Clippers star quartet willing to sacrifice to make things work
The L.A. Clippers have lost six straight games. The addition of James Harden has failed to halt the team's rapid decline, and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. To begin the season, the Clippers were an elite defensive team with star talent that could carry the offense. Now, it would appear there are too many mouths to feed.
However, Paul George believes his teammates are willing to make the necessary sacrifices. He detailed his thoughts during a recent interview with Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes.
"We're all honoring this adjustment. We have to sacrifice. We understand it. Simple as that. No one is going against that. Nobody is frustrated about it," George said. "We know what we have. There's one ball, and there's four good motherf******. And we understand that and embrace it. We want to make each other better, and I don't think one person is complaining one bit about it."
Sacrifice is the only way the Clippers are going to snap out of their funk. Harden and Russell Westbrook are both ball-dominant. George and Kawhi Leonard can only score by shooting the ball. There needs to be a selfless approach to the game. Every star needs to have a team-first mentality if the Clippers want to win at the highest level. Getting four future Hall of Famers on the same page will be a difficult task. They're all stars because of how they can affect the game.
Nevertheless, the Clippers quartet will need to feed off each other. They must learn to use each other's scoring gravity to create opportunities and to communicate on defense to avoid breakdowns. Most of all, though, they need to include their teammates. There are 15 players on an NBA roster. Between eight and 10 of them will play consistently through the regular season. Role players can win games, too.
Still, understanding what needs to be done and doing what needs to be done are different things. The Clippers have all the talent they need to be a contending team. The next step is building a championship mindset. That's a step that could take months, or sometimes years, which is why winning a championship is the hardest thing in basketball.
More must-reads: