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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO: CLIPPERS v ROCKETSMay 10, 2015Doc RiversLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Four Clippers – 128 Q. Doc, were you surprised that Kevin McHale went to the Hack‑a‑D.J. so early? DOC RIVERS: You're never surprised with it, honestly. You know, it's a strategy, and again, you can use it. We've done it, too. You know, I thought we handled it okay. I thought we tried to play too fast for a little stretch there trying to beat it. But once we just decided‑‑ you know, I told our guys at halftime, we scored 60 points with them doing it, but we gave up too many points. So it's funny, I was upset because of that. I thought we were thinking about that instead of thinking about defending. In the second half I thought we did a better job of defending and the game changed. Q. In the first half DeAndre was rolling his eyes a little bit. It seemed like it was bothering him. For him to stay in the game the second half, what does that say about his growth? DOC RIVERS: It's been okay. He's had practice at it. He really has. You know, I just kept telling our guys, hey, guys, D.J. is‑‑ they're going to foul him, and he's going to play, and let's just keep playing. I thought‑‑ you're right, though, I thought all of us kind of got freaked out by it early, and then after that we were fine. Q. Why did you decide not to take him out early on when they were doing that? DOC RIVERS: I have no idea. I really don't. I don't have a strategy for it. I look at the score, I look at fouls, I look at the rhythm of the game. It was hurting us, but I didn't think it was hurting us enough to take him out, because his defense is so important, and at the end of the day, I think if we can get more stops and he can split them, he didn't split them in the first half, then we're good. It's just a tough call every night, and I can tell you I'm wrong half the time. Half the time I'm right on it. It's a tough call. It's the damndest thing. Q. At what point did you see how many free throws he shot in the first half? And to hear that it's a playoff record, he broke Shaq's record for most free throws attempted in a playoff game in the first half? DOC RIVERS: Well, 28. I hope that that's a record. Please tell me that's a record. I knew he took a lot. I don't want to‑‑ I never look at the stats during the game. I'll look at it at halftime. That's when I look at the stats. But I've got Lawrence and Mike Woodson and Sam Cassell saying 22, 24, so you don't need a stat sheet when you've got a verbal stat sheet sitting next to you. I was just hoping we could get other guys fouls, too. I really was looking at that. The was the game was going‑‑ another thought for me was when they were fouling early was I was going to take him out because they're in penalty now, and then you can go back and now every time you get fouled, you get to the free‑throw line with one of your guys. But I just decided to leave him in there. I'm sorry you guys missed your reservations. Did we break a record there, too, in a four‑quarter game? It has to be the longest. Q. Was tonight an example of the hacking hurting the team that was doing it more than the team being fouled, and do you think it played a factor in them never really getting into a rhythm the second half? DOC RIVERS: You know, I don't know. It does happen, though. I think both teams lost their rhythm for a while, so that's the problem with it. Especially if you're them or us, teams that run, teams that like motion, it turns it into a half‑court game, and you know, it allows us to set our defense. That's the one‑‑ if there is the one positive thing about the fouls‑‑ I love our defense when we're set, and any time we go to the free‑throw line, we get to set our defense. Q. Blake was pretty good when you got here as coach. How has he‑‑ he had another good game and he's been great in the Playoffs. How has he evolved since you've taken over? DOC RIVERS: Well, it's not me, I can tell you that. It's just him. Like he works on his game. We've asked him to do certain things, be a better elbow player. That means passing, shooting, and handling the ball, and he's done that. We ask him to face the basket more instead of turning your back on the basket on the post. I think that's the area to me that he's made his biggest improvement. Very difficult to guard him when he faces up to you right off the block because you can't put your hands on him, and with his first step and his quickness and his ability to see the floor. But you guys don't see it, but the hours that he puts into it is what he's done. Q. It's more of an intangible thing but can you speak to the confidence and swagger this team has? No matter the score, it seems like there's a new confidence about this team. DOC RIVERS: Yeah, I mean, it's an intangible thing. You've got to believe. You really do. And I think our guys do. They've done it all year. They really have. But it's just that I think right now, honestly, they just have great focus. They're not thinking about it, a lot of stuff, but doing their jobs and trying to win the game. There's no stuff. It's just they're just really focused right now, and we've got to keep them that way. Q. It's Chris's second game since the hamstring. How did he look to you and what kind of variables are you going to be looking at moving forward as to whether you're increasing the minutes? DOC RIVERS: I have no idea. Today it was funny because that's where the hack‑a‑whatever‑you‑want‑to‑call‑it‑‑ I still think we should call it the Hack‑a‑Shaq in honor of him, that's where the Hack‑a‑Shaq help is‑‑ we were going to take CP out and I turned to J.P., and I said, he's just walking down the floor every time. Honestly, it's not like‑‑ even though the minutes were ticking there was no basketball going on so he could stay in, and J.P. agreed with that. But moving forward, I just don't know. Again, every step he takes makes the coach nervous. Q. This series has decidedly turned in your favor, not just the fact that you're up 3‑1 but the last two games being big blowouts for your club. How do you feel about your team's position? DOC RIVERS: Well, obviously I love where we're at, but the series is not over. We've got to keep playing. We've got to finish. They're not going to just get out of our way, so we have to keep playing. We have to keep trusting. We can't think about winning the series. We have to keep thinking about how we play, and then everything else will take care of itself, and I think our guys have done a pretty good job of staying within themselves. Q. I know pregame you said you only think about last year when we bring it up, but I'm going to bring it up once more because you guys are one win away from going to a place this franchise has never been before. What does it say about this team's resolve to have this opportunity, and how meaningful is it to you to have this shot? DOC RIVERS: Well, it's meaningful to have the shot, but I want to do it first, so that's more important for me. The fact that it's the anniversary‑‑ I try not to know the anniversary. Half the men in the room can't remember their wedding anniversary. Why would I ever want to remember that anniversary when you think about it? For me, it just tells you about our growth, though. I think our guys and our organization has grown. But I don't want to go there. We've got work to do. Q. Obviously you try to wrap up the series as soon as you can, but considering Chris's hamstring, you wrap this thing up Tuesday, do you think about the potential to get rest? DOC RIVERS: I don't, but I know what you're saying. Like I want them to focus on Tuesday's game, and then whatever happens after that happens. But we've got to do our job first. Obviously it would be a great thing to have. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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