Clippers can’t figure it out
When the Clippers came to Boston and trounced the Celtics in late January, they looked like the best team in the NBA. They had finally reached full health and Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Paul George were brimming with chemistry.
Since that victory, the Clippers were 13-11 entering the weekend and coming off recent losses to the Pelicans (excusable) and Hawks (inexcusable). Russell Westbrook is expected to return soon from hand surgery, but the Clippers are hardly the most-feared team in the Western Conference, although they may have the most talent.
Coach Tyronn Lue is pondering why his team, stacked with veterans, has been so inconsistent over the past two months. It has cost them a chance at a top seed in the West.
“I think we kind of took away from ourselves, you know with our pacing, our slot cuts, post feeds, baseline cuts, to open up the middle of the floor for Kawhi,” Lue said after the loss to Atlanta. “We didn’t do it consistently throughout the game, so we’ve just got to do things the right way.
“We talked about taking care of the basketball . . . we had 16 turnovers for 26 points. We talked about offensive rebounds, which we did a better job of throughout the course of the game, and then we talked about fast-break points, they had 31. So those are things that we’ve got to lock in and be consistent with every single night, like those are non-negotiables and those help you win games. So, the things we talked about before the game, we’ve been talking about the last two-three weeks. Tonight was an example, if you don’t do that, anything can happen.”
The Clippers may be the most dangerous team in the West because of their potential with Leonard, George, and Harden. And despite Leonard playing in 62 of the team’s first 68 games and likely to qualify for NBA awards in reaching the 65-game minimum, the Clippers have struggled. George has dealt with injuries and Westbrook has missed a few weeks, but the Clippers have not dealt well with adversity. And they have reactivated veteran P.J.
Tucker after he asked for a trade and sat on the bench for weeks. The Clippers are looking to regain that earlyseason prowess.
“When you don’t execute what you’re supposed to execute, then anybody can be beat in this league,” Lue said. “Losses count no matter what. So, it’s not a bad loss of who you’re playing or what team, they’re all professionals and they all play. And so, if you don’t play hard and compete and you don’t take care of the things you need to take care of on a nightly basis, you could lose any given night.”
What’s perplexing for the Clippers is the lack of solutions to their problems. They can’t figure out why they lose winnable games.
“[Inconsistent] is what we’re appearing to look like, which is not good. We want to be a team that’s consistent and you know, we want to establish an identity,” George said. “I’ve always spoken about having an identity, and I think it’s extremely important. When you’re a team that has an identity, teams know what they’re going up against, and right now I don’t think we have an identity.”
The Clippers are pretty good at everything but great at nothing. They entered the weekend 12th in the league in scoring and 10th in points allowed. They were third in 3-point percentage but just 13th in attempts. Harden, George, Leonard, and Norman Powell are all shooting better than 40 percent from the arc, but it’s not an integral part of their offense.
There appears to be confusion in
Los Angeles about how to get untracked, but there’s a month left in the season to figure it out. There is pressure on Lue and the organization to win as the Clippers move into a new arena in the fall.
“All it takes is, when it comes down to the wire and we hopefully start to play well, iron out whatever wrinkles we’ve got to iron out going down this stretch — 16 [playoff ] wins,” George said. “And I believe this team can get 16 wins when we need to, when it matters most. But we can’t look like that team that we all think we can be if we don’t start shaping up and looking like that team now, then it all means nothing.”
Leonard agrees with George. The Clippers still have championship aspirations, but eventually that will need to be proven on the floor with a string of wins and their star trio tapping into their potential.
“I kind of felt like we were in mud [against the Hawks],” Leonard said.
“We didn’t really give all the effort that we could have given. I felt like they pretty much won in transition. Offense, we were in mud a little bit, kind of slowfooted. Once we get back on track, we’ve got to look at games like this [to prevent] turnovers. I think that was pretty much the game. The effort wasn’t 100 percent there, just being a little slow-footed on the offensive end.
“I’ve got a championship mind-set, so keep pounding until there’s no other chance. I know we can turn it around. Guys are saying the right things, but now it’s trying to do it.”
Layups
The Kings bolstered their wellearned reputation of being the most mystifying team in the league, losing Thursday in Washington to the Wizards, who, if you read this column a few weeks ago, are in the running for the worst home record in NBA history. The Kings have lost in recent weeks to the Rockets, Bulls, Pistons, and Heat at home, and then failed to show up against the league’s worst team. Also, swingman Kevin Huerter is out indefinitely with a torn shoulder labrum. Finally, the Kings, in the midst of a fight to avoid a play-in spot, have another East Coast trip in April that takes them to New York, Boston, Brooklyn, and Oklahoma City, before playing their final three games at home. Sacramento was expected to build off its first playoff appearance in 17 years with standouts De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis,
but the Kings have been wildly inconsistent, especially in winnable games. Going into Friday’s games, a half-game separated the Suns, Mavericks, and Kings for the sixth, seventh, and eighth seeds in the West, with the team prevailing avoiding the play-in tournament and earning a first-round matchup with the third seed. The other two are likely to face each other in a play-in game . . . After averaging 32.5 points in four games with the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League, Isaiah Thomas was signed to a 10-day contract by the Suns, one of his former teams. The Suns need depth in the backcourt with backup point guard Saben Lee on a two-way contract and nearing his 50-game limit. Phoenix coach Frank Vogel made it clear that Thomas will not be part of the rotation once the team is healthy. The former Celtic played two minutes in his first game and was a DNP on Wednesday against the 76ers . . . The Pelicans received good news Friday when an MRI on Brandon Ingram’s
knee revealed just a bone bruise. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. Ingram appeared to suffer a serious injury on Thursday against the Magic. The Pelicans are in a fight with the Clippers for the fourth seed in the West and home-court advantage in the first round . . . The Big3 league announced its 2024 schedule, and the championship game will be Aug. 18 at TD Garden. Last summer, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown played in the Big3 AllStar Game prior to the championship game in London.