Clippers Coach Doc Rivers criticizes pace of second unit

The Clippers pace has no doubt slowed down from last season.

But according to Coach Doc Rivers, the problem is mainly with the second unit.

“The second unit has no pace,” Rivers said.

He then corrected himself.

“They go back and forth,” he said. “To say they have no pace would be unfair.”

Rivers said that he can’t really teach pace from the bench.

“You just keep working on it and trusting it,” Rivers said. “Again, pace is not running, it’s movement, it’s quick action.”

According to ESPN, the Clippers are 15th in the league in pacing (possessions per 48 minutes) after ranking seventh in 2013-14. There’s no way to separate starters’ pacing versus reserves’ pacing, but it’s obvious that since Darren Collison left the Clippers for the Sacramento Kings over the summer, the second unit has at times looked lost.

Chris Paul said he had an active role in mentoring former Clippers’ point guards Collison and Eric Bledsoe.

“DC was like my rookie when he came in in New Orleans,” Paul said. “Bled, I’ve known him since he was in high school.”

Paul said that his relationship with backup point guard Jordan Farmar, however, is a bit different.

“Not so much mentoring him, I think we both try to help each other and tell each other what we see and stuff like that,” Paul said.

Spencer Hawes, who comes off the bench, said the reserves’ main problem with pacing stems from defense.

“When we play the defense we’re supposed to that can allow us to get out and run and play with pace and play with space,” Hawes said. “When we’re not doing that, it puts a lot more pressure on our offense.”

melissa.rohlin@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissarohlin