Doc Rivers did all he could to avoid falling victim to the hack-a-Deandre Jordan strategy on Wednesday night, and Jordan was not happy about it.
In the final seconds of the Clippers’ 85-83 win over the Hawks, Rivers decided to only keep Jordan on the floor for defensive possessions and sub him out when the Clips were on offense. At one point, Jordan began yelling at Rivers on the bench.
DeAndre Jordan chews out Doc Rivers for subbing him out up 2, 5 seconds left, Clippers ball. pic.twitter.com/JMwqSR2jdA
— Rob Perezingis (@World_Wide_Wob) January 28, 2016
Jordan is one of the worst free throw shooters in the NBA, and he has converted just 42 percent of his attempts from the line this season. However, he did hit four consecutive free throws against Atlanta with roughly three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Perhaps that is why he was so upset, but Rivers didn’t want to risk it.
Jordan ended up grabbing the final defensive rebound of the game — his 19th of the night — to seal the win for L.A. Rivers’ strategy ultimately paid off in that the Clippers secured the victory.
If you have seen the way Jordan struggles from the line (this video is the best example), you know why Rivers wasn’t convinced after Jordan somehow knocked down four straight. That had fluke written all over it.
