The Los Angeles Clippers lost four of their last five matches. Their performances were disjointed, especially on the defensive end. On Sunday, they lost to the Atlanta Hawks, leading Paul George to urge his team to find an identity before the playoffs begin.
“I mean, that’s what we seem to look like, which is not good,” George said. “We want to be a cohesive team and we want to establish an identity. I’ve always talked about having an identity and I think that’s extremely important. Right now, I don’t think we have an identity.”
Ty Lue’s team is currently sitting fourth in the Western Conference. On paper, they have enough talent to be a real threat to make the NBA Finals. Their roster is made up of several future Hall of Fame talents. However, the aging core is failing to meet its high standards. There is a risk that the Los Angeles roster will implode if they don’t change the situation.
Throughout the season, we’ve seen what the Clippers can look like when they’re at their best. They have the wing defenders, perimeter scoring and bench firepower that pose a serious threat.
Yet the key to their season is keeping their egos in check. This is where having an identity comes in handy. When a team knows how they want to play, they execute it selflessly, knowing that it is a means to an end.
We’re not seeing that type of identity from the Clippers at the moment. However, we saw this earlier in the season. Lue has coached star-led teams before and managed to lead them to a championship. He is used to handling difficult situations under the watchful eye of the media.
Lue’s team is going through a difficult time. They will undoubtedly find out. The key will be how quickly they can do it. Every loss right now is another blow to team chemistry and trust in the locker room.
The clock is turning. Either the Clippers start building an identity now, or they can talk about how things went wrong when they were eliminated from the playoffs.
