Austin Rivers says there is “no reason” for the LA Clippers not to qualify for the postseason in 2017-18.
Tomorrow's #Clippers notebook today: Read why guard Austin Rivers says, "We will be a playoff team this year." https://t.co/fbaX3lmP9K
— Elliott Teaford (@ElliottTeaford) October 15, 2017
Despite losing Chris Paul, JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford over the summer, Rivers believes the Clips are deeper this season.
LA has nine new players to integrate into their system.
Per the OC Register:
“We will be a playoff team this year,” Rivers said. “Ain’t no reason for us not to be in the playoffs. So, that’s where we’re at. We don’t feel like we’ve slumped off at all. We feel we’re deeper than we were last year. We feel we’ll be that same seed or that same range and go right back to the playoffs.”
The Clippers would seem to be in a better position to mix and match players and styles of play after trading Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster offseason deal that netted a package of players that included (Patrick) Beverley, (Sam) Dekker, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.
“We did lose a lot,” Rivers said. “When you lose a player like Chris, people are going to write you off, so I think that’s another advantage we have. We have a chip on our shoulder. Nobody is talking about us. People are talking about the Rockets, the Thunder, the Spurs, the Warriors.
“Nobody is talking about the Clippers anymore. We’ve got look at that as motivation.”
