Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he spoke with an NBA office official about his and Austin Rivers during Friday night’s game in Houston.
After a conversation Friday night with Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations responsible for imposing the sanctions, neither Doc Rivers nor Austin Rivers were suspended for Saturday night’s game in Oklahoma City and none were fined.
Before the Clippers played the Thunder on Saturday, Doc Rivers was asked how his conversation with the NBA went.
He was ejected from the Rockets game while trying to get an explanation for a foul Marreese Speights after scoring.
“No, they didn’t think…” Rivers said. “Look, that’s all I’m going to say. Obviously they didn’t think it was a problem anyway.
Austin was ejected from the Rockets game for what officials told the media was for using “profanity” and making “contact with” an official.
“They didn’t even think it was a problem,” Doc Rivers said of Austin’s expulsion.
Johnson struggles
Even the Clippers coaches are perplexed as to what to do to get the most out of the forward. Wesley Johnson.
They like his athleticism, but Johnson has struggled most of this season to be a factor for the Clippers.
He had started the last three games, but suffered a sprained left ankle against Houston on Friday night. On Saturday night, Johnson came off the Clippers bench against the Thunder, playing two minutes.
The answer Doc Rivers gave on how to get the most out of Johnson was telling.
“I don’t know,” Rivers said. “When we signed him a few years ago, our goal was to make him more consistent, because he showed some nights that he could be really good.
“Even defensively, he had nights where he was active and he rebounded the ball. So this is an area that we continue to work on. For me, what prevents him from being a very good player is his consistency.
Rivers said he criticized Johnson and encouraged his small forward.
“I think at the end of the day you have to push yourself,” Rivers said. “I think he has a good support team around him.
“The players want him to succeed. His coaches too. And we are sometimes hard on him. Sometimes we are the other way around. But ultimately it has to come from him.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
