The word “trust” pervaded the Clippers’ locker room following Monday’s loss to a Bulls team without its two stars. The only problem is head coach Doc Rivers, guards Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford and forward Blake Griffin all mentioned it because of a lack of its consistent presence on the court, which they believe played an integral role in Monday’s loss. “They trusted their offense,” Rivers said. “We took them out of a lot of stuff and they just kept playing, and I thought our trust was broken today offensively. I thought we all tried to do it individually, and that’s the old way we played, where there’s no ball movement, ball’s in one spot. The Clippers came into the game with one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the NBA, but they finished Monday night’s game with eight fewer assists and three more turnovers than a Bulls team that saw six players score in double digits and two different players drop at least 20 points. or the Bulls to beat the Clippers without Derrick Rose or Pau Gasol, they needed everyone to chip in. Rivers thought his Clippers needed more of that mentality, even with Crawford dropping in 24 points. “I just thought our ball movement and our trust was horrible,” Rivers said. “Even if Jamal hadn’t have made shots, or even if our wings had made a couple more, you don’t trust, you’re not going to win.” Paul said the Clippers are searching for trust on the court, and it’s not always as easy as it seems to find it, even with a nucleus that knows each other well. When the Clippers do find it, they’ve struggled to sustain it. “It’s not where it needs to be at,” Paul said. “A lot of that falls on me with offensive execution. I’ve just got to keep trying to get everybody involved and be aggressive in the right spots, and we’ve got to take care of the ball. We turn the ball over. We’ve just got to keep playing with the right spirit.” Paul said it can sometimes be a detriment that everyone on the team puts so much pressure on themselves to play well every night and every possession. He hopes the Clippers will continue to stay the course rather than hang their heads when that happens. “We’ve got to believe,” Paul said. “We go out there, play and we compete. We have to be better. It’s no secret.” -What do the Clippers need to do to get better? -Hugo
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 19:52:08 +0000
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