Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers have missed several prime opportunities to climb in the standings and establish a consistent rhythm. Over the past month, there have been at least five instances where observers could easily point out, “That might be the worst loss of the season.”
Despite being the fourth seed in the Western Conference, the Clippers are only holding on by just a half-game as they prepare to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. With only 12 games left in the regular season, there are some deeply troubling signs for this team, which is laden with veterans.
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” remarked head coach Tyronn Lue following Sunday’s 121-107 home loss. “I place a strong emphasis on execution on both ends of the court, and we discuss it daily—avoiding shortcuts and doing things correctly. I believe the players are frustrated too.”
In recent weeks, Lue has increasingly criticized his team’s performance, a departure from his usual composed demeanor. He has had to repeatedly call out his experienced team for not adhering to the game plan, lacking mental toughness, or appearing fatigued.
Since the All-Star break, the Clippers have suffered several notable losses. They squandered a 21-point fourth-quarter lead against the Lakers, blew a 15-point lead against the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo, and let a 22-point lead slip against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home without Karl-Anthony Towns.
Additionally, they lost at home to the Atlanta Hawks without Trae Young, trailing by as many as 29 points, and to the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid, falling behind by as many as 21 points as Philly led from start to finish.
“It is embarrassing when you lose to teams like this,” Lue commented. “I’m not saying they don’t have great players over there, and Nick Nurse is a great coach, but when you come in minus Joel Embiid, then Nico [Batum] sits out tonight, [Robert Covington] is out, Kyle Lowry sits out, and you’re playing at home.
You have to take advantage of those types of situations and games. It is frustrating showing the same thing over and over and not getting the results you want consistently. I would say that consistently not getting the results to every single game, and so you keep talking about it, but at some point, you got to do it.”
At this juncture, the onus appears to be on the players to improve, starting with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
“It’s hard to judge where we need to be, but I know we need to just keep getting better and we will,” Leonard remarked after the loss. “We’re not playing our best basketball right now, but I think we are confident in it. We just got to stay at it and just take it one game at a time.”
With only 12 games left in the regular season, time is running out for the Clippers to regain their focus. They still face a tough schedule, including games against the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and two against the Phoenix Suns.
The New Orleans Pelicans, just half a game behind the fourth seed, also have challenging matchups against teams like the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Suns twice. Furthermore, the Pelicans won the season series 3-1, giving them the edge if the two teams finish with the same record.
“We have a veteran group, a veteran group of guys, so we will get there,” George added. “But we just got to lock in and focus. I don’t think our focus has been where it needs to be on certain occasions, so we just got to lock in as a group.”
“Our focus will be there. I don’t know the answer to [why it hasn’t]. Obviously, our focus would be there if we could pinpoint that and address it right at the thing. But it just comes down to everybody just being dialed in, whatever’s the game plan, stick to it and follow through with that plan.”
The Clippers had an incredible stretch where everything was clicking, going 26-5 from December 1st to February 5th. Outside of that impressive 31-game stretch, the team has a record of 18-21.
“They’re grown men and they understand we’re a veteran team. It’s not like we’re playing with second and third-year players. I’m never the type of guy that wants to show a player up or showing up they’re making a mistake. I’d rather not do that because now it’s a story for you guys. But I mean they understand what they’re supposed to be doing.
“We just got to do better all around the board. But we understand if they come up here in the next two, three guys you interview, they’re going to say the same thing. And so I don’t know what to tell you, but like I said, I feel good about this team.
I feel confident and just got to wake the hell up and be ready to go do stuff hard. We’ve been practicing every day, shoot arounds every day so they understand. So it’s time to start getting the ball rolling and yeah, that’s all I got.”
The Clippers will face the Indiana Pacers on Monday night in the second game of a back-to-back before heading out on a four-game road trip in the East.
