While the Los Angeles Clippers' nine-game winning streak made them the hottest team in the league, they've entered Christmas Day with a two-game losing streak. The injuries have hit, as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have both missed a couple of games, while Mason Plumlee remains out since November with the sprained left MCL. James Harden and the Clippers, however, could be whole again very soon.

Despite the recent two-game skid, the Clippers have found a style they want to play and a rotation that works around one another. The two losses, by the way, were against the Boston Celtics — the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference — and the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team with the second best record in the Western Conference.

At Christmas Day, the Clippers stand at 17-12 through 29 games. Here are a few notes on the team through December 25th:

The Schedule So Far and Moving Forward

The LA Clippers, at 17-12, have played a very balanced schedule through 29 games. According to Positive Residual, they've had the 17th hardest schedule by opponent's winning percentage (.500) and have the 15th hardest schedule remaining by opponent's winning percentage (.504).

So far, the schedule hasn't necessarily been on their side, with five back-to-back sets, one set of a five games in seven nights, and another stretch of seven games in 11 nights. Still, their games played schedule has been middle of the pack, and they have a middle of the pack remaining schedule.

In their first 29 games, they've played each of the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs three times already. They've also played against the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz two times each already. To summarize, 20 of the first 28 games they played came against one opponent.

Terance Mann's Shooting Struggles

Terance Mann is in the midst of arguably the worth shooting stretch of his career. For his career, Mann is shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three. For whatever reason, those numbers have plummeted during the early portions of this season, now at 39.2 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three.

The horrid shooting was capped off by Mann's 0-of-10 shooting night against the Celtics. As Justin Russo pointed out, there's a historical element to Mann starting off the year with some shooting struggles before finding his rhythm and shot.

Terance Mann missed the first six games of the season due to an ankle sprain suffered a few days before opening night, so while he won't make an excuse, there's certainly a possibility that he's still working his way back from that.

The Clippers are still winning games when healthy, and Terance Mann's ability to guard 94-feet and do the dirty work is what keeps him playing, but the inability to hit the three-point shot right now is really hindering how great his lineups can really be.  And at the end of the day, the team is relying on things to balance out and his shooting percentages climbing back up to where they have been throughout his career.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook

The trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden have started 20 games together through Christmas Day, putting together a 12-8 record. Since moving Russell Westbrook to the bench, the Clippers are 12-3 when those three start together.

Credit to Westbrook for taking his benching better than most stars and continuing to play his role no matter when he plays. It was rough initially, with Westbrook clearly not happy about the move and it showing as much in his postgame availabilities, but the nine-time All-Star has adjusted well to his new, 20-minute per game role.

In 340 minutes of Leonard, George, and Harden on the court and Westbrook off, the Clippers are outscoring opponents by 17.3 points per 100 possessions.

In 107 minutes of Leonard, George, and Westbrook on the court together and James Harden off the court, the Clippers are outscoring opponents by 24 points per 100 possessions.

Given the significant difference in sample sizes between the two guards, it's hard to know if one lead guard plays much better with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George than the other. That might not even matter, however, as the biggest thing to take from it is that it's evident that Harden and Westbrook simply should not share the floor much.

Staggering Kawhi Leonard and Paul George allows the Clippers to keep at least one two-way forward on the court at all times. In 102 minutes of Harden and Westbrook on the floor and only one of Leonard or George on with the guard duo, the Clippers are outscoring opponents by just 2.8 points per 100 possessions. It's a positive, but it's not nearly as effective as only one of the guards being on the floor.

The lineups with Leonard, George, Harden, and Westbrook is where the Clippers really struggled, getting outscored by a whopping 16.4 points per 100 possessions. That's why Tyronn Lue and the Clippers elected to avoid playing the four players together.

The four have shared the floor for a total of 20 minutes since November 17th, when the Clippers moved Westbrook to the bench. It's a small sample, but the Clippers have been outscored by 17 points in those 20 minutes, which shapes out to about a minus-39.5 points per 100 possessions.

To summarize:

Kawhi/George/Harden ON, Westbrook OFF: +17.3 net rating in 340 minutes

Kawhi/George/Westbrook ON, Harden OFF: +24 net rating in 107 minutes

Kawhi/George/Harden/Westbrook ON: -16.4 net rating in 96 minutes

Harden/Westbrook ON, Kawhi OR George ON: +2.8 net rating

(Since Nov. 17) Kawhi/George/Harden/Westbrook ON: -39.5 net rating in 20 minutes

Injury Updates

Kawhi Leonard has missed the last two games after suffering a hip contusion in the final minute of the game against the Dallas Mavericks. Grant Williams appeared to knee Leonard in the thigh/hip area, and Leonard immediately went down in a bit of pain and discomfort.

Leonard told ClutchPoints on Saturday he's doing well and doesn't expect to be out very long at all. When asked about telling reporters he was good in Dallas after the injury, Leonard laughed and joked in typical Kawhi fashion, ‘You know I'm not gonna tell you. You're not my doctor.'

The afternoon tipoff against the Celtics heavily alters his pregame routines, so it's likely he and the team just agreed to eye a return after two extra days off the Clippers get for Christmas Day. More will be known about his status later on Christmas Day, but his injury remains day-to-day and Leonard shouldn't be out long.

Mason Plumlee has been recovering from a left MCL sprain suffered on November 6th after a dangerous dive for a loose ball by New York Knicks star Julius Randle. Plumlee has since ramped up his activity and is inching closer to a return.

Plumlee participated in 3-on-3 contact basketball before Saturday's game, marking the first time he'd been able to do so since suffering the injury. The big man told ClutchPoints he would've been able to participate in a 5-on-5 practice setting if the Clippers held one. Head coach Tyronn Lue and Plumlee said he's been pain-free after his last three or four workouts, marking another milestone in his return to action. Plumlee is likely another couple weeks away from a return, and there's no immediate pressure to bring him back yet.

Current backup center Daniel Theis has given the Clippers really good minutes behind Ivica Zubac, but it remains to be seen how Lue plans to incorporate Plumlee back into the rotation once he's healthy enough to play.

“I truly don't know, we haven't talked about it yet,” Plumlee told ClutchPoints.

Paul George missed a game-and-a-half last week with a hip/groin injury, but returned to play well only to miss another game due to an illness. The illness has since gone away and he called the groin injury more of a ‘check engine light that went on,' that he and the Clippers have since addressed.