SAN ANTONIO — As coaching problems go, the Los Angeles Clippers' Doc Rivers knows this is a good one to have.
His
point guard — or as some have nicknamed Chris Paul in NBA fan circles,
"Point God" — is so talented in so many different ways that the question
of how to maximize his impact doesn't always come with an easy answer.
He's
a pass-first playmaker who looks at scoring as a last resort, never
mind the fact that he's capable of channeling his inner Russell
Westbrook from time to time or even reminding his 53-year-old coach of
those old match-ups against the great Isiah Thomas.
So
after Rivers saw Paul score 30-plus points for the second time in this
first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, the Clippers
tying it up at 2-2 by way of a 114-105 win at the AT&T Center, it surprised no one who knows the back story here that the coach felt a tremendous sense of relief.
"He's
a great scorer," Rivers said with a smile as he stood outside the
visitor's locker room. "I mean, he's not a good scorer. He's a great
scorer. And to tell him that and convince him that, (he'll say), 'Yeah, I
know. I know.' But he doesn't see that. He sees himself as a great
passer, and it's a (expletive) to get him to do it. ... It's just his
nature. It's (like the fable) 'The Frog and the Scorpion.' And we need
him to be the scorpion."
Paul should be more willing than ever to be the scorpion now.
His
34 points came against the stubborn likes of the Spurs' Tony Parker,
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, Paul finishing one point shy of his
career-high in the playoffs as he hit 11-of-19 shots in all. The way in
which he did it at the end only made it all the more impressive.
Paul
was whistled for his fifth foul with 8:25 left to play and the Clippers
up 93-84, but he played all but 46 seconds from there while scoring 10
points during that stretch — four free throws and three pull-up jumpers
from mid-range helping seal the deal. And as was the case in the
Clippers' Game 1 win, when Paul had 32 points and the Spurs seemed
overmatched on nearly every front, he set the offensive tone with the
kind of aggression that Rivers wishes he saw more often. With Game 5
coming on Tuesday in Los Angeles and the Clippers having re-gained
homecourt advantage, it's quite clear that they need Paul to keep
heeding Rivers' advice.
"For
me, I just try to play the right way," said Paul, who received key help
from forward Blake Griffin (20 points and 19 rebounds) and J.J. Redick
(17 points). "When the shot's there, I try to take it. I try not to
force things, try to make the right pass and stuff like that. Against
(the Spurs) at times, I don't know. I watched film yesterday and I saw a
couple times where I may have been able to shoot it in Game 3, but
tonight it was just the ball movement. It's not so much you're just
trying to iso (isolation) or stuff like that. Today we just played with
the right pace. It was the tempo, and that's what got (him) shots."
Paul, the 29-year-old who had a
combined 28 points in the Clippers' losses in Games 2 and 3, has now
scored 30-plus points in just 10 of the 57 playoff games in which he has
played. It's a rare feat, to be sure, but one that typically boded well
for his teams in both New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Los Angeles as they
were 8-2 in those games.
During
his Clippers tenure, Paul has now scored 30-plus points in four of 34
playoff games (they're 3-1 in those games). It may not be the cure to
all these playoff ails he has suffered from since entering the league in
2005 — six postseason appearances, three first-round losses and nary a
Conference finals appearance — but it's clearly not a bad way to go.
What's more, it's the result of a project that Rivers appears to have put in play back in late January:
When
the Clippers made their surge in the second half of the season, Paul's
scoring spiked (21 points per game on 15.3 shots per game after Jan. 25
compared to 17.3 points on 13.3 shots per before then) in large part
because Rivers wanted it that way.
When
the Clippers lost all the momentum that came with their dynamic Game 1
win, the debate about what's missing from their top-tier team began anew
among fans and media alike. The most logical culprit is their bench, of
course, and that's a substantive stance to take. Beyond super sixth man
Jamal Crawford being his usual self this season, the Austin
Rivers/Spencer Hawes/Glen Davis/Hedo Turkoglu group has underwhelmed at
every turn. This was a rare exception in that regard, as Austin Rivers
had 16 points off the bench (7-of-8 shooting) and Crawford added 15.
But
Doc Rivers — who comes under fire in that regard because he's also the
team's vice president of basketball operations — pushed back against
that notion leading up to Game 4. It's not that he doesn't agree with
the premise that the bench has been a problem. It was, as Rivers
explained, just not the problem.
"All
year (it has been a problem), and what's our record?" he asked an
inquiring reporter who acknowledged that 56-26 was an impressive mark.
"Thank you. I'll leave it at that."
These
stars, the ones who created the entertaining community known as Lob
City but who have fallen short in these past three playoffs, simply
weren't getting the job done as he saw it.
"Name
me a series where your key players didn't play well and you win the
series," Rivers continued. "That's the key to the playoffs. Your key
guys have to play well."
Paul more than the rest.
Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.
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