Paul George had the opportunity to hold himself accountable for the Clippers’ poor play in the bubble earlier this year, but he took quite a different approach.
Instead, he took some shots at Doc Rivers, after the former head coach was already out the door, on the popular “All the Smoke” podcast.
PG13 accused Rivers of not using him correctly, and indicated that he wasn’t getting enough pick-and-roll action — even though numbers show that wasn’t the case. But Rivers, as he’s been known to do, took a classy approach in responding to George, while still making it clear that he doesn’t deserve the lion’s share of the blame.
“Hey, listen, I enjoyed coaching him,” Rivers said, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “So not a lot to say there. Ty Lue was sitting right next to me. So he better hope it’s not adjustments. It ain’t going to be much different… Listen, we lost the game, and I think everybody needs to take ownership. [Me] obviously. We can always do better. Players can play better. So as far as I’m concerned, I’ll leave it there.”
Props to Rivers for not stooping to George’s level, but still defending himself.
