Doc Rivers Says Blown 3-1 Lead Will Bother Him Until He Wins Again

During his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia 76ers, former LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers said LA's blown 3-1 lead will haunt him until he wins.

When former LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers was officially introduced as the new coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, discussion points ranged from what he plans to do with his new roster to the constant stress that comes with the job. 

Rivers also spent some time talking about LA's most recent blunder: Blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

"I'm always a guy that looks forward," Rivers said. "I think you have to keep it going and keep moving... As far as what went wrong, we had a 3-1 lead and didn't [win]. I love that we got up 3-1. It tells us that we're doing something great. What I didn't like is we didn't close. That's something that I do evaluate and look at, and it's something that'll bother me for a long time until we win here."

Rivers mentioned the difficulty of playing in the bubble and dealing with Covid-19 as two other factors that made this a particularly harsh season to finish.

Additionally, Rivers said that he was ready for a break from coaching, but the Philadelphia job was simply too good to pass up, as he saw it as an opportunity to get right back to competing for his next NBA title. 

Rivers reportedly received calls from three NBA franchises that were willing to meet with him and discuss the future, though he only ended up meeting with Philadelphia.

With Rivers gone, the Clippers are among a group of five organizations that are currently without a head coach, including the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers.