LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 1, 2020

Doc Rivers

Press Conference

Q. You touched on last week about enhancing the players' time in the bubble. Outside of winning, what would enhance your time in the bubble?

DOC RIVERS: Winning. That's it. Winning and drier weather.

Q. I thought you'd be used to that.

DOC RIVERS: I'd like to golf more.

Q. I'm sure you kind of took a look at the team that you'll probably be facing. What would be the challenges of facing Denver or Utah?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, they're both just very good teams, both really -- obviously really good players and very well-coached. I'm not even going to let myself go there yet because we can fix our own stuff now for at least today. We can just work on the Clippers and then get to whoever we have to play tomorrow.

Q. I feel like a while ago you had mentioned that when you guys first acquired Lou, you kind of knew what you were getting in terms of an on-court player but you were surprised most that he was kind of a culture builder I think is how you put it. I guess throughout the process of the last week he seemed like he had a pretty vocal role in getting guys on the same page. What did you see from him in the last week, and is that kind of a reflection of him having a voice in that locker room?

DOC RIVERS: Yeah, that's the truth. He kind of speaks his mind, and in a not-emotional way, so he's easy to follow, and that's a good trait for a player.

Q. You went to the Rockets game yesterday; was that a totally personal trip? Was there any business --

DOC RIVERS: No, there was no business. I just sit there and watch as a parent would, sat in the family section, which is nice. The only reason I sat there was because the family seats are better. If the scouting seats were better I'd have sat in those seats.

But I'm a coach, you know, so when you watch any team play, you're watching -- you're not scouting, you're just learning and seeing what they do. But it's fun. For me it's a way of getting away from my job. I feel like, man, this is how it used to be.

Q. With Austin, I think you said earlier in the bubble there's sort of a tournament feel here. Does it take you back to any of those days?

DOC RIVERS: I mean, it does. It's a different environment, but it does like when you walk in the building. I literally have walked in this building no less than 500 times, and I'd always park -- Reggie Williams was the head of Disney back then, Sports, and he would let me park in the back and walk in through the side door, and that's what we're doing now, so it feels the exact same. The players are better, that's for sure. And no parents screaming like AAU tournaments, so that's better, too.

Q. You guys are kind of in limbo right now in that you don't know who you're going to be playing. How do you kind of prepare for both teams at the same time, and then what are your plans for watching Game 7 tonight?

DOC RIVERS: We don't prepare for both teams, we just prepare us. There's certain things you do no matter who you play, offensively and defensively, and so you work on getting that better. So then when you put in the game plan it's easier to put in, so that's what we're going to do.

I haven't even given thought where I'm going to watch it. Probably with the coaches somewhere.

Q. What's your thoughts on the offensive explosion we've seen from a lot of players in the bubble? I believe Paul George said a couple weeks ago that this is like the shooter's gem with the backdrop and no fans going on. I wonder what you thought --

DOC RIVERS: It's not the fans. It's nothing to do with the fans. It's the backdrop. The baskets are like framed in. I'd say that it's funny, first day we walked in the gym, I actually jokingly said, man, there's going to be some great shooting in this freaking place because it is, it's just framed so well for you. But I've got a feeling it's going to get harder as this goes on because the defenses are going to get better. I think the offensive teams, everybody -- we've had way more practice than you normally would have going into a playoff series, and that's why the offenses are so sharp. But I think as things go on, you're going to see offensive numbers drop a little bit.