With the conversion of Staples Center from hockey rink to basketball court, the Clippers didn’t get a chance to have a true shootaround before Saturday’s game against Utah.
Coach Doc Rivers seemed to prefer it that way, sensing that his players are still not fully recovered from the recent stretch of nine games in nine different cities.
“We’re going through a heck of a point in the schedule and I’ve been around long enough to know when you practice tired, you don’t learn anything from that, you don’t get better from that,” said Rivers, who gave his team Friday off. “I’ve said it for years, if I have a choice between the head and the legs, I’m taking the legs. I need legs. You’re not going to win without those in the games.”
The Clippers have already played 12 of their 17 back-to-back games on their schedule. When Rivers looked at the slate before the season and saw their current stretch of games, he didn’t figure they would be truly be able to recuperate until after Wednesday’s home game against Miami.
“I don’t think you recover quickly from that,” Rivers said of the schedule. “In the second half (of the season) we have a more favorable schedule, more practice time, I think we’ll be able to improve as a team.
“I don’t know if we’ll win more or less, but I know we’ll have a chance to be a better basketball team in the second half of the year.”
The Clippers did get a film session and a walk-through in the locker room before the game. They marked the floor with tape and went through the game plan.
“You still go over the same plays, just no rim involved,” Rivers said. “Sometimes that helps.”