The general manager version of Doc Rivers has taken a heaping helping of heat for the fashion in which he constructed the 2014-’15 Los Angeles Clippers. After all, if you just shout out the name of a random Eastern Conference starter during the aughts, chances are GM Doc signed him for guaranteed money. He also surrendered a first round pick to give up on Jared Dudley, and gave away a bundle of assets so his son could continue cashing checks in the NBA to insert young Austin Rivers into his playoff rotation.
But Coach Doc lets his actions do the talking — you know, when he isn’t losing his voice somewhere in the Fire Swamp from shouting and berating officials. Through four games against the San Antonio Spurs, the Clippers have held tight to an eight-man rotation, entrusting Jamal Crawford with a family-size scoring load off the bench, as per normal. Glen “Big Baby” Davis has been relied upon, meanwhile, as both the backup center and power forward. It’s possible Doc has mistaken Davis’ torso for the whereabouts of Spencer Hawes.
Then there’s Austin Rivers.
Over roughly 64 minutes this series, the Clippers are essentially dead-locked with the Spurs when Austin Rivers is on the floor. Rivers, who has turned out three passable games against San Antonio along with Sunday’s ideal performance, is the basketball equivalent of a placeholder — well, that’s when things go according to plan. The best case scenario for L.A. each and every time Rivers touches the floor is for nothing to go wrong. If the Clippers can get their starters in and out without relinquishing portions of their lead, or falling down by more, it’s a job well done by Rivers and Davis.
It’s remarkable that such a high-profile contender lacks the economical assets of a ninth and 10th man. Considering how Chris Paul ended up with the Clippers, the hard part for most franchises is building a nucleus of stars and accomplished role players. L.A. has two of the 10 best basketball players in the world, one of the most athletic 7-footers the game has ever seen, and a trio of veteran wings with a buttload of postseason experience.
Building that nucleus is supposed to be the hard part, or at least it should be. However, after one of the unluckiest first round draws in the history of the NBA, the Clippers have scratched-and-clawed to a 2-2 draw against the defending champs. Many predicted the Spurs would win this series because of their superior reserve play, but through four games, it is the surprisingly adequate performance of the Clippers’ bench — and the banged-up, uneven performance from the Foreign Legion — that has fans and experts alike wondering if the Clippers can finally master their playoff demons.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Rivers and Davis have thus far done their jobs, and in some ways exceeded expectations. Davis is getting up and down the court like someone half his size, planting screens and taking charges. L.A. was +12 in Davis’ 19 minutes on Sunday.
The big story from Game 4, of course, was Austin Rivers, who connected on his final seven shots (7-for-8 FGA, 16 points) in 17 minutes, perhaps the best game of his otherwise disenchanting career. Stir in 15 points from Crawford, and the Clippers’ bench was far from the wobbly leg of the table it had been all season long.
Only here’s the problem: As good as L.A.’s three reserves performed, it hardly mattered. San Antonio was within seven points at the 5:00 mark; if Tony Parker hadn’t bricked a pair of free throws a minute earlier, then it’s a five-point game. Instead, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick blitzed the Spurs’ ravaged backcourt, and by 3:29 the Clippers were up 14.
Parker fell apart down the stretch, and Patty Mills needed to spell him early and often in the second half. Forever the opportunist, Paul feasted on the hamstrung Spurs, who were stuck between a rock and a hard place defending the perennial MVP candidate. On the one hand, Mills is too small to dissuade Paul from controlling every fiber of the game. On the other hand, Danny Green, normally the quintessential 3-and-D role player, was 0-for-6 on Sunday, and is shooting just 29 percent for the series.
The Spurs were simply off. They were 6-for-25 behind the arc (24 percent), and they shot 44 percent from the field. They missed 10 free throws (25-for-35, 71.4 percent). The Spurs’ bench stumbled into 29 points, and were so off-kilter that Gregg Popovich played only eight guys more than 10 minutes — clinging to his healthiest options for dear life.
Yet there San Antonio was, in the middle of the fourth quarter, with a shot. Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard (48 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists) absorbed as much of the Blake Griffin Experience (20 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists) as they could. The Clippers couldn’t afford to take Griffin (43 minutes) off the floor. Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan was pedestrian on offense (six points), and Doc elected to remove him twice down the stretch when Popovich employed the Hack-a-Jordan.
The Spurs were outscored by only three points when Leonard was on the floor. What does that tell me? If San Antonio has anything close to a typical shooting night and/or Parker’s body held up in the final minutes, they could very well be up 3-1 right now.
As charming as “the Austin Rivers game” storyline was, the reality about this desert storm of a series is that Rivers and Davis can’t push the Clippers over the top. If anything, Sunday proved quite the opposite: The Clippers’ short bench has to play great just to give them a chance. Anything less and the Spurs are right there, waiting for the Clippers to pull another Game 2, or for another meltdown like in Game 5 last season against the Thunder.
For the Clippers to finally take down the Spurs, they need Paul and Griffin to be the best players on the floor, yes, but they also need about 100 other smaller things to go right, too. Over the next two or three games, Austin Rivers and Big Baby Davis will prove whether or not they are part of the solution or one of the Clippers’ 99 problems.
