Doc on why Warriors respect this version of Clippers pic.twitter.com/RMAyZ68gaM
— Jake Montero (@jakemmontero) April 25, 2019
Kevon Looney was given simple advice ahead of his rookie season: don’t lose to the Clippers.
Looney entered the NBA prior to the 2015-16 season, smack in the middle of the Warriors-Clippers rivalry featuring the Splash Brothers vs. Lob City. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin headlined the Clippers team that grew to be hated around the Bay Area.
Then Paul left after the 2016 season, Griffin departed a half-season later, and the Clippers’ rebuild entered in its infancy stages. It was widely thought that they would not field a talented enough roster to compete in the playoffs for the next several years after failing to accomplish anything substantial with a promising collection of proven talent.
That has all changed this season. The Clippers, much to most people’s surprise, made the playoffs with an interesting collection of veterans and rookies. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are the team’s best players despite starting games on the bench. A blockbuster midseason trade with the Philadelphia 76ers — sending Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanović and Mike Scott in exchange for L.A. Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and Landry Shamet — has been mutually beneficial. Los Angeles has relied upon Shamet and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two rookie guards, to start and play heavy minutes.
The only member of the Clippers who was around for the Lob City days is head coach Doc Rivers. Prior to Game 5, as the Warriors eye a 4-1 series win, he was asked about Looney’s comment and how the Clippers have gained respect over the past three years.
“It’s a different group,” Rivers said. “I really don’t care about that group anymore except for the memories, I guess. We are not the same team anymore. It’s a completely different group. This is a competitive, hard-playing, hard-nosed group.
“What has surprised me, even in heated moments, the opponent kind of respects that. I have played and always respected guys who played hard and were tenacious. I kind of enjoyed playing against that personally, and I think so does the league. Not a chippy team, but not a team that’s ever going to back down. And I think that sells well. It really does.”