Two weeks ahead of the 2020-21 regular season, the finger-pointing following the implosion of the 2019-20 LAClippers hasn't ceased. The latest back-and-forth began with comments from Paul George during a Dec. 2 appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's “All The Smoke” podcast. The Clippers forward — whose subpar performance in the bubble was highly criticized — placed blame on Doc Rivers and his staff for how they deployed the six-time All-Star within the offense.
“The way I was being used, I felt Doc was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a J.J. Redick, all pin-downs,” George said. “I can do it, but that ain't my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of pick-and-rolls, I need some post ups, just different touches. Last season was hard overall.”
“The way I was being used, I felt Doc was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a JJ Redick, all pin-downs. I can do it, but that ain't my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of some pick-and-rolls, post ups, diff. touches. Last season was hard."
Paul George on Doc Rivers 👀 pic.twitter.com/SDug1FcfsL
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 2, 2020
George also lamented the lack of adjustments by Doc Rivers in the postseason. The Clippers built a 3-1 lead on the Denver Nuggets before folding, leading to weeks of speculation investigating what went wrong.
In September, the franchise parted ways with Rivers, who was promptly hired by Philadelphia.
George averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in one season under Rivers in L.A, and shot a respectable 41.2% on 7.9 three-point attempts per game. In 13 playoff games, though, George shot 39.8% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range.
Doc Rivers responded on Sunday, warning that George shouldn't expect too many significant adjustments from new Clippers head coach, Ty Lue, who played an integral game-planning role under Rivers.
“I enjoyed coaching him,” Rivers said of George, via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Ty Lue was sitting right next to me, so [George] hope it's not adjustments. It ain't going to be much different. We lost the game and I think everybody needs to take ownership. Obviously, we can always do better. Players can get better…I'll leave it there.”
Needless to say, the first meeting between the Sixers and the Clippers in the upcoming season will be highly anticipated in large part because of Paul's recent remarks.
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