Were the Clippers right in firing Doc Rivers?
LOS ANGELES (BVM) — NBA fans can agree that good coaches are hard to find. Now if a franchise finds a great coach, they should put all their faith in the talents of the coach and players. Not to say that head coach Doc Rivers was the greatest coach, but his record puts him in the conversation as one the league’s best.
Rivers is the 11th winningest coach in NBA history and has been in the league for two decades. He helped the Celtics win a championship in 2008, and assisted the previously irrelevant Los Angeles Clippers experience some consistent playoff runs.
But let’s take a deeper look at his time in charge of the Clippers. He took charge of the franchise during the 2013-14 season, after the Celtics traded him for an unprotected 2015 NBA first round draft pick. He also became the senior vice president of basketball operations on the team.
The roster in the previous season had talent such as the likes of: Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and Deandre Jordan just to name a few. During this first season, Rivers led the team to a franchise record of 57 wins, earning a third place finish in the Western Conference.
That regular season record led to the team securing a playoff spot. During the first round series against the Golden State Warriors, the infamous incident with then owner Donald Sterling occurred. After the incident occurred, league commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the NBA for life, and the team was bought by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The team would win their series against the Warriors in seven games, but would lose in the conference semifinals in six games to the Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City Thunder.
The next season, the Clippers would finish with a 56–26 record and the third seed in the Western Conference entering the playoffs. They would defeat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, winning the series in the seventh game on a game-winning shot by Paul with one second left. The next series would see them face the Houston Rockets taking a 3 -1 lead in the series, but allowed the Rockets to win the following three games.
Injuries to stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin would be a frequent occurrence in the next season which would add fuel to the idea of ending the “Lob City Era” that the team was known for. They would get bounced out by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.
Chris Paul would eventually be traded in the 2017 off season to the Houston Rockets for Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, Sam Dekker, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a future first-round pick, and cash considerations. While the team did finish with a winning record, they would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Griffin would be traded to the Detroit Pistons during the 2018 trade deadline to improve the teams depth, the team would receive Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanović, a protected first-round pick in 2018 and a second round pick in 2019. The 2018 season would see the team clinching a playoff berth and finished the regular season with a 48–34 record. The team faced the defending two-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the first round, losing in six games.
Executives and fans watched all the disappointing playoff runs, poor acquisitions, and disappointing seasons while staying patient. They would find some hope when the team would acquire Paul George in a trade with the Thunder, which convinced Kawhi Leonard to leave the Toronto Raptors and sign with them. So now you have two elite players in George and Leonard, with a solid supporting cast of Montrezl Harrell, Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, and Marcus Morris, among others.
Fans and others around the league would be convinced that this team was an immediate contender with the acquisitions. Unfortunately, when league play resumed following the COVID epidemic, fans expected the team to win a title but the team continued to disappoint with an unconvincing performance against the Mavericks. The team would be defeated in the next round in what was a very disappointing output against the Denver Nuggets. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard struggled as the trio of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. proved to be too much for them. What was shocking was how bad they both were, with Leonard shooting a career low 32.9 percent from three this post season and George shooting less than 40 percent from the field. In addition to that, the bench was ineffective as well with Harrell being a defensive liability and Lou Williams hurting the team offensively and defensively.
So when asking the question did Doc Rivers deserve to be fired, answers are leaning towards yes. He instilled a great culture and winning mentality for the team but after disappointing playoff runs it can be understood why the franchise went in a different direction. It remains to be seen though who they get to replace him. Whoever they get has a tough task ahead, as George and Leonard become free agents after next season. A retooled roster and deeper run next season will be needed to keep both on board.
If Doc Rivers was the problem, they better have a solution.
