The LA Clippers entered the first day of training camp motivated and “pissed off,” according to point guard Patrick Beverley.
Beverley said the 3-1 second-round collapse against the Denver Nuggets still resonates with him and motivates his teammates to come back and fight back this season.
“The attitude around here is that the guys are pissed off,” Beverley said Sunday morning before the first practice. “Which is good. We should be pissed off after our elimination last year in the playoffs,” he added.
“That gives you a little wood to burn inside for the fire. So everyone is a little pissed off, as it should be,” he said.
Beverley said the Clippers, who were favorites to win the title last season before falling short of expectations, took a hit from the Nuggets and want to fight back.
“The feeling is that we want to regain our respect,” Beverley said. “When I say respect, I mean that someone hits you when you are growing up, your mother tells you to hit back, that is to regain respect,” he added.
Beverley echoed what new coach Ty Lue, Marcus Morris Sr. and Paul George had to say about the team entering this season highly motivated by the collapse of last postseason.
Lue, who replaced Doc Rivers as coach after being the main assistant last season, said the Clippers will have a “whole new program.”
George said in an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast that the Clippers made no adjustments when they lost three straight games to the Nuggets. Rivers, now the 76ers coach, responded in Philadelphia on Sunday.
“I enjoyed training him,” Rivers qualified about George before laughing later about the “adjustments” with Lue sitting next to him for the year. “So there’s not much to say there. Ty Lue was sitting next to me, so I better hope it’s not adjustments, because it’s not going to be much different.”
“Look, we lost a game and I think everyone should take responsibility. Obviously, we can do better, the players can play better, so as far as I’m concerned, I’ll leave it there,” he said.
The Clippers believe that going through the struggles of last season could make them stronger. New Clippers forward Nic Batum said he can see this season will be a rematch season for Kawhi Leonard.
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We set out to review the best games from the start of the NBA campaign.
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“I think what happened last year is that this team will have learned a lot and we have a guy who showed it in the past,” said the Frenchman.
Beverley expressed that the Clippers have the necessary leadership and that it was not a problem in the collapse of the playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s leadership,” Beverley said, dismissing the idea that the Clippers didn’t get enough of it in the playoffs. “I think that anything that involves you being very up and losing, you make a lot of money and you lose it, that is not a lack of leadership. That is a lack of mental strength. I think that is what we have to address,” he said.
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