The Los Angeles Clippers looked like they were one of the best teams in the NBA for a long stretch of the season. However, in their most recent games, their performance has fallen off.
The Clippers have lost four out of their last five games, and have gone 8-10 since the most successful road trip in franchise history that spanned late January into early February. That has dropped them to 42-25, five games behind the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.
On Sunday, they suffered easily their worst loss of this stretch, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 110-93 at Crypto.com Arena. They trailed by as many as 29 points in the game despite Atlanta being without their NBA All-Star point guard, Trae Young.
This stretch has certainly been a wake-up call for the Clippers, who are now only 3.5 games out of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Veteran Paul George had an interesting response when asked if the team can turn it on when they want to.
“I mean that’s what we’re appearing to look like, which is not good,” George said. “We want to be a team that’s consistent and we want to establish an identity. I’ve always spoken about having an identity and I think it’s extremely important.
“Right now, I don’t think we have an identity.”
After a dominant 26-5 stretch where they cemented their status among the elite in the NBA, the Clippers have struggled. Health has started to become an issue, which was not the case earlier in the season.
Point guard Russell Westbrook broke his hand on January 31st and was ruled out indefinitely. James Harden is playing through a strained shoulder, while George and Kawhi Leonard have also battled ailments recently. On Sunday, Norman Powell was sidelined because of a lower left leg contusion and was seen on crutches.
The NBA schedule has done the Clippers no favors either. Sunday’s matchup against the Hawks was their sixth game in nine days and they certainly looked like a team that could use a break. Alas, this isn’t a young team looking to find their way; the Clippers are veteran-laden and know what it takes to succeed.
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