Rivers started out the season with a big PR push about how good he'd made the Clippers in the off season with his addition of "real players". These "real players" he'd added were going to be what took the Clippers to the ring, after the last several years of not getting out of the second round. These "real players" that Rivers added that were finally going to carry the Clippers to the ring were Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, and Lance Stephenson. The media, thanks to the Clippers PR department who were pushing the Rivers is a great idea, was full of stories about this.

Oh, yeah, all three of those new "real players" acquisitions Rivers made turned out to be huge busts, like almost all of Rivers acquisitions have been since he got here. The Clippers had to pay Houston cash to cover his salary to take Josh Smith off their hands. They had to pay Memphis a first round draft choice to swap Stephenson for Jeff Green. There is no price they can pay any team to take the terrible Paul Pierce off of their hands, especially since the way over the hill player has another 2 years and $7 million left on his contract. He's not good enough to play, and so at least the Clippers are not playing him.

Tom Thibodeau would have been a good coach for the Clippers. Too bad they missed out on him. Rivers original deal was for three years, but when Richard Parsons was temporarily put in charge of the Clippers during the ownership changeover, Rivers talked Parsons, who knew nothing about basketball, into giving him a big extension with a big pay hike and an even bigger title than he had before. Too bad that happened. The original three year deal would have been up after this season, and then the Clippers could have signed Thibodeau.

To be clear, owner Steve Ballmer said in an hour long TV interview on The Charlie Rose Show when asked why he came in and tore up Rivers old deal and gave him a new one, that Parsons had already made the deal before he, Ballmer, bought the team.

Spoken like a man who wants nothing more in his life than to become a 'sub' for Doc Rivers.

It's okay, Jake. Many people become obsessed when they feel powerless. Many people become angry at those they have confused feelings of attraction toward.

If you can become honest with yourself and accept what you truly want I know you can find a daddy to dominate you that looks like Doc Rivers.

I know he's out there. The internet is a big place. Go find him.

Paul has been great this season, and it's sure showing up in this series. The success of the team this season is all due to him. Rivers would like people to think he deserves the credit, but, no, it goes to Paul.

Paul and a healthy Griffin are excellent. All of the rest of the starters and the bench have serious limitations.

When has Rivers ever said, I deserve the credit for the team's success? And if Paul is the reason for the Clips success, Doc's the reason Paul is still on the team. Paul wouldn't have resigned without Doc at the helm.

Of course Paul would have still signed with the Clippers. He would have signed with them because there was nothing as good he could have done for himself. He wanted to be on a playoff team and a ring contender that was in major market, meaning LA or NY. That's why his agents got him onto the Clippers to begin with. There were no other similar options open to him other than staying with the Clippers. Also, nobody else could have paid his as much money as the Clippers. Trying to pretend otherwise is foolish nonsense with no basis in reality.

When he insisted on being the GM and have full control.

That's the only way he was going to leave Boston.

If Doc wasn't made Senior VP of Basketball Operations the Clippers were going to hire Byron f**king Scott as their Head Coach.

Donald Sterling made the final decisions then. Andy Roeser had the second most power then. They were two of the most incompetent men to ever run an NBA organization. When Doc was hired he became 3rd in command.

Byron Scott is one of the worst Head Coaches in the NBA. Donald Sterling was about to hire him. The Clippers would have gotten worse.

CP would have demanded a trade by now. DJ would have left in Free Agency. And right now the Clippers would be an 8th seed or out of the Playoffs.

As a coach Byron Scott is 200 games Under .500

As a coach Doc Rivers is 200 games Over .500

Kind of a big difference. But, hey, if Byron Scott was the head coach maybe Eric Bledsoe would have been a Clipper for 1 more year before tearing his meniscus and leaving in Free Agency.

That way the Clippers wouldn't have JJ Redick or Eric Bledsoe. They'd have Jamal Crawford starting at SG and DJ playing 24 minutes a game and they'd be one of the 5 worst defenses in the NBA.

I'm sure Byron Scott would have handled the Donald Sterling fiasco with the same class and leadership that Doc Rivers displayed, right? That wasn't worth anything, huh?

DeAndre Jordan became an All-NBA player under Doc Rivers.

Blake Griffin became 3rd in MVP voting under Doc Rivers.

JJ Redick became one of the best role players in the NBA by playing the Ray Allen role for Doc Rivers.

But, hey, who needs that when you could have had Eric Bledsoe playing Combo Guard for 1 more year before leaving in Free Agency.

Who needs that when you could have had a few more draft picks between 25 and 30. We all know you can trade the 28th pick in the 2017 draft and the 25th pick in the 2019 draft for Russell Westbrook. Man, if only the Clippers still had those picks.

Difference between CP3 and Lillard is night and day, at least in this series. Wow. The synchronized LED wristbands at the Clippers game last night were pretty cool.

Blake's legs stiffened up in the 2nd half. He was dragging his leg on a few possessions. He even grimaced after making a jumper.

I don't know if it was the quad, the tendinitis, or when he fell toward the end of the 1st half. The fall might have caused a bruise and some slight swelling.

Let's hope it was just a bump from the 1st half and not the tendinitis or the quad.

If Blake is the least bit dinged up, they should rest him in game 3, start Green, and Paul Pierce some run with the bench...It would be another adjustment Portland would have figure out, and probably wouldn't solve in time to get a W.