This past summer, the Los Angeles Clippers brought on Jerry West as a front office consultant, promoted Frank Lawrence to President of Basketball Operations, and relieved head coach Doc Rivers of his front office position. No longer the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations, Rivers was able to focus solely on coaching this Clippers team. Looking back on the season, I’d like to give thanks to Doc.
Thank you for a winning season.
It is incredible that the Clippers finished 42-40 after losing Patrick Beverly for essentially the entire season, Danilo Gallinari for most of the season, implementing more starting lineups this season than any other team in the NBA, and using rookies and G-League players all throughout the season. It was not easy to finish the year with a winning record, but it just speaks volumes to Doc’s commitment to the Clippers and his ability to get the most out of the hand he is dealt.
Thank you for not giving up on the team.
Despite constantly losing players to injury, and even at one point early in the season, 4 out the 5 starters, Doc kept getting the most out of “the next man up”. Doc could have thrown in the towel when the Clippers went on a nine-game losing streak in November. Doc could have thrown in the towel after Blake Griffin was traded and people said the Clippers should start tanking. Doc could have given up in the final stretch of the season when Portland, Utah, and San Antonio got hot and the Clippers fell back to the tenth seed. But he didn’t. Doc continued to push the team to be competitive, and ultimately did everything he could have given that the Clippers simply ran out of bodies at the end of the season.
Thank you for wanting to be here.
In the Clippers exit interview, Rivers stated that he wishes to finish his coaching career with this team. This speaks volumes of Doc’s character and the culture he is helping build in LA. Rivers was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Clippers in the summer of 2013 because he did not want to go through the rebuilding process that the Celtics faced. For the Clippers, a rebuild looked like it was on the horizon after trading away Chris Paul last summer and Blake Griffin this season. Lawrence stated in the exit interview that the Clippers are not rebuilding but rather reshaping instead. Rebuild or not, the Clippers face the challenge of getting back to a championship-contending team. The fact that Doc Rivers wants to stay in LA and finish what he came here to do is amazing.
Thank you for one of your finest years of coaching.
With all of this being said, it has been one of Doc Rivers’ greater seasons as a coach. Being able to focus solely on coaching, he demonstrated his ability to get the most out of each player, whether they had been with the Clippers for years, or weeks. It must take an incredible amount of skill and dedication from a coach to be able to win games despite players constantly coming on and off the court due to injury, and having new players constantly brought on and off the team. Despite not making the playoffs, this season was a success for the Los Angeles Clippers. A heavy part of that is credited to Doc Rivers and the coaching job he did this season. So again, thank you, Doc.
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Jake Glosup
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Jake's Take 