Many think that the Los Angeles Clippers should blow up their roster if they don’t find postseason success this year. They tried their best. They put together a ton of talent with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, and haven’t won a championship. So they should move on from this group, and rebuild, right? Doc Rivers doesn’t think so.
From Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears’ Q&A with Rivers:
Q: What is the key change needed for the Clippers to be a championship team?
Rivers: “We’re right there. It’s funny. People think it’s easy to go win a title. Winning is hard. Winning a game is hard. I love the fact that we are on the door. We’ve knocked on the door twice as far as getting to the Western Conference Finals. We haven’t made it, so you just keep doing it. I don’t feel the push or the pressure of, ‘Man, if they don’t do it …’ Why not? We keep doing it.
“We clearly have proven that we can get to a Game 7 and a Game 6 back-to-back years. Last year we were up 3-1 [in the second round to Houston and lost]. Then [in 2014], we had the meltdown in the Oklahoma City game [in the conference semifinals] that kind of changed the series. What it tells me is we’re closer than people think. We just got to keep going.
“Obviously, if we are not there in two years from now you re-think things. But you don’t blow your team up every year. I keep laughing at everyone who says [to do] that. That’s the guys who have never really been in it. You keep just going forward. Keep your core and see if you can get it right. That’s it. We have to rebound better. Our defense is light years better this year to me. We have to make the right shots. Make the right plays. Our whole thing is to keep playing.”
Rivers has made it clear that he has faith in his group of players to win, particularly with the recent acquisition of Jeff Green.
His attitude is fair. While the ultimate goal is, of course, to win a championship, you can’t just blow up the roster and start over if you aren’t the best team in the NBA. The Clippers are still an elite team in the West, capable of competing. Of course, their roster won’t last forever. Chris Paul is 30, J.J. Redick is 31. Those guys aren’t young, but they should still have a few good years ahead of them. Why shouldn’t LA get what they can out of this roster? It’s okay not to be the best team in basketball. Let’s face it, Golden State is the best team around, and they’re here to stay. So, should Cleveland blow it up? How about OKC? No? Then why should the Clippers?
