Terance Mann has taken a huge step forward this year for the Los Angeles Clippers, and his mother thinks having a different coach has a lot to do with it.
Mann’s mother, Daynia La-Force, who is an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, told Law Murray of The Athletic this week that she did not think Doc Rivers was a good coach for her son. She also complimented current Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
“But I’ll tell you one thing, you know, because I’m a basketball coach and he’s grown up in a coaching household,” said La-Force. “He understands the impact a coach has on a player. He understands the importance of a player-coach relationship. He thinks those things are essential to his success. So last year, I don’t think he had a great player-coach relationship with Doc. I don’t think he got that confidence that he needed from Doc.
“And it’s the complete opposite from Ty Lue,” she added. “You know, Ty Lue is a player’s coach. Ty Lue pours confidence in his players, from No. 1 all the way to No. 12. So I think Ty Lue just telling Terance, ‘You need to shoot that shot,’ that’s all Terance really needed. He needs that coach to tell him what he needs, what is needed. And he’s going to run through a brick wall for any coach that gives him that coaching.”
Mann was a rookie last season under Rivers, who has never been known for developing or even playing young players very much. Mann averaged just 8.8 minutes per game in 41 appearances, shuttling back and forth between the Clippers and the G League. But this year has been Mann’s coming-out party where he has doubled virtually all of his averages across the board. Game 6 of the second round against the Utah Jazz was particularly stellar for Mann. He scored a career-high 39 points on seven triples in a start for the injured Kawhi Leonard to really put his name on the map.
La-Force is hardly the only one with this opinion, either. One of Mann’s own teammates has mentioned how the coaching change improved the Clippers.
More must-reads: