After the 76ers beat the Lakers, they continued to visit Los Angeles in the next game to challenge the Clippers, and for the Clippers, the elder Rivers had an absolute say, because he had coached the Clippers for many years, helped the Clippers reach the playoffs many times, and the only regret was that he failed to lead the team to the Western Conference Finals. When it comes to the Clippers, The Elder Rivers is still very excited, he said: "The Clippers used to be a laughing stock, I am proud, I changed their face. The elder Rivers said this instantly caused a heated discussion among fans.
Rivers talked about the Clippers, which was gushing and taking credit, he said: Before I came to the Clippers, the Clippers were the laughing stock in the league, and many players in the league were reluctant to play for the Clippers, and many people at the time thought that if the Clippers and Lakers competed in the free market, then there would be no Clippers. Speaking about the changes in the Clippers over the years, The Elder Rivers said: "I will always be proud of the Clippers, the Clippers can be a contender in the NBA, and I think I played an important role in it."
From The Elder Rivers' words, we can clearly feel his pride, and he thinks he has done a lot for the Clippers, and he has made the Clippers more competitive and rival the Lakers in the free market. Many fans saw Rivers' speech and said: "Once the Clippers were a laughingstock, and after the old li went, the laughing stock became the old li." The reason why fans say this about Rivers is that he led the Clippers to be reversed by his opponents in two playoff 3-1 leads, and was once called the king of reversals by fans, but some fans may ignore Lao Li's record in the Clippers, coaching 564 games in the Clippers, 356 wins and 208 losses, the highest win rate in the history of the Clippers. It can be said that Lao Li has no credit for the Clippers and has hard work.
That year, the Clippers for Rivers, with the first round from the Green Army in exchange for Rivers, and Rivers signed a 3-year, $21 million contract, the Clippers originally had high expectations for the championship coach, not only made him a manager, but also served as the vice president of team affairs, the Clippers renewed Paul, plus Jordan Jr., they began to form the "Empty City", 13-14 season, but also The first season of Rivers coaching, their regular season record reached 57 wins and 25 losses, creating the best record in the history of the Clippers in the regular season, and defeated the Warriors in the first round However, the second round lost to the Thunder and stopped in the Western Conference semifinals. In the 14-15 season, the Clippers won 56 wins and 26 losses, in the first round they fought with the defending champion Spurs 7 games, and eliminated the opponent, and in the second round, they encountered the Rockets, who were not as strong as the Clippers, and the Clippers were pulled three times in a row by the Rockets in the case of a 3-1 lead, eliminated and eliminated, becoming a major stain on Rivers' career.
In the 15-year offseason, Rivers used the Clippers' first round of 10 to select his son Rivers Jr., which became the most questionable operation at that time, 15-16 season, the Clippers suffered many injuries, Paul and Griffin were both reimbursed, the Clippers led the Blazers 2-0 in the playoffs, but they were still overturned by the opponent, and then because of injuries, the Clippers' record went up and down, and in 18 years, Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers, giving them the strength to compete for the championship, but in the playoffs, they led 3-1 Being overtaken by the Nuggets, this is the third time in Rivers' coaching career that he was overturned by his opponent in the case of a 3-1 playoff lead, and boss Ballmer was discouraged, only to replace Rivers and replace Tyrone Lu.
3-1 is Rivers' lingering nightmare, but he gave the Clippers an improvement in the regular season record, which is an indisputable fact, so that the current Clippers are truly comparable to the Lakers. Time has passed, the elder Rivers has come to the 76ers, and has Embiid and Harden, their goal this season is the Finals, I wonder if the old Rivers can get his wish this time?