LA Clippers Fall in Standings After Four-Game Skid

The Los Angeles Clippers have fallen in the standings after their recent four-game losing skid. They are now the ninth seed in the Western Conference, half a game back of the Portland Trail Blazers and one game ahead of the Golden State Warriors. 

After a good stretch out of the All-Star break, the Clippers are struggling again with twelve games left in the regular season. They are now in danger of moving through the Play-in Tournament in order to make the playoffs.

LA Clippers Fall In Standings After Four-Game Skid

Throughout this four-game skid, the Clippers’ biggest problem has been inconsistency. They blew a 25-point lead against the San Antonio Spurs and ultimately lost, as Kawhi Leonard had to watch from the sideline with a sprained left knee. In his absence, Darius Garland took over the scoring load with 25 points. But late in the game, the Clippers had no answer for the Spurs’ offense. San Antonio engineered an 18-5 run in the fourth quarter to beat LA, 116-112.

Facing the Sacramento Kings, the Clippers showed they couldn’t sustain success in Leonard’s absence. Leonard had 31 points before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle. Similar to the Spurs game, the Clippers lost steam after halftime, and it was all Sacramento from there. The Kings came out on top, 118-109, behind 27 points from DeMar DeRozan and a vintage Russell Westbrook triple-double.

Their next two games against the New Orleans Pelicans told the same story. In the first game, they were unable to hold a big first-quarter lead. They were up 40-26 at the end of the period, but were outscored 70-55 in the next two quarters. In the next game, they were without Leonard again, still recovering from the sprained left ankle. The Clippers could not stop Trey Murphy, who had 50 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in the mini-series.

Production Drops Without Kawhi

The Clippers’ struggles without Leonard are becoming more apparent in this losing streak. They are 4-12 without him this season. Without Leonard as the primary scorer and defensive anchor, the team lacks structure and identity.

The team’s defensive struggles are a key factor in their inability to maintain leads. They have started strong in these last four games, but they haven’t been able to keep the level of production for four quarters. In their last four games, they have a defensive rating of 121.1 (116.4 for the season).

With a relatively easy schedule left, the Clippers are playing themselves out of good seeding. What should have been an opportunity to gain ground is turning into a squandered chance to control their playoff destiny. Leonard is also questionable for today’s game against the Dallas Mavericks as he continues to deal with the ankle sprain.

The path foward is clear, Tyronn Lue must make adjustments for the Clippers to survive without relying on Leonard’s heroics. Leonard has a 33.6 usage rate this season, higher than MVP front-runner Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (33.1). The Clippers have played four back-to-backs in the month of March, and the work load is clearly taking a toll on Leonard.

If the Clippers are going to secure a playoff spot, they must find some consistency on both ends of the floor and compete without relying on Kawhi Leonard.