The Los Angeles Clippers hired Doc Rivers as their head coach and president of basketball operations four years ago, and they have not advanced past the Western Conference semifinals during his tenure with the team. That is obviously a major disappointment, but how much of it is Doc’s fault?
While winning and losing is never the responsibility of one person, some questions have popped up recently about the job Rivers is doing running the team. In a recent article examining what the Clippers’ plan will be moving forward without Chris Paul, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report cited team sources who claim Rivers’ work ethic has not been up to snuff.
Rivers remains charming, but team sources say his work ethic as a coach and executive lags far behind the championship rep he built on the shoulders of veterans Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
We have no idea where that opinion came from, but it is not the only negative thing that has been written about the job Rivers is doing behind the scenes in L.A. About two weeks ago, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that the relationship between Rivers and Paul deteriorated in part because of a lack of accountability within the organization.
At some point, a team stops believing it can win. Players get tired of each other, and yearn to try new things. The culture had eroded. Insiders complained about a lack of accountability — about practices and shootarounds starting late, and Austin Rivers carrying himself like an anointed superstar. (This appears to have gotten better over the past year-plus, and Rivers has clearly earned his keep as a plus reserve.)
The Clippers have lost in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons. Rivers wanted full control over the roster in addition to being the team’s coach, so he signed up for being held responsible for L.A.’s shortcomings.
Paul made some comments recently that indicated his departure had nothing to do with Rivers, but none of that really matters. The Clippers will likely be worse without him, and it will be up to Doc to find a way to adapt accordingly.
