The Los Angeles Clippers started the season strong and were once the number 1 seed in early February in the West, but slowly dropped down to the 5th seed in the conference while seeming to struggle to win games and are in a crisis right now.
The Clippers have suffered many losses, which has frustrated their head coach, Ty Lue, who appears to be losing his cool over the team’s recent form. He spoke about his thoughts to the reporters following their blowout loss against the Indiana Pacers.
Ty Lue calls out Clippers’ “soft” identity
The LA Clippers’ 17-point loss to the Indiana Pacers was the boiling point for their head coach as well as for the players, as they seemed to lose their identity. Ty Lue spoke to the media after the match about his team’s performance, and when the reporter asked about the team’s identity, he replied, “We’re soft.”
Lue said, “So identity for us, it’s got to be toughness, which means physicality, mental and physical toughness, a high-powered offense—we can score in a lot of different ways—and we got to have a defensive mindset. And so right now, do we have an identity? I think, yeah, we’re soft.”
The question about the ‘team’s identity’ has been raised several times, as it was seen that many players like James Harden and Paul George mentioned it time after time during previous matches.
Clippers’ woeful form continues ahead of playoffs
In another 17-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, all-star forward, Paul George talked about what’s missing and said, “We want to be a team that’s consistent. We want to establish an identity… Right now I don’t think we have an identity.” James Harden talked about the same thing and said that we’re letting the opponents score easily on us while we are not performing well offensively.
Following the loss to the Pacers, the Clippers are currently 6-9 in their last 9 games and seem to be struggling both offensively and defensively. The Clippers have lost their fifth consecutive home game. Despite Kawhi Leonard and Paul George scoring 26 points each and Powell scoring 22 points off the bench, they faced a 17-point loss.
With the loss of rhythm and momentum, the head coach is confident about his team figuring things out before the playoffs begin. The Clippers are in a tough spot, as they are just 2 games above the 6th-seeded, Sacramento Kings and the close competition in the west might be lethal for the team’s standing.
