LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 18, 2020

Doc Rivers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Doc.

Q. Assuming you have watched the film from last night's game, what stood out to you?

DOC RIVERS: I thought just our discipline. I thought especially the first half we over-helped so many times and left their shooters open. That was not what we wanted to do. I thought we reached and gambled way too much.

Other than that, second half I thought our adjustments were better. But they didn't have Porzingis on the floor so we have to see if they were better.

Q. (Question regarding center.)

DOC RIVERS: I like Powell, but putting Porzingis at center was a very good move. It was something we were worried about going into that game, that at times if they moved him to the center. It was something that we kind of saw from afar.

Obviously they were forced to do it, but they did it. Once they did it... Listen, it took the league years to figure out how to guard range shooting fours. Now we've moved onto range shooting fives. Lopez, you start naming them. Now we're adjusting to that, as well.

Q. For your own lineup, Marcus playing center yesterday towards the close, you've had some of those lineups with Trez at center. Specific to Marcus, what are you still feeling out about that? Do you like that as a group that can close games?

DOC RIVERS: We talked about it as a group. It's funny because we've had so many injuries, now the group that we talked about doing didn't really have a lot of time to try it. We did it in practice for like two minutes. That is not an exaggeration.

But we like the fact he can stretch the floor. He also is a ball handler. He can switch. I thought he was the most important player on our team yesterday, especially defensively. I thought he did a terrific job overall on Luka.

Q. Doncic gets 42, you thought you did a good job on him. The numbers down here have been crazy individual-wise, team-wise. This time of year is when defenses rule, pace goes down. Is that gone?

DOC RIVERS: It's not gone, it's just gone right now. It's not gone (smiling).

You'll see it back in some game twos and threes. It will come. But the offenses are definitely ahead right now just in the fact of how many times have you had this much practice time going into the Playoffs? Never. Usually going into the Playoffs your off days you're resting.

We had three weeks of practice time. Guys get a gym every night now and they're using it. I just think there's no travel involved, guys aren't going out. I think all that plays into it. They're sharp and they're ready.

I don't know who said it, I think Murray, they asked him his impressions of the first Playoff game. He said, The competition, it's amazing. You can feel it. In some ways I don't know if it's more competitive, but it's competitive out there.

I think because everyone in the bubble has confidence right now because they put the work in, so that's what's going to make it hard.

Q. Porzingis made the observation yesterday, he thinks that you guys intentionally provoke other teams. Is that by design or habit in the course of the game?

DOC RIVERS: No. It's funny, I was at one of those meetings. I think someone from the league was saying, You coaches, you try to play games with the refs. I'm like, I've never met a coach in my life before the game thinking, Okay, this is what I need to do to get under their skin.

No, I think we have some guys who are agitators. I think that's good. But I can guarantee you that wasn't on our game plan list. That's just ridiculous. Okay, let's get him thrown out.

I didn't like it actually. If I have I guess a criticism, I didn't think P.G. should have got a tech and I didn't think Porzingis should have got the first tech.

In some games they do the punch, it was a quick frustration thing. I just think we got to -- I don't know how you judge that. If you don't do one, you do the other. I guarantee you they had to give his because they gave Paul his in the first quarter. I thought those first two techs were connected. I didn't like either one of them.

It happened. We'll take it. But that's the way you want the game to go. Don't get me going on techs (smiling). I've never understood why a coach got a tech and not fans because we're both out of bounds. There are times where maybe you should if you're running down the floor yelling, but I don't think anyone should be paying attention to anyone on the sidelines. I've always thought that.

Then I just hate throw-outs over emotion. Like if it's a fight, yeah, that's different. But I think we want our guys to play. That's all I would say to that.

In the officials' defense, it's tough because they're trying to control the game, the emotions of the game. I get it. It's a hard job.

Q. Obviously you guys don't have to travel. What is your strategy going into the every-other-day games? How do you keep guys fresh and build on-court chemistry?

DOC RIVERS: It would help if it was a 6:00 game. 9:00 games... Listen, we're going to watch film, and that's it.

With Trez, he clearly has to run some more. We're going to do a lot of work there.

Q. Regarding Trez, you've had so many guys go through tragedies in this run. Does the unique circumstances of the bubble, the isolation from players' families, change the way you are approaching guys going through things, the way you talk with them? Does that do anything?

DOC RIVERS: It's a good question. Probably it does just for the fact that we are their family right now. They're with us every day. They're not coming home to a girlfriend or wife. They're going back to their rooms and they're coming back to us.

I do think it probably is a little different, for sure.

Q. Lasts post-season the big storyline with Zu was he wasn't able to hang on the court with the Warriors. Fast forward to this post-season, game one he plays 22 minutes, more than last post-season. What has been the difference for him defensively in terms of being able to stay on the floor?

DOC RIVERS: He's in better shape, number one. He's more active. He's become a smarter player. We're using him in a little different way to help him out.

But he's just put the work in, man. Probably of all the guys on our team, I don't think I'm more prouder of anyone than of Zu because we didn't know if he wanted to do the work and put in the time. He's done that. He's so dedicated.

It's just great to watch.

Q. You have several guys, whether it's the personality or style of play, that have that agitator feel to them. Is there something about guys like that as part of the organization you like?

DOC RIVERS: I don't know. I don't mind them as long as it's smart. There's some guys that do it and you want to say, Stop. There's some guys who it's just part of the way they play. I don't think they're doing any of it on purpose, it's just who they are. Guys like that, you just let them be who they are, you know?

No offense on the Porzingis throw-out. That wasn't enough for anyone else to get involved. There was nothing there. Marcus and Doncic really were having a conversation. For him to come into that, to me it had to be something else later, earlier, that him and Marcus got into. There was nothing there. There was not enough for him to run in and be the peacemaker. There was no war going on, so...

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Doc.

DOC RIVERS: Thanks, guys.