During a stretch of games before the All-Star break, the Clippers looked every bit a contender and the biggest threat to Denver in the West. From December 1 until the All-Star Game, the Clippers were 28-7 with an offensive rating of 122.8 (best in the NBA over that span) and a net rating of +6.6. Kawhi Leonard was playing at a level that could put him on the MVP ballot and Paul George looked like an All-NBA player, with James Harden and Russell Westbrook finding their way.
“All four of us are at about the same point in our careers, we see things the same way,” George spoke to NBC Sports about All-Star weekend about this core. “We have made money, we have received accolades and awards, now we are focused on one thing, the same thing.
“We all just want to win.”
Except that they were not concentrated from the break. Los Angeles is 6-8 since the All-Star Game with an offensive rating of 114.9 and a net rating of -2.1.
Sunday night was a new low – a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks at home. After the game, George gave an honest assessment of the team’s situation: They act like a team that can push the button and, in doing so, have lost their identity, via Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points.
Me: “Do you feel like this team feels like they can just turn it on whenever they need to now?”
Paul George: “I mean, that’s what we seem to look like, which is not good. Not good. We want to be a cohesive team and we want to establish an identity.… pic.twitter.com/6vjtLELnGc
– Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 18, 2024
Tyronn Lue echoed this point, focusing on effort and execution.
“We can definitely play harder for 48 minutes. It can’t last 32 minutes or it can’t last when you go down. That comes with a veteran team. They think we can turn it on, but these teams are young, they’re fast, they turn it on from the midfield, so we have to be able to keep up with the pace and we have to be able to match that. No need to overreact, like the guys in the locker room, they understand what to do…
“I told you we had regular things to do every night. And if you don’t, you can always get beaten by anyone. »
Lue said the Clippers’ main issues were turnovers, transition defense, defensive rebounding and spacing.
Lue seems understandably frustrated – he’s been saying this for weeks but can’t seem to convince his players to take him seriously. With these losses, the Clippers are just one game ahead of the No. 5 seed Pelicans – Los Angeles could lose its first-round lead if they continue to slide. The Clippers have a 3.5 game lead over the Kings (the current No. 7 seed), but if they, the Suns or Mavericks heat up in the remaining weeks of the season (and Dallas has the schedule remaining the simplest in the West), so the Clippers’ fall in the play-in is not completely out of the question if they don’t change the situation.
The Clippers have to worry about running their ship well because they no longer pose a threat to Denver.
