LA Sports Hub
Fansided

Los Angeles Clippers: Time to move on from Doc Rivers

By Jason Elbaum

April 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers watches game action against the Utah Jazz during the first half in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers watches game action against the Utah Jazz during the first half in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

When Doc Rivers was named the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013, he was expected to lift the Clippers out of the shadow of the Lakers and propel their new star-studded lineup to an NBA championship.

The pieces were in place: newly acquired point guard Chris Paul had two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers under his belt, former number one overall pick Blake Griffin was starting to show how dominant he could be when healthy, and center DeAndre Jordan was on the cusp of breaking out into the NBA All-Star form we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in him today.

The Clippers won 57 games in their first season under Coach Rivers en route to finishing first in the Pacific Division and the third-best record in the Western Conference. They were defeated in six games by the Oklahoma City Thunder that season, but it was still a successful first season for the Clippers under Rivers.

Since then, Rivers has led the team to three more 50-win seasons while establishing an exciting brand of basketball that’s earned the team the nickname of “Lob City”. His three superstars have all been named to All-Star teams during his tenure, including Jordan, who was selected for the first time in his career this season.

However, Doc Rivers teams have never advanced past the Western Conference Semifinals in any of his seasons as the coach. The Clippers have been plagued with injuries to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul at inopportune times, but the Clippers have had a roster deep with talent in every season under Rivers.

More from Los Angeles Clippers

His inability to instill a “next man up” mentality in his teams have caused them to deteriorate when one of their players succumbs to injury. He was quoted during the 2013 NBA playoffs while he was still coaching the Boston Celtics in reference the mental intensity of these games saying that “when it’s really close, usually one team pulls together and the other team comes apart”.

In his four years as coach of the Clippers, he hasn’t been able to pull his team together in the most important moments.

It’s going to be an eventful offseason for the Clippers, with both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin eligible to join other teams. If one or both players choose to pursue other options, then Doc Rivers should be on his way out as the first move in yet another Clippers rebuilding process.

The Clippers are in need of a coach who believes in a philosophy that the entire team from one through twelve need to be engaged in order to reach a goal. The role players on Rivers’ teams have developed a reputation for fading in the big moments, and when there’s talent up and down the roster the way the Clippers have had, this lack of preparation falls on the coach.

Next: Fifteen free agent targets for the Clippers

There is a wealth of great basketball minds on the sidelines of NBA teams eager to install their own systems into a Los Angeles Clippers team that needs a change in philosophy if they ever want to escape their reputation of mediocrity.

Home/Los Angeles Clippers