leave the arena. Both Chips Paul and Blake Griffin were icing their knees on the sideline, the NBA veterans version of a victory cigar.
Then, somehow, the Kings clawed their way back into the game and got within 10 with a few minutes remaining. Doc had to bring both his all-star players back in the game with roughly three minutes remaining.
The Clippers unbelievably loss the game. Just to put that loss into context, this season teams leading by at least 18 points in the final five minutes of a game, at that time, held a staggering record of 359-0. Not anymore.
This Clippers team is stagnant.
Look around the NBA landscape and you’ll find numerous teams that have taken great strides this year.
The Rockets have gotten significantly better and pose an actual threat to the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. The Utah Jazz have taken that jump and has become a playoff team with a bright future. Washington has gotten better with the growth of their players while teams such as Boston and Toronto have gotten better because of the acquisitions of Al Horford and Serge Ibaka, respectively. Even teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans realized they couldn’t sit back and do nothing and made trades that significantly helped their teams.
What they need is a better head coach and president. Doc Rivers just doesn’t fit the mold anymore for the LA Clippers
The LA Clippers on the other hand decided they didn’t need to make any moves. They were linked to a Carmelo Anthony trade for months. It was even reported by numerous sources that the Knicks were willing to part ways Anthony while not including Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan in the deal. Again, the Clippers did nothing. Apparently, believing that they have enough talent on their roster to truly compete for a championship this year.
You would be hard pressed to find a single person outside of Clipper Nation that would name this team as a true contender.
Vinny Del Negro was the head coach of the Clippers and was let go after just three seasons in favor of Doc Rivers. Year-after-year, Del Negro continued to get this team to make significant progress. He lead them to a franchise record 17-game win streak, an undefeated mark in the month of December during the 2012-13 season going 16-0 and took this team to the playoffs in two of his three seasons their while also getting them out of the first round during the 2011-12 season.
He was ultimately let go because many felt he couldn’t get this team to the next level.
The Clippers had, at the time, arguably the best point guard in Chris Paul, a young superstar talent in Blake Griffin and a defensive monster in DeAndre Jordan. Doc Rivers was supposed to be the final missing piece.
He won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award during the 1999-00 season with the Orlando Magic and won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Doc’s credentials are slightly overblown, though.
He lost three straight years in the first round of the NBA playoffs with the Magic. Lost in the first round of the playoffs in his first year with the Boston Celtics, then failed to make the playoffs entirely in his next two seasons. The following season he captured an NBA championship with the help of three hall of fame players and made the NBA Finals in another season.
Doc is a good coach, he just recently won his 800th regular season game. To deny his brilliance is an argument completely unfounded, but he hasn’t done enough with the level of talent he has on this Clippers team.
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He’s done a decent job as a head coach and has absolutely failed as president of basketball operations. The Clippers need more. Not someone who sits back and makes no effort in elevating his roster to championship levels and certainly not someone who continues to fail his team in critical moments.
The players do deserve blame as well. They’ve “choked” on several occasions, there’s no denying that, but only few teams can match this team’s talent. What they need is a better head coach and president. Doc Rivers just doesn’t fit the mold anymore for the LA Clippers.