LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 25, 2020

Doc Rivers

Postgame Press Conference

Clippers 154, Mavericks 111

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Doc.

Q. The defensive adjustments against Luka. Tonight you did a bit of trapping. What went into that decision, how you thought that went?

DOC RIVERS: I thought it went well. I mean, just overall the intensity defensively was so much more attentive. Through the series, like, we've made just a lot of game plan mistakes with our switching, with our trapping. We actually did trap them in the game previous. It was just so poor, it was hard to notice.

I thought Rex and Ty, both of them just did a terrific job game planning and mixing it up. We didn't just have one coverage, which I thought was important.

I just thought we played hard and right and with a great spirit.

Q. Paul just said that he was in a pretty dark place these last three games, having trouble adjusting to the environment of no fans. Did you notice that? You said you would comment about the Jacob Blake situation, how you truly felt about it, after the game.

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, this is not a normal environment, okay? I just isn't. But it's good. Like the NBA has done a terrific job. But Lou made a great point. You lose a lot of games. The game the other night was tough. Usually you go home to your family, you go home. Here you go back to your rooms and you're with each other, then you actually see the other teams. It's just a strange thing, man. I tell you, it's just different.

I thought our guys were great, though. P.G. and I sat in my room after the game. We just had a long talk, not all about basketball really. Several players did it. Guys were knocking on his door.

This team, we're growing still. You can see it. We've not had the normal time together like most teams. Things like that, they happen. Proud of all our guys, just proud of all the players.

As far as the other situation, it's just so sad. What stands out to me is just watching the republican convention, viewing this fear. All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear.

We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We're the ones that we're denied to live in certain communities. We've been hung. We've been shot. All you do is keep hearing about fear (tearing up).

It's amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back. It's really so sad.

Like, I should just be a coach. I'm so often reminded of my color. It's just really sad. We got to do better. But we got to demand better.

It's funny, we protest. They send riot guards. They send people in riot outfits. They go up to Michigan with guns. They're spitting on cops. Nothing happens.

The training has to change in the police force. The unions have to be taken down in the police force. My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We're not trying to defund the police and take all their money away. We're trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.

I didn't want to talk about it before the game because it's so hard, like, to just keep watching it. That video, if you watch that video, you don't need to be black to be outraged. You need to be American and outraged.

How dare the republicans talk about fear. We're the ones that need to be scared. We're the ones having to talk to every black child. What white father has to give his son a talk about being careful if you get pulled over? It's just ridiculous. It just keeps going. There's no charges. Breonna Taylor, no charges, nothing.

All we're asking is you live up to the Constitution. That's all we're asking for everybody, for everyone.

Thank you.

Q. (Question about being a coach at times like these when players are weighing playing/not playing.)

DOC RIVERS: I think the one thing, you always play. You know what, we can fight for justice, but we still should do our jobs. I really believe that. Doing our jobs, people are seeing excellence from Americans, black Americans and white Americans.

I would still do my job. That's just my opinion. But if my players told me no, it would be no. I can tell you that.

When you watch that video, it's sickening, it's sickening. His kids were in the car. How do they ever get that out of their mind? How are those kids ever normal?

Q. What would your message to players be weighing the question of boycott?

DOC RIVERS: My message is: Go after your dreams. You don't allow anything to take you away from your dreams. During the Donald Sterling thing, Matt Barnes, Chris Paul, D.J., Blake, all those guys, J.J. Redick, they all pulled together.

At the end of the day, the one thing we decided, when we were little kids, we were in the backyard by ourselves, we had these dreams about winning the championships, Donald Sterling was not in our dreams, and neither were these cops. So they're not going to take anybody, they're not taking our dreams away, all right? So that would be my message.

Q. It feels a bit wrong to go back to basketball.

DOC RIVERS: It's what we do. Like I should be talking about basketball. It's what we do.

Q. Did you feel like the team connected more emotionally?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, we did a lot of things well today. We just played together. We played hard. We were aggressive. And more importantly, like it is a human game and you make mistakes, but we just had so few game plan mistakes that I thought it was awesome.

Q. How hard is it for you to focus on game planning and the Playoffs when this troubling stuff is happening?

DOC RIVERS: It's because we have to. Our jobs, we are basketball players, we're fathers, we're businessmen. We should still be able to do our jobs. But it's hard sometimes. Today was hard. It really was for everybody, every team.

I still think we can't stop doing our jobs because it's what we do. It allows us, honestly, three hours of solitude. You know, it does. Once we're on the stage we can kind of get in our jobs and forget what's going on.

So I think that's it.

Q. Along the solitude lines, I think Trez played five minutes in the first quarter, might have only had two points. The way you greeted him when he came off the court was genuine, you seemed really happy. What did you like so much about that? Did you feel like he looked a little bit like himself?

DOC RIVERS: I told him I was proud of him because I think he had two points, right, but he made a difference. Trez is still young, right? When you come back, you're not in great shape, I think you put so much pressure on scoring that you forget who you are. Trez is an energy player that can score points, that can do everything. He just needed that.

I was just happy that he helped our team without scoring. That's what I was telling him.

Q. Can you expound on when you had to first have that conversation with your son about driving, being safe, kind of his dealing with the law, that some other people don't have to have that conversation?

DOC RIVERS: Basically when they get their driver's license, all of them. I have an adopted child. You just share with them, Be careful, show your hands, be respectful. It's funny, though, even through that sometimes you still get shot, so...

I don't know. It's just really tough.

THE MODERATOR: Doc, thank you.

DOC RIVERS: Thanks, guys.