Doc Rivers was not in the Easter spirit after the Clippers loss in Game 1

Doc Rivers was in no mood for a reporter who suggested Rivers should have had a better strategy at the end of the Los Angeles Clippers 97-95 loss to the Utah Jazz Saturday night.

My brother always told me the NBA playoffs comes down to one thing: coaching. Games have been won and lost on poor coaching decisions coupled with poor execution on the court. For Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, this is not foreign territory to him. Rivers has taken the Boston Celtics to an NBA title in 2008, so tough coaching decisions and strategy is not new to him, but true to him. This past Saturday night, it could be argued he had made a poor decision, though.

The Rivers-led Clippers were trailing the Utah Jazz 95-93 with 18.7 seconds left. The play was set for veteran point guard Chris Paul to score off a Blake Griffin screen, which he did with 13.1 seconds left.

Of course, “iso” Joe Johnson went vintage and closed out the Clippers to steal Game 1.

After the game, a reporter decided to ask Rivers did he think he could have managed the possession Paul scored on better. Rivers was less than pleased.

"“That’s like the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”"

Technically, we can’t front on that. If Rivers elected for the Clippers to attempt to win the game at the last second, they would lose out on the opportunity to get the chance to foul if they missed the shot. If Paul missed at the 13 second mark, they would still have life via a rebound, foul or steal.

Could Rivers have handled this accordingly? Yes. But the emotions and pressure of the playoffs can loom over a coach and team. For Rivers and the Clippers, though, the pressure to win has never been higher than this season.