Doc Rivers: DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin will be our defense
By Mike Dyce
When you think of the Los Angeles Clippers you probably think of offense and their ‘lob city’ culture. But Doc Rivers is a defensive oriented coach who consistently had the Celtics defense ranked amongst the best in the league.
“We have to be a connected defensive team and those two guys in a lot of way will be our defensive captains,” Rivers said, via the LA Times. “DeAndre and Blake will be our defense.”
Big men Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins anchored the Celtics defense, and Rivers envisions Jordan as the rim protector and Blake as the post defender.
Rivers is particularly excited about DeAndre Jordan. He says his explosiveness and talent could set him up to be next year’s defensive player of the year.
“One hundred percent, I think that’s what he will be,” Rivers said. “When other teams show up, they should look at him and say, ‘This is not going to be a fun night.’”
The other piece needed to make DeAndre Jordan the complete package according to Rivers is the defensive intensity that Kendrick Perkins had.
“You have to be good at both [offense and defense], but you have to be great at defense,” Rivers said. “It’s rare that an average defensive team wins a championship.”