Paul George criticizes Doc Rivers over the way Clippers used him

Paul George didn’t like the way Doc Rivers used him on the LA Clippers.

When a legitimate title contender goes down in the conference semifinals, it’s only natural for a bit of finger-pointing. But what we’ve seen from the LA Clippers after choking away a 3-1 series lead against the Denver Nuggets seems to be transcending that territory as the 2020-21 NBA season approaches.

After reports surfaced about Clippers teammates being irked by the preferential treatment given to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all season long, now PG himself is stoking the fires a bit, taking a few shots at former head coach Doc Rivers.

Appearing on All The Smoke, George admitted he didn’t like the way Rivers used him on offense:

“Doc was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a J.J. Redick, all pin-downs,” he said. “I can do it, but that ain’t my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of some pick-and-roll, and post-ups …. That last season was hard.”

Paul George takes an unfair shot at Doc Rivers

As a leader and league superstar, it’s George’s responsibility to take ownership for his (repeated) poor performances in the playoffs and do better next time. Instead, he decided to take a parting shot at a coach who isn’t even in LA anymore, almost as a justification for his own disappearing act in the second round.

Even worse, as The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor points out, there’s very little statistical evidence to support George’s claim:

PG wasn’t done there, however, taking another shot at the Clippers’ mentality as they gave away a 3-1 series lead:

“During that whole process we never worked on adjustments,” he said. “We never worked on what to do differently … The conversation is like, ‘We’re gonna be alright’. The conversations should have been like, ‘We need to change things.'”

George has a point on that front, as Rivers’ insistence on playing Montrezl Harrell heavy minutes despite being sliced and diced by the Nuggets was a big reason the Clippers lost … and why Doc Rivers ultimately got the axe.

Even so, heading into a new season, under a new head coach, with all these reports surfacing about the Clippers’ lack of chemistry, this is a terrible look from one of LA’s so-called leaders who simply did not live up to his billing as a superstar in the postseason.