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Doc Rivers has found himself this year

By Brian Cullen

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs have a laugh before the game on November 10, 2014 at STAPLES CENTER in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Andrew Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs have a laugh before the game on November 10, 2014 at STAPLES CENTER in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Andrew Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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On paper, the LA Clippers season looks dismal and lost, yet they just keep battling. Injuries have forced Doc Rivers to discover not only fresh young talent, but his love for coaching.

With Head Coach Doc Rivers at the helm, a team with a previous Sixth Man of the Year winner, promising young talent, and assortment of oddballs have their eyes set on a play off spot. In a year with some devastating injuries they never give up and come out swinging every night. They fight so hard they earn the slogan “Heart and Hustle”.

That team? The 99-00 Orlando Magic. They missed the playoffs by one game, but because of his resilience and trust in his team, they still outperformed expectations, and Doc won Coach of the Year.

This year Doc is facing a lot of the same obstacles; young, unknown faces and injuries. Despite all that, we might be witnessing one of Doc’s best coaching years since his first. A long way from the beginning of the year.

Wednesday night’s win over the Denver Nuggets put Doc’s coaching abilities on display. One of the most telling moments his progress since joining with the Clippers? THE LAST 8 SECONDS. Denver had the possession with 8 seconds left, down only two points after Blake missed two huge free throws and Doc decides to trust the young guys.

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To accompany the two vets in Griffin and Wes Johnson, Doc decides to put Montrezl Harrell, Tyrone Wallace, and Sindarius Thornwell.  Thornwell hadn’t played at all in the game before the last 8 seconds. What happens? Tyrone Wallace forces a turnover with amazing defense and Thornwell comes up with a steal.

When was the last time we saw Doc put in TWO rookies with game on the line? Especially one with some serious playoff implications? Since the year has started we’ve seen a whole new Doc and a whole new Clippers team.

They’re having fun! The ball movement has been great, and you can tell this team genuinely likes each other. In fact, Hall Of Famer Isiah Thomas talked about this being the most important aspect of a team’s success in Bill Simmons’ “The Book of Basketball”. It’s not just the players; you can visibly see Doc embracing coaching more than he has in recent years.

My theory?  Doc needed the change and challenge just as much as everyone else did. Most of his career, especially after Orlando, was with star-studded teams. So much so that people began to speculate that Doc’s reputation as a good coach was only reliant on the fact that he’s worked with so many stars.

So maybe this year gave him just the challenge he needed to rediscover how much he loves the chess the match that is NBA coaching. Or maybe he just didn’t need the distraction of front office responsibilities getting in his way anymore.  Whatever it is, we’re loving it.  If he keeps it up he just might be in the Coach of the Year discussion again at the end of the year.

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