LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 15, 2020

Doc Rivers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Doc.

Q. When Landry and Zu were self-isolating, you tried to reincorporate them with practice Zooms. Are you doing anything similar with Trez?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, we're doing all the same. I think every team is doing that probably. We've had the guys, we just had a bunch of film that we watched. Trez was there, at least by camera. We got a little bit of that in.

Q. I know you and Rick have matched wits going back to the early 2000s when you were both in the east. Wondering if there's some things that are hallmarks of his teams, and if that's changed in recent years?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, I think it's changed for all of us. Usually comes down to at the end of the day the players you have, what systems you run. I mean, Rick's teams have always been efficient offensively, always had great spacing and movement. He's played at a high pace with some teams, slower pace with other teams.

It comes down to, unless you're very stubborn, which Rick is not, nor am I, it comes down to the type of team you have, the type of players you have.

Q. This season Dallas posted the highest offensive rating of all time. Obviously Rick is a good coach, Luka is special, K.P. good. What makes this offense so difficult to game plan against and defend?

DOC RIVERS: Well, Luka. Luka just creates a matchup. He has the ability to score. He gets to the paint. He's strong. He's an elite passer.

There's no great offense that doesn't start with a great player, and he's a great player.

Q. Rick kind of likened Luka the other day, his vision and play making, to Jason Kidd and Larry Bird. When you've gone up against stars like this, what is your general philosophy of how to slow guys down like this?

DOC RIVERS: They're all different. Larry Bird was a great shooter/scorer. Jason Kidd turned out to be one of the great shooters, but he was more of a passer. Luka is a little bit more of both. That's probably why Rick did that, because he is a little bit of both. He has the passing of Jason Kidd, but has the scoring ability of Larry Bird. That's what makes him such a difficult cover.

Q. Is there any update on where Pat and Landry stand in terms of being able to play Monday?

DOC RIVERS: No, there's no update yet. We'll see. We have two practices. If we can incorporate them in, that would be great.

Q. P.G. and Kawhi were playing some really great basketball in the bubble. Is this the most comfortable you've seen them play together all season?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, I thought right before the break they were at that same level. I think we were 9-1 in our last 10 games. I thought as a team we were getting great rhythm, then we shut it down. I think now they're starting to work right back into that.

If we can get there, we're really good.

Q. Coming into this bubble you talked a lot about just wanting to make sure this team gets back to being cohesive. Where are you in that? What is your comfort level as a collective whole going into Monday?

DOC RIVERS: I don't know. We haven't been together much, so...

I like our spirit. I like our mental cohesiveness, I'll say that (laughter). But as far as actually being in great rhythm, I think we're close.

But it's been difficult. We've had a lot of guys out. Six at one point of our top 10 guys were not playing. Everyone's gone through something here would be my guess in the bubble. We've gone through our stuff. We hope to get Trez back by Monday. That would be great. We'll just keep building from there.

Q. As far as team unity off the court, have you put together any team-building activities or has that been amongst the players to come together on their own? Being a champion yourself, knowing the potential of this team, how could this season be a success without you guys making it to and winning the NBA Finals?

DOC RIVERS: I think that's a good place to be, though, really. I hear that all the time with all these teams since I've been in the league.

I hope everyone knows winning the title is not that easy. There's only going to be one team. We want to be that team. If we're not, we will be disappointed. There's no doubt about that. Us, the Lakers, Milwaukee, you can start naming the teams. But of all of us, there's only going to be one.

So, yeah, it's a great, great setup for you to be in that position. I love putting myself and our team in that position. We haven't had a lot of those here for the Clippers. We have one now that we can actually say with true honesty that we want to win it all. If we don't, we'll be disappointed.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Doc.

DOC RIVERS: Thanks, guys.