Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Clippers Need To Fire Doc Rivers To Be Successful Again
The Los Angeles Clippers have been the biggest “what if” story in the NBA since Doc Rivers took over and formed a high powered big three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan. It was fun for a while in “lob city”, but the Clippers have since fallen apart as an organization and playing group. With Chris Paul calling it quits to begin this campaign as he signed with the Houston Rockets, it spelled the beginning of the end for the once Western Conference super team. The franchise now sit a lowly 10th in the West with an array of injuries which has contributed to already experiencing one of the longest losing streaks in the league this season.
Sadly for Clipper and NBA fans alike, the playing group that comprised of this big three never really reached its full potential. There was always something wrong with the Clippers when it mattered most, many questions arose throughout their time together. Was Chris Paul a true leader? Did he need to be more aggressive scoring the ball? Will Blake Griffin ever get healthy? Will they all ever be healthy at the same time come postseason? Will they ever acquire a productive small forward? Why have they never addressed their bench issues? Will Deandre Jordan ever make two free throws in a row? These questions as well as countless others plagued the Clippers throughout what was really their most promising period as a franchise. They were genuine contenders, but never really got it together by gelling cohesively or fixing their weaknesses. All in all, despite their talent, they never took the next step as a collective.
A lot of finger pointing has been done since, but arguably their main problem, for the most part, has received a free ride. That person is Doc Rivers. In my opinion, Rivers has been an instrumental part of the Clippers consistent downward spiral and has received little to no blame whatsoever. Since taking the Clippers job, Rivers has done nothing but illustrate his incompetency as an NBA head coach. Under his reign, the Clippers continued to play nothing but robotic, boring repetitive basketball. Yes he won a championship with the Boston Celtics, but he had four hungry all-stars, three of which are guaranteed hall of famers. In my estimation, Doc failed in that respect as well, he should have definitely won more than one ring with that playing group.
Be that as it may, one thing is for sure, he has rode the coattails of that championship long enough, and it’s time Rivers is made accountable for the underachievement during his time at the Clippers. Star center Deandre Jordan has recently been linked away from Los Angeles, and the time is now for the organization to say goodbye to their head coach as well. He has had more than enough time to put the pieces together and compete for a championship, but he has failed and it’s time to move on. Its unlikely Rivers will coach a roster as talented as the ones he’s had inside Staple Center, and the time is now for a fresh beginning with a new face at the helm.
It may just be what the Clippers need, a new face to signify the re-building and change the franchise will need to go through to get back to elite status.
The River’s tenure has run its course, it’s time for a new start.
