On Monday, the LA Clippers were at home to face the Indiana Pacers. Earlier this season, the Clippers had a dominant 151-127 vs. Indiana. However, Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers got the best of LA last night. James Harden and the Clippers lost 133-116. The team is now 44-27.
That loss gives them the same record as the Pelicans. Due to tiebreakers, New Orleans is now the fourth seed and LA has dropped to fifth. After the game, head coach Ty Lue addressed the media about how the team has been playing. When asked to describe the team’s identity, Lue responded and said “soft.” Not what Clippers fans want to hear at this point in the season.
What can the Clippers do to try and work out the kinks with the regular season coming to an end?
Tyronn Lue, as critical as I’ve ever heard him, called the Clippers soft right now and challenged the leaders to lead:
“Right now do we have an identity? I think, yeah. We’re soft. That can be an identity if you want to call it that. We got to be tougher, mentally and… pic.twitter.com/01u3EuN961
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 26, 2024
After a dominant run earlier in the season, the Clippers have been struggling as of late. They’ve lost six of their last nine games and have dropped to fifth in the West. In early February, LA held first place. Speaking to the media after a loss on Monday, head coach Ty Lue was critical of his players. In the 2023-24 regular season, the Clippers only have 11 games left. Is that enough for them to flip a switch and get back on track when they need it most?
Ty Lue was asked by a reporter to describe his team’s identity at this point in the season. The veteran head coach gave a lengthy statement and called out all of his players. In the end, he summed it up by saying the Clippers’ current identity is “soft.” Lue noted how the team had a “great” identity when they were 26-5. However, LA cannot pick and choose when they want to be that dominant. That has to be how they play every single game. Veteran PG James Harden said they are all trying to “figure out what the hell is going on.”
Ty Lue on the Clippers:
“We’re soft.”
(via @SportingTrib) pic.twitter.com/txXRThPvaz
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 26, 2024
From December 1 to February 6, the Clippers went on an impressive 26-5 run. They had the #1 seed in the West in early February and the team was firing on all cylinders. Since then, the Clippers are 10-12 and have dropped to fifth in the West. Despite the criticism of LA, Ty Lue still believes they’ll figure it out before the playoffs. That’s what great teams can do when they’re in a slump. We’ll have to wait and see if the Clippers can turn it around and finish the regular season strong.
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