Clippers Lose the Same Way Every Single Game

Los Angeles Clippers fans have been watching the same script since the start of the season. They lost nine of their last ten games, and Thursday's loss to the Orlando Magic was a particularly desultory one. The Clippers had one of their worst offensive performances of the season, couldn't get anything going other than James Harden's individual efforts, and were dominated in all areas of the game.

The most frustrating of it all was the way the Clippers lost again. Ty Lue's group has been the worst transition team in the league all season. Going into Thursday's game, the Clippers were giving up a whopping 147.2 points per 100 transition possessions per game, per Cleaning the Glass. That was 5.6 points worse than the second-worst transition defense in the NBA. Off live rebounds, the discrepancy is even more stark as the Clippers are almost eight points per 100 possessions worse than the second-worst defense.

On the other end of the court, the Clippers get out in transition with the least frequency in the league, running in only 13.1% of possessions, according to the same Cleaning the Glass data. This is an impossible math equation to overcome.

Clippers Followed the Same Frustrating Script Against the Magic on Thursday

This was very evident against the Magic. The Clippers were stuck in the half-court, struggling to get separation and create good shots. Orlando, on the other hand, was sprinting down the court at every opportunity, getting an easy basket after every Clippers turnover, missed shot, or even made baskets at times. Orlando went out in transition on 27.9% of their possessions on Thursday, putting up an incredible 163.0 offensive rating in those possessions. The Magic ended up scoring 41 fast-break points while the Clippers ended with 15.

There was a point in the first half where the Clippers had James Harden, Brook Lopez, Nicolas Batum, Chris Paul, and Bogdan Bogdanovic on the court, a lineup with an average age of over 35. This group was going up against an Orlando five of Desmond Bane, Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Jonathan Isaac, and Wendell Carter Jr., which had no players over the age of 30. This is the type of age discrepancy the Clippers face every single night. No wonder they struggle to match their opponent's speed, physicality, and athleticism.

The Clippers are at a major physical disadvantage on most nights. Ty Lue tries to solve this by injecting Kobe Sanders into the starting lineup. The fact that the Clippers are hoping that a rookie who was a late second-round pick on a two-way deal is the answer to their problems should tell you everything you need to know.

The frustrating part is that this is a design flaw. This problem with roster construction is hard to solve by rotation decisions or schemes. The Clippers can certainly play better, but overcoming this uphill battle consistently will be extremely difficult all season.

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