by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
According to LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, his new team may no longer be known as “Lob City”, but they have their own formidable Big Three in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Rivers, in fact, believes this group has the potential to be the best team he’s ever coached.
(The 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics are likely rolling over in their graves.)
Per ESPN:
“I’m always focused on our big three guys, Blake [Griffin], DJ [DeAndre Jordan] and Chris [Paul],” Rivers said. “Their leadership is important to our team. I’m always watching them. I think those are the guys that I have more focus on than anybody else.” […] “That’s our big three, I like our big three,” Rivers said. “I like what DeAndre gives us. He gives us something a lot of the guys in the league can’t do. He can block shots, he can run the floor, he can defend, he’s talking and he’s in the best shape of his career. He’s doing a lot of great things for us.”
“They should be better than any team I’ve ever coached, I really believe that,” Rivers said. “They’re more athletic. They don’t have the veteran IQ but they should be in that area. We have a couple of individual defenders that can be dominating on defense. We have great speed but we don’t have the size in some ways as some of the teams I’ve coached.”
Expectations are sky-high for the Clippers heading into this season.
They have the talent and coaching to compete for a title, and as Doc Rivers surely knows, anything short of a very deep Playoff run will be considered a huge failure.
