Paul George isn't satisfied with how the Los Angeles Clippers have approached this season, lamenting the lack of an identity for the roster on the court.
"I mean that's what we're appearing to look like, which is not good. 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."
The Clippers have been one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference, competing for the No. 1 seed just a few weeks away. However, a spell of injuries and inconsistency has dropped them to the No. 4 seed where they're currently hoping to fight off the New Orleans Pelicans, who are 1.5 games behind in the No. 5 seed.
Paul George is averaging 22.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, suffering from an inconsistent season himself. While his contributions have been crucial to the team's success, his inconsistency in stepping up to the biggest moment often finds the team falling behind the curve during games, especially in their recent stretch.
Kawhi Leonard is no longer one of the best shooters in the NBA, shooting 30.2% from three in March. Without Kawhi playing like an MVP candidate, the Clippers haven't been able to rely on George or James Harden enough to feasibly say they'll win games. Outside of that, they haven't developed a cogent identity of things they can rely on regardless of the personnel.
The Clippers Are Falling Behind
The Clippers were flying high in February, sitting as high as the No. 1 seed in February and looking like a lock for a top-four seed. However, the team has gone 8-10 and has a record of 42-25 now, five games off the top spot in the West. They have lost carelessly at times, blowing a 20+-point lead against the Bucks and getting blown out by the Atlanta Hawks, a team the Lakers just beat by 31 points.
Multiple key players have been in and out of their lineup. Harden, George, and Kawhi have all missed games during their last 18 games, along with Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook, who's currently out as well. Ivica Zubac hasn't fully bounced back from a calf injury in January, with his output also hurting the team at times.
The roster inconsistencies are the biggest factor to blame, but everybody knew that the Clippers would inevitably deal with their star players missing time. This has been the story with the franchise every season outside the 2019-20, where they had three months off before the playoffs to stay healthy but blew a 3-1 lead and then blamed it on the bubble.
It's time to put up or shut up for the Clippers, who need to maximize the squad they put together this season. We've seen how effective they can be and they just need to find that rhythm once again. If they fail to do so, this season could be another disappointment in their final year playing in the Crypto.com Arena.
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