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Day 2 Notes: Pierce Works At 4, Players Bond, More

Rowan Kavner

IRVINE, Calif - Head coach Doc Rivers isn’t wasting time getting his versatile small forwards prepared for the possibility of playing in a bigger role on a small-ball backup unit.

On the opening day of camp, Rivers put Wesley Johnson at the four with the backup unit, with Paul Pierce playing his normal role at small forward with the starters. The roles were reversed Sunday, with Pierce playing power forward with the backups.

Rivers said it was the first time he put Pierce in that role, and while it’s clear Pierce still needs time to learn what the Clippers are running, Rivers said Pierce’s smarts and spacing brought a level of calmness to Lance Stephenson, Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford.

“He knows me well enough to know what you shouldn’t do, so that allows him to be pretty free when he plays, and you can see that,” Rivers said about Pierce. “He’s probably the most comfortable guy out there in some ways.”

Pierce joked that the older a player gets, the more he starts to move down in position.

“Just like Jason Kidd went from a one to a two to a three in New York, now I’m moving from a three to a four,” he said. “I’ve showed – especially with the way the league is going, using a lot of small lineups – I can use my ability to guard fours, my ability to shoot to be kind of a utility man at that position and be effective there.”

Pierce working with the twos meant more time for Johnson with the starting unit in his normal role at small forward, where Rivers said he could see Johnson was more comfortable.

On The Side

Many players will put up shots after the team practice ends. This group of Clippers tends to do that in groups of two or three.

As Doc Rivers spoke to the media following practice, Austin Rivers was one court over still working with J.J. Redick. Evidently, it’s also been common for players such as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to bring over younger guys and do the same.

“This team, they have this thing like they want to bring someone along with them,” Doc Rivers said. “My vision of this team in the past, everybody worked on their game. I keep saying, like right now, J.J. does that drill alone, he’s doing that today with Austin. I guarantee you that was J.J. saying, ‘Hey, let’s do this drill together. This morning, Chris had a couple guys. Blake’s been unbelievable. I think that’s been good.”

Redick said working with a teammate on the side is something that typically happens organically. Both players have worked extensively with J.P. Clark, an assistant coach for player development, so Redick said working with Austin Rivers is a natural fit.

Paul said the players he works on the side with will vary. On Sunday, he remembered getting up shots with Pablo Prigioni, Austin Rivers and C.J. Wilcox.

“We’re teammates,” Paul said. “We’re like family. We’re going to be together like this for a long time. Sometimes you get shots on your own, but a lot of times you like to shoot with other guys.”

NOTES

  • Quote of the day comes from Pierce: “The first couple practices have really been good. I like what we’re doing. These probably are as good of a first two practices as I’ve been around. Usually guys are moving too fast, lot of turnovers, but we look pretty sharp for the most part I think, especially being that we have so many new guys.”
  • Paul called this year’s team “easily the deepest” that he’s been a part of.
  • Redick expounded on the news he unveiled at media day that he had become an ordained minister. He said he’s an emotional person, which makes that job particularly tough, but he said kept it together for the most part for his sister.
  • “My sister got engaged last July, so she asked me probably sometime in the fall,” Redick said. “But I procrastinated and waited until sometime this summer to get my minister’s license or whatever it’s called. It was a cool experience. First of all, it’s a huge honor for anyone to ask you to marry them, and my older sister and her husband are great people.”

  • Rivers said they were careful with Stephenson on Saturday because he tweaked his hamstring a month ago, but Stephenson was on the court with the backups during Sunday’s scrimmage portion of practice.
  • Pierce said as he’s gotten older, he’s figured out how to better prepare his body for an NBA season. He said he watches more of what he eats and never eats junk food anymore, which has helped with his energy.
  • “I think when you’re young, you’re so worried about improvement and developing,” Pierce said. “I am who I am at this point. Right now, it’s about me being in shape, being healthy. I changed my diet years ago. At this point in my career, I just know how to be ready.”