Doc Rivers has never been much for team meetings.
For example: Rivers doesn't think his players were "real" in the meeting they had following the Los Angeles Clippers' lackluster loss to Golden State on Wednesday.
"I don't believe in team meetings," Rivers said Friday. "That's just my opinion. Sometimes, they help. I'm just not a big fan of them. There are a few, some that help. Overall, when I read about team meetings in the league, I'm thinking 'I hope we play them next.'
"At the end of the day, you need to be able to tell each other the truth. We all know it. We all know we didn't play hard. I don't think I need a team meeting for that."
Some coaches and players differ on the benefits of such closed-door, airing-it-out sessions. Rivers just isn't one of those coaches. Blake Griffin sees some benefits in bringing the team together, but he puts more stock into what happens after.
"There were some good things said for sure," Griffin said of the post-Golden State meeting. "The only way to know if there's production is to see the result of it. I think we made some ground. At the same time, to me, talk is just talk. I'd rather be a team that's more about it when you step on the court than talking about it sitting on the bus or sitting in the locker room."
Clippers get to work on fixing early-season woes
The jury will be out until Saturday, when the Trail Blazers come to town. Whether the Clippers can rebound from Golden State and show their coach that the meeting helped is one thing.
Rivers even believes the subject of team meetings would make for good material for a book. He's been on both sides of meetings as a player and coach.
"I learned as a player when I sat in some team meetings early on," he said. "I was a young guy, (so) I couldn't talk. I heard the guys talking and I would sit there like, 'what? This is not the truth!' Every once in a while there were great ones. If I ever write a book, I'm going to write about the ones that weren't great. There's some funny stuff that is said. It's hilarious. You know it's a bunch of B.S."
Maybe a team meeting was what the Clippers needed to shake off the early-season rust. Or maybe not.
Watch Doc rivers rate the art of team meetings. Funny how he gets a little demonstrative. @laclippers @fo https://t.co/TxqFPIyxZM
— Jill Painter Lopez (@jillpainter) November 8, 2014
