For 80 seconds, the Clippers craned their necks upward, watching the tribute for former coach Doc Rivers on the videoboard suspended above Staples Center’s court. Team owner Steve Ballmer watched too.
And for 80 seconds, Rivers sat amid a tight huddle on the opposite baseline, looking down. Holding a grease board, and the attention of the Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers diagrammed ways to beat five starters he’d spoken with in similar fashion during his last huddle as the Clippers’ coach in September.
When the video finished with Rivers walking off the court, pumping a fist, Ballmer clapped and Rivers walked back into his huddle to continue a homecoming he predicted before tipoff would feel “weird.