Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated (3/17/14)
Upon reaching Jordan in Houston, Rivers said that he had no intention of trading him—that, along with Griffin and point guard Chris Paul, he was part of L.A.'s Big Three. He recalled a postgame conversation Jordan had with a Boston player a few years earlier. "Man, I could play defense for you guys," Jordan said. This had piqued Rivers's interest, and he told Jordan this was his calling: "You can be the best defender in the NBA."
Jordan listened. Big Three? Best defender? He was unaccustomed to hearing such sentiments from a coach.
Rivers had another message for Jordan, though: He needed to change. In watching tape from 2012--13, Rivers had glimpsed a montage of anguished reactions when the big man didn't get the ball on the block, or when he didn't get a call from a ref, or when he bricked another free throw. Rivers even showed Jordan the Celtics' scouting report: You can read DeAndre's emotions on his face. You can tell he's upset when he's not getting the ball.
"Let's be honest," Rivers told Jordan. "If you want to be a star, defense is your way to do it. And you can never allow something on offense to take away from your job." He told Jordan he needed him to be the captain of the Clippers' D. This meant Rivers would be harder on Jordan if someone scored or if the defense broke down. Finally, the coach broke the news that Del Negro was right: Jordan shouldn't be featured on offense. "I may never call a play for you all season," Rivers said. "If you want it, you gotta go get it."
This was a gamble by Rivers. It's one thing to spray sunshine over a sensitive, emotional young man. It's another to tell him truths he might not want to hear.
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Phase two of Rivers's plan, after boosting Jordan's confidence, was managing his psyche. Addressing the players during training camp, Rivers announced that he wanted to minimize their "emotional hijacks." Every time you get mad at yourself or the ref or a teammate, you hijack not just yourself but the whole team, Rivers explained. Because now your teammates are wasting time trying to calm you down. This was aimed at Jordan, but he wasn't the only culprit. "This team is the king of it," says Rivers.
Jordan got the bulk of Rivers's attention, though. He whispered in Jordan's ear during timeouts, talked to him after practice. Over and over he repeated one message: Get past mad. Get past mad.
Jordan Rules
