LOS ANGELES — There was no sense in Doc Rivers driving home.
The Clippers coach had spent his Monday morning at Staples Center, one of thousands in attendance at a memorial service for Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others killed in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash. Rivers would be right back Monday night to coach his team against the Memphis Grizzlies.
L.A. traffic limited his options in between, so Rivers said he stayed put. He watched some film at his Staples Center office, went to lunch with his staff and then returned to burn some time.
“This arena is big, walking around it,” Rivers said before the Grizzlies game. “My gosh. I’ve never gone through it. Now I know it.
Lately, it’s feeling smaller — and its basketball tenants closer — than normal.
Even in a season in which the Clippers and rival Lakers were linked from the start as cohabitant hopefuls for the NBA title, the ties that bind the two have grown…
