Rowan Kavner
SHANGHAI - There was a reason rookie Branden Dawson had to sing to Paul Pierce and head coach Doc Rivers on Tuesday in China.
Pierce and Rivers share the same Oct. 13 birthday, just another one of their many similarities.
“Maybe it’s just the way we are,” Pierce said of their similar traits. “Maybe it’s our signs. We’re both Libras, so Libras kind of clash, I’ve noticed. My mom is a Libra and I used to clash with her a lot. I didn’t really appreciate her until I got older. I think as I got older with Doc, I learned to appreciate him also.”
As strong as the relationship is between Rivers and Pierce, Rivers said it wasn’t always that way. Rivers said before all the great moments and the title they shared together, the two bumped heads the entire first year they were together.
“We’re born on the same day, so I think we’re both the same guy,” Rivers said. “By the end of the year, I remember him walking in the office and he says, ‘I’m doing what you want, and you’re right,’ and he bought into it. It helped him, but he didn’t have to do that, because he was already an All-Star. He could’ve clearly said, ‘I’m already an All-Star, I’m not changing.’
“From my position, I wanted him to change for the betterment of the team, and he did it, and at the end of the day we won a title because of it. That was all on Paul. When a guy does that, the respect you have for him is amazing.”
Rivers joked that he told Pierce together the two of them are 92. Pierce is celebrating his 38th birthday, while Rivers is celebrating his 54th, although it’s not much of a celebration.
“I will celebrate my birthday by watching film,” Rivers said. “That’s how coaches celebrate their birthday. Unfortunately for 31 years, my birthday has come during training camp, so I haven’t really had an enjoyable birthday in a long time.”
Chris Paul laughed at the fact that Rivers made it a point to tell the many media members in Shanghai for the Clippers’ first practice in the city that it was Pierce’s birthday without telling them that it was his own birthday as well.
Paul said there will be time to celebrate when the Clippers return home, but right now it’s about business. Paul knows that won’t be a problem for either birthday boy.
“Doc, obviously the coach is our leader,” Paul said. “He’s a guy that we can trust in during the games, and Paul is a guy who’s new to our team but just has a voice that everyone listens to. He has that veteran leadership. Both of those guys have a championship, and luckily for us, they won it together. So it’s great to hear those experiences.”