LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 29, 2020

Doc Rivers

Press Conference

Q. Before you guys got to Orlando, you talked about how this was going to be about mental strength for the team and for yourself. To this point, have there been any surprises which you've kind of had to navigate and work your way through mentally?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, I guess. I mean, not having everybody is -- I would say would be -- I don't know if it was a surprise. It just happens. But mentally you have to get through it. I think if I was a player, you come in and you don't have everyone, and then for most of the camp we only had 10 guys, so there's no off in practice. Usually you have 15 guys, you can take a break in a drill or in scrimmages. There was no substitutions. And so we had to adjust our practice shorter, do things less, put in less, and mentally as a player I would imagine that that would probably frustrate you a little bit. But our guys have handled it great.

Q. What do you feel like being together here has done for the team's chemistry?

DOC RIVERS: That's a good question. I think everyone's chemistry is probably on every team -- it's funny, I was talking to a coach unnamed, but he said either the chemistry has gotten way better or we hate each other (laughing), but I think for the most part, I can't imagine someone's team not growing in this. The guys, especially the teams that have had all their guys, because it is a village that you're living in. It's an NBA village. It's the greatest like superstar basketball camp that you could -- this is like a dream, you know, if you look at it that way.

So I would say chemistry-wise it's probably been great for everybody. Yeah, us included. Yeah, we've had a lot of guys missing, so that hasn't been the fun part. But the guys who are here -- remember, Reggie was new, Marcus was new, so they've been here for the most part, and I think it's been good for everybody.

Q. What do you want to see from your guys in the next eight games, the guys who are there?

DOC RIVERS: You know, I don't know. Just getting better each game, growing, getting to a peak conditioning level. It's very important. Like you've got to get through these eight games. By the end of the eight games, you're going to the Playoffs. When you're going to the Playoffs, you're usually at your peak place, especially conditioning and rhythm and timing. That would be my goal.

Obviously you want to win games, but if you told me we didn't but when we started the Playoffs we were at the peak in each of those places, I would tell you I'd take that right now.

Q. I see your hat saying "Vote." You guys have a lot of different symbolism and signage on the coaches, shoes, hats, everything like that. What have you kind of learned about yourself as a coach during this time and what it's important for you to do for your guys and for your system?

DOC RIVERS: Well, for me as a coach I've learned two things. Number one, I've always been extremely political but not enough. You know, we had a great speaker recently talk to our team, and he said, I don't know how anyone can say that they're not involved in politics because politics are involved in your daily lives every day, whether you want it or not. The statements are being made whether you're involved in it or not, so why wouldn't you be involved. That's the first thing.

And the second thing, I hate to say it, I think I'm getting old, and I think actually listen to the young people. I think this movement is really driven by the young, and so my job is to inspire them to vote and get involved and then back up and let them do the talking and us do the listening. I think that's very important in this movement. If we can do that, then we don't just have young people involved in politics now, but we have people involved in politics for life, and I think that's very important for us.

Q. Do you feel like your team at this point is dealing with (indiscernible) hiatus, or is it a harder challenge just what's happened in the last three weeks with guys going here, guys going there and you haven't played together much?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, I would say the second. The hiatus was the hiatus. I think it's affected us because of what's happened. You know, human life is happening, and we've had a lot of things that have happened.

Because I thought during the hiatus our guys did a great job as far as conditioning and things like that, and then we get here, and then things happen. Guys have the virus, guys have family stuff, and so you have all of this what I call clutter in your lives, and it's part of life. So we've had to deal with that.

But adversity is not all bad. You know, it really isn't. Adversity is not bad. You're going to go through hard stuff, and if it's at the beginning, then let's do it now.

Q. You were just talking about how life has just kind of come into play here, and I was wondering Lawrence and Winger massed this deep roster. How have you seen team depth kind of be tested early by just unpredictable things that can happen in the bubble? Have you gotten a preview that maybe this deep roster is built for things that could happen inside this bubble that you can't foresee?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, well, a deep roster is built for that, and we've done that. Now, when you have five and six guys out at one time, that's asking too much on any roster. By the time the games start, we won't have that many out, but we'll have maybe two to three guys, key guys out, and that's asking a lot.

Having said that, that doesn't stop us from believing we're going to win every game. We have great confidence.

Q. You said Pat Beverley was a "maybe" after the last scrimmage. Is there any update on him? And with Lou and the possibility of Trez not being there Thursday, they have been such a vital part of everything you guys do off the bench, how do you account for those two being gone with just your rotations and how do you compensate?

DOC RIVERS: Well, no one is going to replace those two; we know that. So we're going to have to try to make it up in other ways with a different rotation for sure, and Pat has probably been upgraded to a "may be."