Clippers’ Doc Rivers: Blake Griffin incident shocked him

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers opened up about the infamous incident between Blake Griffin and Matias Testi.

On the night that superstar forward Blake Griffin punched a staff member, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said his phone rang at 4 a.m. The call came from Clippers trainer Jason Powell.

“When you get those calls, and you look at the phone and see Jasen Powell, you know whatever is about to be said — it’s not going to be a good thing.” Rivers said in an interview with ESPN.com at the NBA Draft Combine.

This is how Rivers found out about the incident that resulted in a punched-out face for Clippers trainer Matias Testi and a hand injury for Griffin.

Rivers said the incident was dramatic because of the surprise.

"“It was a shock, because Blake’s not that guy. Matias is not that guy. It just made no sense.” Rivers said."

As for his next immediate move, Rivers said he waited to react until the morning. Rivers talked to Testi and Griffin, before holding a team meeting.

Rivers said that once players got over the shock of the incident, players realized Griffin was not coming back and that made the bigger impact.

Nonetheless, Rivers said none of the veterans held resentment towards Griffin.

The Clippers head coach said Griffin is still young, and he will keep getting better.

Rivers said Griffin lost a year because of the punch and his leg, but you can not forget his unbelievable season before the injury.

Before a Christmas Day Injury, Griffin averaged 23.2 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game.

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This is probably why Rivers asserts that his plan is to keep the Clippers core together for another year.

Griffin seemed like he was just getting back to full strength before he re-injured his quad in Game 4 of the series loss to the Portland Trailblazers.

Still, Rivers said the best course for the Clippers remains keeping the core together.

Therefore, Rivers support of Griffin makes rumors of trading the forward shocking.

Nonetheless, Clippers fans should not be shocked about anything considering the rollercoaster 2015-16 season.

Overall, the season was dramatic as it started turning with Griffin’s injury and ended with a shocking exit from the playoffs due to a turn in health for Griffin and Paul.

Next: Doc Rivers may change his mind about trading core

Rivers seems ready to move on from the incident, but have fans and media forgiven?