Rivers insists team is always confident
CHARLOTTE — Confidence, Clippers Coach Doc
Rivers maintained, is not an issue for his team.
Even when the Clippers were in the midst of a spiraling stretch, losing seven of nine games, even when their defense was a problem they couldn’t seem to solve, Rivers emphasized that his group’s confidence never wavered.
So when the Clippers defeated the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, Rivers dismissed any notion that the victory improved his team’s belief in itself.
“I’m going to keep saying it. We do not have a confidence problem, all right?” Rivers said, his voice rising. “But you still need to win a game. You know, just winning a game, it definitely helps you feel better about yourselves. They see that we’re not playing great, and you go through that.”
The Clippers had a seven-game winning streak before they hit a rough patch in which they were losing close games (such as the threepoint defeat at home to Minnesota) as well as getting blown out (such as the 46point demolition at Golden State).
“It helps to win a game, especially when we’ve been coming up short the past night.
“Our defense still has to get better,” Jordan said.
Adjustments
When he’s started at point guard in place of the injured Chris Paul (left thumb surgery), Austin Rivers has tried to strike a balance of what he’s best at and what is best for the team.
Rivers is an attacking combo guard, a slasher with an aggressive mentality.
But when he is the point guard, he has to scale back that approach and look more to set up his teammates.
He was good at being the setup man against the Knicks, handing out a career-best 10 assists.
Rivers said conversations with Paul, who is considered the NBA’s best point guard at delivering passes at the right time to his teammates, have been beneficial.
“As a point guard, you’ve got to make the read,” Rivers said. “Chris is just like, ‘Attack and look to score, and you’ll just make the play. Don’t think about getting assists. Don’t think about scoring. Just be aggressive.’ Every game I go in, I’ll be like, ‘I’m going to go attack looking to score.’ And if someone takes it away, then I’ll just make the play.”