JORDAN CONTINUES MAKING MARK DEFENSIVELY“He’s been dominant,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said Monday when asked to assess Jordan’s defensive presence thus far. “He’s been exactly who we want him to be.”“I feel like I’m setting the tone for our defense and what we want to do,” Jordan said. “Not only blocking shots, but voicing what we want to do from my position on the court.”Asked about how he felt when Rivers called him a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Jordan said, “It was definitely something that made a light go off. I know he’s a defensive coach and I want to become a great defensive player and with his help I can.
“There’s still a lot of work I have to do, we all have to do,” he added. “But [Rivers is] definitely putting the confidence in, not only me, but the rest of our team, that we can do some great things here.”
Eric Patten, Clippers.com
CLIPPERS STRIVE FOR CONTINUITY IN PRESEASON’S FINAL WEEK“Everybody [can] get their routine and kind of get used to it again,” said Griffin, who played a preseason-high 39 minutes in Vegas. “This next week or however long we’re at home will be good for us.”“Our continuity offensively and defensively, getting it down better,” Rivers said. “When you first start with a new team and you put in a lot of stuff [the players] do it, but they don’t do it well. So, now we have to get to the point where we’re doing the things that we’ve put in well.”
That process will be aided by the possible return of Matt Barnes, J.J. Redick and Reggie Bullock in the near future. Redick, who has been out with a left quad contusion for two weeks, and Bullock (sore right knee) returned to practice Monday, while Barnes continues to nurse a sore left calf.STAPLES CENTER REDOCRATED
“The culture is changing and we want to be a winner and to do that I think we have to make changes,” Rivers said Monday before practice. “At Staples Center is one [change] that I thought we needed to make. We don’t leave a Lakers floor down, do we? And they don’t play on the Clippers floor. They take it up. That’s all we’re saying. It’s no disrespect and all that stuff. I have an amazing amount of respect for the Lakers. Having said that, I work for the Clippers. When we play it should be the Clippers’ arena. I would say [the Lakers] probably feel the same way when they play and that’s all it is.”
Eric Patten, Clippers.com
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