The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the bigger disappointments in the NBA in the 2019-20 season. They had high expectations led by stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as they were looking to win a title.
Instead, they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets and both George and Leonard came up small in Game 7. Of course, everybody remembers George hitting the side of the backboard in crunch time of Game 7 and when the final buzzer sounded, fingers began being pointed.
Coach Doc Rivers left and he is now the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and George since came out with some interesting comments. He was a guest on All The Smoke with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson and he said that Rivers did not use him correctly and used him more like Ray Allen or JJ Redick.
Rivers then had this response:
Well that’s just Paul’s opinion. I enjoyed coaching Paul. I think if you go back and look at the stats, Paul played more pick-and-rolls this last year than he ever did in his entire career. So I don’t know how that’s possible and I wouldn’t mind playing like Ray Allen, if I was a player. I think Ray Allen was pretty special. So, but listen that’s his opinion. I’m fine with that. The team was second in the league I think in scoring. Scoring wasn’t a problem, it was winning. That was the problem.
Here’s the extended version of my conversation with new Sixers head coach and one of the most prominent voices in the NBA @DocRivers.
We discussed his breakup with the Clippers, PG’s comments, Ben’s shooting, Joel’s expectations and much more. https://t.co/D7WOxgShVr
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) December 12, 2020
Rivers is right about the fact that George had never run more pick-and-rolls in his career before. He finished as the pick-and-roll ball-handler 33% of the time with the Clippers while the previous high was 25% during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Interesting comment. Paul George finished 33% of his total plays using the pick-and-roll, which was a career-high. The prior high was 25% in OKC, via @SynergySST stats. That’s very different from a Ray Allen or JJ Redick style role. https://t.co/w0n1UDrx1p
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 2, 2020
The Sixers are a team that will be running more pick-and-rolls this season led by their own star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The hope is that
Philadelphia can find the same success offensively that Los Angeles did under Rivers. [lawrence-related id=40118,40114,40111]