LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 21, 2020

Doc Rivers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Doc.

Q. With the scrimmage tomorrow, any excused absences who won't be there tomorrow?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, we'll find that out tomorrow, to be honest. We'll also decide tomorrow on who is going to play or not.

Q. You've talked a lot about being in the bubble is kind of the safest place to be right now. With the league announcing yesterday that over the last week none of the players have tested positive, your thoughts on the effectiveness of it so far, how the protocols have gone?

DOC RIVERS: League has been great, they really have been. They've done everything right as far as I'm concerned. I mean, when you think that we're running a village for the first time, league is doing pretty well in city management. There is a lot of stuff we can do here.

But as far as our health, we have an app every morning that you have to do. You're wearing bands. Everybody are wearing facemasks when you're out in public.

I mean, maybe we should send our game plan on to the White House (laughter).

Q. We can see who is here and who is not. We can see Kawhi, P.G. Are you going to play them tomorrow?

DOC RIVERS: I don't know yet. We'll wait till tomorrow. Always go through practice, see what we get done in practice, then we'll decide tomorrow.

Q. We have talked a little bit about what some of the guys are doing. There are a bunch of players in this league right now experiencing golf for the first time. How did you find the game? You've talked a little bit about the mental benefits to it. If you were a player in this situation, how much would you be trying to play?

DOC RIVERS: I started golfing when I was playing for the Clippers. I think I may have played a couple times my t year with the Hawks, then when I was in L.A. I wish I'd played it earlier, honestly. I love the game personally. Wish I was better at it.

But it's a concentration game. If you equate that into basketball, the focus you have to have. It's also a game of you don't play well all the time, you have to deal with your frustrations. I think it's good for guys mentally.

Now, I wouldn't play on the day of a game in the sun or even sometimes if you're walking the day before. But I do think it's good for guys. Obviously it depends on if their health is right.

Q. Adam Silver was saying the other week as much as the NBA has been a good platform to speak out on racial inequality, there needs to be improvement in the diversity of the coaching ranks. What do you think it will take to have that kind of representation?

DOC RIVERS: I think it would take owners hiring more. I don't think it's that complicated. It is in the sense that you hire who you know, you hire who you're comfortable with. I think if we could improve one thing, it would be doing something where owners can be more comfortable with more people that's in their circle.

I don't know how to do that, but I think it has to be done.

Q. Last week I think you were saying how cool it was you get to see all the coaches and players from other cities you don't get to see throughout the season. Even Erik Spoelstra was saying he reached out to Quin Snyder and Luke Walton to see what they were practicing in with their scrimmages. Is that something you sought out or you just bumped into them?

DOC RIVERS: We play Orlando tomorrow. I can tell you right now I know what they're going to do, they know what we're going to do. Cliffy and I shared exactly.

We're looking at this as an opportunity to get better for both teams. So coaches are absolutely sharing things. We're asking them in this quarter can you do this, on-side, out-of-bounds, can you do this defense, then what do you want me to do. I think it's been great in that way.

I think the first one is a scrimmage, it's 10-minute quarters. Each time I think it will get more and more competitive. Right now I think most of the coaches are in the 'get better' mode, not exactly the 'win a pre-season game' mode.

Q. We've seen guys like Jerami Grant and Tobias Harris to use these press conferences to bring light to Breonna Taylor's death. We have seen Russell Westbrook talked to the NBA on getting new shirts made. What is your take on the extra stuff players are doing to keep bringing awareness despite the NBA jerseys and the 'Black Lives Matter' on the court?

DOC RIVERS: I'm very proud of our players, black and white. J.J. Redick has been extremely outspoken. It's what we have to do.

I think we're fortunate in the way that we're in a bubble right now, so our health is good, but more importantly we can keep this talk alive. We cannot allow this talk to die down with all the rhetoric we're getting from the White House and other places. It's just so important.

Very proud of all the guys. They got to keep doing it. Can't lose steam. We got to keep it going.

Q. With different guys coming in at different times, how much of a challenge is that to have that staggered re-finding of rhythm?

DOC RIVERS: It's a challenge. I guess a challenge for the coaches, an opportunity for the guys that are here. That's the way I've always looked at it. When I was a player, I was good with guys missing if I was healthy (laughter). I got more reps, I got more minutes.

I think it is, it's a challenge. In some ways it's interesting. It's allowed us to do things we probably may not have done in practice with different lineups.

Again, I think what we're all learning here is that there's a real life out there. No matter what we're in, sometimes the real life stuff comes into play and you have to adjust. We've always been open to that. I think the league now is seeing that.

Usually if you look during the season, there's eight or nine teams that are missing a guy because of a family problem or something. It's just never been done when all the teams are in the same spot. Now that kind of stands out when guys are leaving.

But it's all good.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Have a good practice.

DOC RIVERS: Thanks, guys.