Klay responds to Doc: '(The Clippers) couldn't handle their business'
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers loves to talk smack about the rival Golden State Warriors, and the Warriors love to respond in kind.
Rivers told reporters on Media Day that his Clippers matched up well with the Warriors, then poured gasoline on the fire in an interview with Grantland's Zach Lowe earlier this week.
"You need luck in the West," Rivers said. "Look at Golden State. They didn’t have to play us or the Spurs. But that’s also a lesson for us: When you have a chance to close, you have to do it."
Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson took exception to Rivers' comments and subsequently called out the Clippers for blowing a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Klay: "I wanted to play the Clippers last year, but they couldn't handle their business"
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) October 9, 2015
Thompson also pointed to the Warriors' 3-1 record against the Clippers last season to dispel the notion of the Warriors being lucky.
Klay Thompson: "If we got lucky, look at our record against them last year. I'm pretty sure we smacked them."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) October 9, 2015
Rivers, however, does have a point. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, it was the Clippers who came out ahead with a 4-3 series victory.
Regardless, the argument won't actually be settled until the two sides meet in the playoffs. But in the meantime, their bitter rivalry does make for good theater, especially when the feud spills onto the court.