LOS ANGELES – Doc Rivers was familiar with Jeff Green, and, specifically, familiar with his own shortcomings in how he used the wing in their first stint together.

When Rivers coached Green in Boston, the Celtics would have clock-draining possessions, clawing their way toward 96.5 points per game.

It wasn’t the best use of Green’s athleticism and talents.

“I didn’t do a very good job coaching him, honestly,” Rivers said before Saturday’s loss to the Warriors. “Whenever you have a player you think, ‘Man, I could have done different things,’ and then they’re gone.”

Rivers coached Green in a Boston uniform for 107 regular-season games over the course of two seasons. And Saturday, he acknowledged he’s hoping for a better result in the 28 games he’ll have with him to finish this season.

“I didn’t give him the open floor enough and I thought we could have taken advantage of that,” Rivers said of Green’s time in Boston. “The one thing I still think – not as good as Blake, but his passing … He played in the Princeton offense at Georgetown and he was the hub of their passing and I don’t know if he’s been used that way since he’s been in the NBA and I plan on using him that way more.”

However, the Clippers used Green on Saturday, and it didn’t really work.

In his first game with the team, Green had more turnovers (three) than made baskets (two). He lost his defensive assignment more than once.

It didn’t go so well, which considering he arrived in Los Angeles on Friday morning, was somewhat to be expected.

Rivers used Green at all three frontcourt positions, even briefly using him as a center in an ultra small-ball lineup in the first half.

“Clearly, he didn’t know what to do,” Rivers said afterward. “We didn’t know what to do with him at times.”

Green could eventually start. He could eventually bolster the second unit. It all kind of depends on how he settles in.

“I’m going to let him play first, really, and then we’ll figure it out,” Rivers said. “I know he can play the three and the four, give us some size at either position. But I think you’ve got to let him fit in with the team before you start talking about roles and all that stuff.”

Clippers hang on to Wilcox

In a frantic comeback in the final minutes Saturday, second-year guard C.J. Wilcox hit a pair of 3-point shots and had a steal before air-balling a potential tying shot.

Even though the Clippers rarely use him unless it’s a blowout (Wilcox joked his first-half minutes Thursday counted as his NBA debut), the team insists they still value him.

Wilcox’s name was involved in multiple potential trades before the deadline. Orlando called and discussed a Wilcox swap, offering former NCAA hero Shabazz Napier.

The Chicago Bulls and the Clippers talked about a Wilcox-Tony Snell deal that would’ve also cost the Clippers a second-round pick.

The Clippers declined.

“I think he can shoot. I think he can play. He has a lot of guys in front of him,” Rivers said, “… but, I still think he can really play. He’s a great kid, a high-character kid. He works hard at it.

“And I think that’s a kid that you hang on to.”

Notes

Chris Paul left the game in the fourth quarter with a left thigh bruise, but he said he expects to be fine for the team’s game Monday night against Phoenix. … Before the game, Rivers said he didn’t have any real hesitations about using a protected 2019 first-round pick to acquire Green from Memphis. “That one wasn’t a tough one because the way we looked at it was it’s protected, so if we’re bad enough to be a lottery team we get the pick,” he said. “That wasn’t that awful for us.”

Contact the writer: dwoike@ocregister.com