LOS ANGELES – Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue had two words to describe his team’s identity after a 133-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday: “We’re soft.”
Los Angeles, currently fourth in the Western Conference standings, have been in a slump as of late. They’ve won four out of their last 10 games, all of which were on the road. Additionally, the Clippers are 2-9 against opponents with a winning record since the All-Star break. Last week, the Clippers traveled to Portland to battle the Trail Blazers in two games over three days and managed to pick up two big road wins. But the momentum quickly faded when the 76ers came to town and defeated the Clippers 121-107.
“We know we got to play better basketball going into the playoffs, or it’s going to be an early season,” said Lue after the Clippers loss to the 76ers on Sunday. “I’ve still got full confidence in this team and full confidence in what we can do. Just going out and doing it every single night, not every two minutes, not 26 minutes, 48 minutes of doing the right things.”
As the season has gone on, the Clippers have struggled to play complete games against high-quality opponents. In their matchup against the Pacers, LA led by five points at the end of the first quarter and kept the game close into halftime. But their downfall started in the third quarter, and the Pacers took an eight point lead. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Pacers had doubled that lead and ultimately won by 17.
Offensively, the Clippers have averaged 119.3 points per game over the last 10 outings, three points above their season average. They’ve struggled the most on the other side of the ball, however. The Clippers rank 17th in the league in defensive rating through the last 10 games and have given up an average of 16.7 points off turnovers per game.
“It just goes to our defense, we got to be better defensively of where we’re sending the ball and just ball pressure,” Clippers forward Paul George said after Sunday’s the 76ers loss. “Just imposing our will especially on small guards. The more we can impose physicality the better in the long run over a whole game.”
The Clippers flipped the script Wednesday, however, as they took down the 76ers 108-107 in Philadelphia. George led LA with 22 points, shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc and Norman Powell contributed 11 points off the bench. Powell has proven to be one of the Clippers more consistent scorers during their recent stretch of games, as he put up 22 points against the Pacers and 20 points when the Clippers lost to the 76ers at home, his first game back after injury.
“It’s important having Norm,” Lue said. “Offensively, being able to make shots, being able to space the floor, being able to get downhill and attack the basket, but also being able to get to the free throw line. He’s very valuable to what we want to do.”
The Clippers most recent game against the 76ers proved that they have the ability to win tough games. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers were down by 12 points as the 76ers got off to a hot start. LA began to find their way during the second quarter and cut the lead to 4. The second half was a battle to the end and despite the controversial ending, the Clippers pulled off a much needed win.
Lue was pleased with the way his team played.
“We talked about toughness and having a fight, and I liked our fight,” Lue said after the game on Wednesday night. “We got down 15 points [in a] tough game on the first game of a road trip. I liked us staying with it, attacking the paint in that second half [when] we went small, they matched us by going small, and we were able to get to the paint and get to the rim.”
The last time the Clippers went on a long road trip, they returned home with six wins and just one loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. If LA wants to keep their top-four seed heading into the playoffs, picking up wins throughout this road trip will be crucial to earning home court advantage.
The Clippers are set to play the Charlotte Hornets Friday evening at the Kia Center.