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Coming into the 2018-19 NBA campaign, not many people expected the Los Angeles Clippers to be a playoff team. Gone were the days of Lob City, with Chris Paul now residing in Houston and Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan staking out in Detroit and New York, respectively.
Yes, that Clippers team never made it past the second round of the postseason, but it was undoubtedly the best run of basketball in the history of the franchise, and based on the Clips' lackluster history, you had to wonder if they would ever reach that pinnacle again. Or at least if they would reach it sometime in the near future.
This year, Los Angeles came into the season with a young team headlined by the likes of Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari. The Clippers were expected to be a sure-fire lottery team and were certainly looked at as afterthoughts in their own city.
But then, the Clips surprised everyone be getting off to a 16-7 start. It had to be fool's gold, right? It seemed to be, as Los Angeles then came back down to earth and dropped in the Western Conference standings, leading the Clippers to deal Harris at the deadline last month.
The trade of Harris seemed to be a clear indication that Los Angeles was giving up on the season, and taking into consideration that the Boston Celtics will get the Clippers' draft pick if they make the playoffs, it didn't seem like such a bad idea at the time.
Fast forward to mid-March, and the Clips are playing some of their best basketball of the year.
Los Angeles has now won five games in a row and eight of its last 10 to assert itself as not only a clear Western Conference playoff squad, but the obvious best team in LA.
Who would have thought either of those things would have happened at the beginning of the season?
That's why this is unquestionably the greatest coaching job of Doc Rivers' career.
You know; the same Doc Rivers that many felt should have been fired from his post a couple of years ago after he failed to take the Clippers any further than Vinny Del Negro.
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The frustration was understandable, as the Clippers traded a first-round pick to the Celtics back in the summer of 2013 just to acquire Rivers, but this year, Rivers is earning some nice payback.
Los Angeles currently owns a record of 39-29 and actually has an outside shot at 50 wins, which would be a truly incredible feat for a team that is now essentially led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Montrezl Harrell.
Mike Budenholzer may be a lock for Coach of the Year given the job he has done with the Milwaukee Bucks, but Rivers has to earn some consideration for the award, as he is definitely getting the most out of his guys.
Let's face it: before this season, there was never really a time where you could have said that Rivers truly had a positive impact on his club.
Sure, he has always been a great motivator, but some players have clearly not been too crazy about him, and his success with the Celtics had a lot more to do with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo than Rivers himself.
You could have installed basically any coach on that Celtics team, and they would have won at least one championship. They were just that talented.
Heck, those past Clippers teams were pretty stacked with talent, as well, and Doc Rivers was seen as the guy who could get them over the hump. He didn't, which was why many were growing tired of Rivers' old-school ways in a changing league.
But this season? You cannot deny the profound effect that Doc has had on this group. He is taking a team of role players to the playoffs in the Western Conference, and while they probably aren't going to be winning any playoff series, they are going to be a real pain in the rear end for some team because of how hard they play.
It's apparent that Rivers has instilled a very high effort level into his guys, and it is showing on the court. They are fighting for every inch. They are getting to loose balls. They are creating second-chance opportunities. They are defending. They are doing all of the little things needed to keep themselves in games, and while they are certainly limited in terms of talent, there is no cap on their heart.
Knock Doc Rivers for his past failures all you want, but you can't seriously sit there with a straight face and say that the veteran coach has not done a phenomenal job with this Clippers team.
The Clippers are probably going to the playoffs, and that is in no small part due to the belief that Rivers has in his players, and that belief is reflected in their on-court performance.
