Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES - Pacers coach Frank Vogel said he spoke to Doc Rivers at length before the Clippers’ head coach traded for then-Charlotte guard Lance Stephenson.
The ringing endorsement of Stephenson, whose career soared in Indiana while playing for Vogel, couldn’t have hurt the Clippers’ ultimate decision.
“I love the kid,” Vogel said. “He’s got a great, competitive spirit. His image is inaccurate of not being a good locker-room guy and all that stuff. Our guys really liked him and our coaching staff really liked him.”
Vogel said he believes Stephenson will be a good fit for the Clippers and will have a great year, even as it’s started up and down early.
It was nothing but up as Stephenson played his former team Wednesday, scoring a season-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting with three assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes.
Stephenson said he had tons of memories from his time in Indiana, where he felt he grew up and learned the game of basketball. Last year, he said in Charlotte he was “really jacked up” to play his former team, but he insisted there wasn’t any added juice playing the Pacers anymore.
“I just came into it like a regular game, trying to get rhythm and get used to my new teammates and try to win the game,” Stephenson claimed. “I really wasn’t that amped.”
It certainly didn’t seem that way.
By halftime, Stephenson already had 12 points, three assists and two rebounds in just 16 minutes, beginning the game 5-for-6 from the floor. The typically energetic, mercurial guard appeared to have an extra gear Wednesday, even if he didn’t admit it.
The only time he cracked a little in that regard was when it came to his matchups specifically against Paul George, whose triumphant return from a broken leg continued with a 31-point, 10-rebound performance against the Clippers.
“When I was in Indiana, we used to always play 1-on-1 against each other, trying to push each other to get better,” Stephenson said. “I know his game a little bit, he knows my game. We were just out there playing hard, trying to compete.”
Blake Griffin and the Clippers are confident that’s the Stephenson they’ll get used to. Griffin said he loves having Stephenson around, and he can tell the newcomer wants to be great and wants to help out and be a good teammate.
“He’s been a lot of fun,” Griffin said. “He’s so talented, but it’s our job to help him find that and keep him focused on that.”
That’s at least part of their job. The other part is sticking with him when he gets on the move, which is where he’s made much of his mark offensively in transition.
“Our guys are finally running with him,” Rivers said before the game Wednesday. “Early in the year, Lance was breaking out and no one ran with him, and I think what’s helped him is now they’re running with him, and they’re finding out what Lance really wants to do is pass. You tell a scorer that if you run you’ll get the ball, everybody starts to run, and I think guys are running with Lance.”