LOS ANGELES — As soon as in first place within the West in early February, the sputtering LA Clippers dropped to fifth within the convention Monday evening after shedding 133-116 to the Indiana Pacers at Crypto.com Enviornment.
The Clippers (44-27) have misplaced six of their previous 9 video games and allowed New Orleans, which owns the season tiebreaker with the Clippers, to maneuver into fourth place.
“We gotta discover our id,” level guard James Harden mentioned. “Groups are scoring simple on us. Makes it tough to attain offensively.
“It is a bit of irritating … I believe we’re all making an attempt to determine what the hell is occurring.”
For the second time in 5 video games, a Clippers star has talked concerning the workforce’s lack of an id for the time being. Paul George mentioned he did not assume the Clippers had an id after they have been blasted 110-93 by Atlanta at house on March 18.
Clippers coach Ty Lue described the workforce’s id proper now as “tender.” Indiana shot 60.7% (17-of-28) from 3 on Monday.
“So id for us, it is acquired to be toughness,” Lue mentioned. “Which implies physicality, psychological and bodily toughness, a high-powered offense — we will rating in a whole lot of other ways — and we acquired to have a defensive mindset.
“And so proper now, do we’ve got an id? I believe, yeah, we’re tender.”
From Dec. 1 till Feb. 6, the Clippers went 26-5 and have been wanting like title contenders. However since they returned from their lengthy Grammy street journey, they’re simply 10-12.
“After we have been 26-5, we had an excellent id,” Lue mentioned. “So you possibly can’t decide and select whenever you wish to lead. You’ll be able to’t decide and select whenever you wish to have id. You’ll be able to’t decide and select whenever you wish to do issues the correct manner.”
The Clippers did get Russell Westbrook again after the previous MVP level guard missed three weeks following surgical procedure to restore a fractured left hand.
Westbrook made 5 of 10 pictures and completed with 14 factors, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
“I believe collectively we simply acquired to return collectively throughout robust occasions,” mentioned Westbrook, who is among the workforce’s most vocal leaders. “Adversity to me is an actual measure of who you’re as a person and two, who you’re as a workforce. And I believe now is an ideal time for us to have the ability to pull collectively, use what we all know methods to win video games and assist one another out to win video games.
“All I do know is that collectively we acquired to determine methods to compete. The X’s and O’s actually do not matter. You compete, after which every thing else will deal with itself.”
Lue has been speaking to the workforce time and again about the necessity to do issues the correct manner and be constant. However the Clippers usually have been making the identical errors and missing power, inspiration and combat in a number of of the lackluster losses of late.
“Simply do the correct factor and you possibly can be capable of get out of this rut,” Lue mentioned. “We now have an id, however proper now our id has been shaken as a result of we’re not successful.”
Lue stays assured that he and the Clippers will determine issues out earlier than the postseason begins. The Clippers, who’re simply two video games above the sixth-place Kings, open a tough four-game street swing Wednesday at Philadelphia earlier than touring to Orlando, Charlotte and Sacramento.
“All of us simply acquired to do our jobs,” Lue mentioned. “Do your job, what we requested you to do.”
