Clippers' Doc Rivers Calls Suns PG Ricky Rubio 'A Clever Little F--ker'

Leading up to Saturday's game against the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers paid Ricky Rubio a nice and unique compliment. 

Per The Athletic's Gina Mizell, Rivers called the Suns point guard "a clever little f--ker."

Rivers didn't elaborate on his assessment of Rubio, though he did note the Suns benefit from being able to play Devin Booker off the ball more often. 

Mizell noted Booker has controlled the ball around 9.5 percent of the time through two games this season, compared to 17.1 percent in 2018-19. 

The Suns gave Rubio a three-year deal worth $51 million in the offseason to stabilize their long-standing issues at point guard. If he maintains his current pace of 10.0 assists per game, he would be the first Phoenix player to average more than seven per contest since Goran Dragic in 2012-13 (7.4).

Even though Rubio is only shooting 26.3 percent from the field in 2019-20, the Suns are averaging 115.5 points per game because of his ability to distribute the ball. 

Rivers and the Clippers will attempt to shut down Rubio's Suns and improve their record to 3-0 when the two teams meet at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday night.