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Doc's L.A. Story: Trading a winter of discontent for West Coast revival

"He gets everybody to buy in," Crawford said. "Everybody out there has a role and it's important. Even if you're not the guy catching and shooting or making the pass, we're all tied together. He gets everybody to believe in that and nobody's above the team. I really appreciate that. He coaches the top players like he does the bottom players and vice versa. He has no problem getting on anybody, because it's all about the Clippers winning and we've bought into that."

"If you want to win it, you're going to have to beat a bad matchup," Rivers said. "That's the way I look at us. San Antonio, I'm sure they have a couple of teams they don't match up with, we have a couple of teams. Doesn't matter, and that's what I tell our guys all the time. It doesn't matter. It really doesn't **** matter. You have to beat somebody that's bigger than us that we don't matchup [with] well, yup. So what? We're just going to have to beat them."

That night against the Warriors, Paul shot miserably for three and a half quarters. In the final six minutes, he took over, making all the right plays and sinking clutch shots. Unsatisfied with his performance, he went back out on the court after the game and took more shots.

"He's just a tough dude," Rivers said. "Great teammate, soft spoken, great with his family. Then when the game starts ... I had a teammate in New York in John Starks who was the most soft spoken, most meek human being you ever met. Then when the game starts he was the devil. Chris is not that, but he's close. He's a competitive, fiery guy. To be the point guard of this team, it's exactly what this team needs."

Paul Flannery, SB Nation

Rivers knew there would be nights like this. In fact, he predicted it at the start of the season, his first with the Clippers after nine seasons, and one NBA championship, with the Celtics. Early in training camp, Rivers laid it out for his new team: This is going to be a love-hate relationship. Sometimes you're going to hate me, because some of you haven't heard the truth about your games in a very long time, and that's exactly what I'm going to give you.
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And then Rivers asked for even more. When Paul was sidelined with a shoulder injury for 18 games in January and February, Rivers urged him to consider giving up the ball even earlier, while still in the backcourt. Paul smiles thinking about the term Rivers used: the hockey assist. "Sometimes it's about the pass that leads to the pass," says Paul, a seven-time All-Star who was averaging 18.8 points and 10.9 assists through March 25. "It's been fun, passing the ball ahead to Blake, letting him push it and make plays. It's not always about the assist."

In other words, the six-foot Paul doesn't need to do more for the Clippers to win -- at least not more of the things people tend to notice. "It's tough sometimes to tell an All-Star or a superstar, 'Hey, change this in your game,' and for them to receive that and make the change," says backup center Ryan Hollins. "But Doc has a way of getting players to accept their role within his schemes."

Hollins isn't just talking about Paul. Although Griffin is having an MVP-caliber season, he still falls in love with the perimeter game at times, giving up an advantage for the offense. When he steps out to screen for a pick-and-roll on the wing, Griffin tends to drift, looking for a midrange jumper instead of cutting to the hoop. "Blake likes to pop a lot," Rivers says. "But he needs to roll more. When he rolls, everyone on defense has to react."

mkwest wrote:Not sure how many have read the article, but it was a good read.