Los Angeles Clippers have three advantages over the Los Angeles Lakers
By Jason Reed
2. The coaching (and the culture from the front office)
The Los Angeles Lakers are deploying a new coach this season as Frank Vogel has been tasked to take over for Luke Walton, who disappointed in LA and did not gel at all with LeBron James.
On Vogel’s staff is assistant coach Jason Kidd, who many believe the Lakers wanted to sign first but shied away from because of his past with spousal abuse and driving while intoxicated. If Vogel flounders, Kidd might be the guy to take over.
Vogel is known as a good defensive coach and he had some really good years with the Indiana Pacers. However, he has not coached a winning season since 2015 and we all know how bad Kidd was as a head coach for the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Clippers have Doc Rivers. An established champion in the league who coached a team last year that widely exceeded expectations, partly because of his coaching.
Rivers may not have been the best when he was making basketball decisions, but he is great as the team’s coach and is going to have a much easier time managing his two superstars and lineup than Vogel will.
And to throw some icing on the cake, the Los Angeles Clippers have a much better culture around Rivers and the team. The Lakers have been a circus over the last year while Steve Ballmer has done a great job of changing the culture of the Clippers, even if he does get a little too excited sometimes.