Doc Rivers on Game 7: 'There's no secret speech'
The Clippers are in their most pressure-filled moment in franchise history - Game 7.
This isn't just any Game 7 either, this is one they absolutely need to win. The Clippers were up 3-1 against the Denver Nuggets, were the favorites to win the series, the favorites to win the championship, have never been to the Conference Finals, and are in win-now mode. A loss in this particular situation echoes a loss so similar to what the Clippers encountered in 2015 against Houston, it would haunt fans forever.
Every single playoff series Doc Rivers has won with the Clippers has gone to Game 7, except one - the 2020 series against the Mavericks. He says there are no secret speeches to getting players ready for the game. They know what's at stake, and they already want to win more than anyone.
"I'm going to say let's go win," Rivers said. "Rah-rah speeches are very overrated. They last about three-minutes and you come running out and you're fired up, and then three minutes later you've got to focus on playing basketball. There's no like secret speech. That's for the movies."
What matters more than anything during a Game 7 is execution. Players tend to underperform due to the stress of the situation. The Clippers need to make sure they're prepared for the moment, more than anything. They need to be prepared to follow a gameplan, more than anything.
"The real thing is you've got to have them prepared in preparation," Rivers said. "That's what we'll do the next two days. We'll get them doing what we've done to get the leads and continue to do it. But there's nothing secret or magical. It's about playing basketball, manning up, moving the ball, doing all the things that we can do. Other than that, that's about it."
In all of the uncertainty of tomorrow's Game 7, one thing will be certain. One team, whether it's the Clippers or the Nuggets, will make history tomorrow.
