Doc Rivers on the Lakers: "They're in Our Way"

Doc Rivers knows the Clippers' path to the NBA championship goes through the Lakers.

The Clippers want to win a championship, and the team knows they have to beat the Lakers to accomplish that goal.

Throughout the 2019-20 NBA season, the Hallway Series was the marquee matchup of the year - Clippers vs Lakers. It was a series that occupied both opening night, and Christmas games. Every single game was a closely heated match up, and fans have been clamoring to see it in the playoffs. Doc Rivers spoke with David Aldridge of The Athletic, about the rivalry.

“I look at it like, they’re in our way,” Rivers said to Aldridge. “I don’t look at it as the Battle of L.A., because we don’t get a trophy if we beat the Lakers."

For Doc Rivers, the rivalry between the Clippers-Lakers isn't about the Battle of Los Angeles. It's about a battle between the two best teams in the Western Conference, trying to win a championship. It's a similar mindset to how he viewed the Golden State Warriors in 2014. In order to accomplish the ultimate goal, one has to go through their rival, which oftentimes is the other best team.

"For us to get to where we want to get to, we have to go through them, and probably the same way for them – they have to go through us," Rivers said. "As a group, we’re good with that, and I think they’re good with that."

The biggest mistake the Clippers could do is overlook the other top teams in the Western Conference before facing the Lakers. Both the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets are very skilled teams capable of pulling off an upset. That's something Rivers is fully aware of.

"I think that sets up for a pretty good battle," Rivers said. "The problem is, we’re in the west, and we have to get through a lot of good teams just to get to them.”

While it's looking likely, there is no certainty that the NBA season will return. The one thing that is a certainty though, is that a series between the Clippers and Lakers will be explosive.