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Los Angeles Clippers Rumors: What’s Wrong With the Clips?

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 15:15 PST, Nov 23, 2015

The Los Angeles Clippers entered the season with thoughts of challenging the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs for Western Conference supremacy; however, at 6-7 the Clips have been a disappointment in the early part of the season.

Head coach Doc Rivers told Jovan Buha of Fox Sports that the Clippers’ slow start is “on me” and insisted the team doesn’t have chemistry problems in spite of heated conversation between Josh Smith and an assistant coach in the locker room following their 91-80 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

According to the Orange County Register, Smith and an unspecified assistant coach were involved in a frustration-fueled argument that involved plenty of profanities and loud yelling.

The frustration comes as a result of inconsistent play and the fact that some of the Clips newcomers are not performing as expected. Los Angeles, which blew a 23-point lead in a 124-117 home loss to Golden State, fell behind to Toronto by 29 in the first half as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were held scoreless for 20-plus minutes. The Clippers have now lost three straight and seven of their last nine.


Against Toronto, Griffin was held to a season-low nine points along with six rebounds and while Paul did record his fourth double-double of the campaign (13 points and 11 assists), he made just 5-of-13 shots from the field.

“It’s pretty frustrating. We’ve dropped three in a row. I think it’s pretty normal to be frustrated. But, we can’t let that frustration affect us negatively moving forward,” Griffin said. “I think we need to do a good job of sitting down, being real and understanding what the real problems are moving forward.”

“But, frustration is to be expected.”

Griffin, the team’s leading scorer, is averaging 22.7 points, as well as 8.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the month of November. Griffin posted 32.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists through the first three games of the season. He only has one 30-point game and has not recorded a double-double in the last six contests.

Paul, meanwhile, has missed three games already and has not produced his normal numbers thus far. The 30-year-old point guard is averaging 16.9 points while shooting just 43.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line. He also is averaging 8.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 turnovers.

What has been more disappointing for the Clippers is the production of the team’s key newcomers Smith, Paul Pierce, and Lance Stephenson.

Pierce, who signed a three-year, $10 million deal as a free agent, has struggled mightily this season. The 38-year old was brought in for playoffs but has looked slow and hesitant according to SB Nation. In 22.4 minutes of action, Pierce is averaging 5.4 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting a paltry 32.2 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from the three-point line.

Smith, who signed an one-year veteran’s minimum deal, has not yet found his niche, either. He is averaging just 4.7 points and 4.1 caroms along with 1.4 blocks in 14.8 minutes off the bench. Smith is shooting 34.9 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Stephenson came over to Los Angeles in a trade from Charlotte and was expected to play tough defense as well as contribute offensively. Stephenson has started at small forward most of the season so far but has seen only 18.8 minutes of action. The 25-year old has produced a 6.39 PER and is averaging 4.8 points, 2.5 caroms as well as 1.7 assists.

While the decline in production from the aforementioned players hurts, the OC Register believes part of the blame lies in Rivers putting out a consistent lineup. Rivers used his sixth starting lineup this season, including their fifth in their last five contests. Part of the reason for the different lineups is due to injuries to Paul and J.J. Redick.

“I’m a big believer in continuity, and there are some definite benefits to that,” Redick said. “Early in the season, regardless of who is starting or whatever, we’re still incorporating a lot of pieces, new system, new teammates all that stuff.”

Another big problem for the Clippers has been their defense. The Clips are giving up 104.5 points a game, which is the eighth most in the league. They have surrendered 100 points eight times. Even more disappointing is how poorly the Clippers are rebounding the ball, they are currently No. 26 in the league with 41.8 boards a game. Additionally, Los Angeles is No. 23 in three-point percentage (31.3 percent).

The Clippers will be able to right the ship in the next few games as they don’t play a team with a winning streak in their next five games. Los Angeles travels to Denver on November 24 and then they have six straight home games starting with Utah on November 25.

[Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]

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lance stephenson Toronto Raptors Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin Chris Paul Paul Pierce Doc Rivers
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