Clippers’ Tyronn Lue reflects on Black coaches’ success this season
PHOENIX — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue surveyed the NBA landscape late this season and shared a notable observation: Three of the final four coaches leading teams in the respective conference finals will be Black.
It’s Lue and Phoenix’s Monty Williams in the Western Conference finals. And in the Eastern Conference, either Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers or Atlanta’s Nate McMillan was bound for the conference finals when Lue spoke before Game 1 in Phoenix on Sunday.
“Three of the four coaches left standing are going to be Black coaches,” said Lue, who broke into coaching under Rivers – like Lue a former NBA point guard before he became a coach for the first time in 1999. “That says a lot about how we have been coaching. Hopefully, so we can stop getting looked down upon so we can just build, build the way for other young Black coaches.
“I think a lot of openings this summer, hopefully, a lot of GMs and owners will see that Black coaches are good coaches and hope they give an opportunity for the young coaches coming up today.”
Lue said he doesn’t feel burdened as a representative of the Black coaching fraternity, insisting that by just doing a good job – see: the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first NBA title and three consecutive NBA Finals and, now, a first conference finals berth for the Clippers – he’ll help inspire progress.
“I don’t think there’s extra pressure, but I do want to do well so they can continue to see that,” Lue said. “Like I said, just learning from Doc Rivers and having a chance to be up under him for so long and see how he’s carried his weight and see how he’s responded to a lot of different things, a lot of criticism, winning the championship, not being a great team.
“So just learning a lot from him, and hopefully I can do the same thing for these young coaches coming up.”
Speaking of Rivers, Lue said he spoke to his mentor this week when Rivers called to tell him, “Congratulations, hell of a job,” after the Clippers defeated top-seeded Utah in six games to advance.
“I talked to him two days ago when we won the game against Utah,” said Lue, who said he would be rooting for the 76ers on Sunday night. “We talked a little bit. Hopefully, he can get it done today.
“He’s always in my corner, I’m in his corner. He gave me my first opportunity and my first chance. He wants to see me do well and I want to see him do well, as well.”
WESTERN CONFERENCE CRAMMING
The Suns have been off since June 13, when they completed their four-game sweep of Denver in the conference semifinals.
The Clippers still are catching their breath after erasing a 25-point, second-half deficit in Game 6 against Utah on Friday night at Staples Center. That series, played every other day, came on the heels of the Clippers’ seven-game series against Dallas in the first round.
Sunday’s Father’s Day matinee is the Clippers’ 14th game in 30 days.
So while Phoenix got a week to practice and prepare, the Clippers’ itinerary following their emotional closeout before a full house at Staples Center was more limited.
Lue said the team landed in Phoenix around 2 p.m. on Saturday, after which he and his fellow coaches met for a couple of hours before convening players around 6 p.m. for a film session.
“We went over some plays that they run on video,” said Lue, whose team’s preparation ahead of its franchise conference finals debut ended with a 20-minute walk-through in a ballroom.