PLAYA VISTA – Tyronn Lue has shown his ability to adjust on the fly when he sees something that needs tweaking. That was on full display this past postseason when the LA Clippers faced multiple 0-2 deficits, and it's likely he'll have to make some adjustments very soon.

The Clippers have started their 2021-22 season with a 1-4 record, far and away from what they were hoping to. Outside of Paul George, the Clippers have struggled mightily to generate offense. George's hot shooting nearly won the Clippers two games and kept them in the others they eventually dropped. The team is still generating open looks from deep at a high rate, but they're not able to convert on those looks.

Something's got to chance, right? Tyronn Lue may be nearing that point, if he hasn't already reached it.

“It is kinda tough,” Lue told reporters Sunday before practice. “If you're playing well and you're getting the shots you want to get and you're not making them, does that call for change? That's the biggest thing you go back and forth with. Just continuing to mess with the rotations and try to take away those stints where we go four, five, six minutes without scoring when PG is off the floor. We have to do something about that. So we've got something we'll try tomorrow.”

The non-Paul George minutes have looked the ugliest for the Clippers. Luke Kennard and his actions have become the primary focal point of LA's second unit. Guys like Terance Mann and Isaiah Hartenstein are constantly seeking him out, which, in turn, opens up more for the guys around him. Shots aren't just not going down, but the Clippers are going on major scoring droughts in those non-Paul George minutes.

In the season opener against the Warriors, the Clippers had a six-minute scoring drought as Golden State scored 12 unanswered points.

In the Clippers' home opener against the Grizzlies, LA allowed a 25-7 run by Memphis in six third-quarter minutes, turning what was a 66-64 lead into an 89-73 deficit.

The game against the Cavs was just ugly with neither team able to find a flow offensively.

In their last game against the Blazers, the Clippers fought back from a double-digit deficit to make it a four-point game early in the fourth. Down 82-78, LA couldn't find the bottom of the net and were outscored 17-5 over a six minutes stretch that essentially sealed the game for the Blazers.

When asked what exactly he could do differently, Tyronn Lue kept his ideas close to the chest.

“I can't tell you,” Lue added with a laugh. “But I've got to do a better job of making sure we've got the right combinations on the floor and making sure we're doing the right thing. It's not just our team making shots, because we are getting good shots, but I've got to do a better job of making sure that guys are in the right spot, playing real well together and everyone meshes. We're still searching and trying to find that, but I think we're pretty close.”

Earlier in the week, Lue explained what he looks for that tells him his team is playing well on both ends of the floor. Ball movement and open shots are what he's looking for offensively. The second-year Clippers coach even made note of the Shot Quality stat, which pegged the Clippers as having the best quality of shots through the first four games of the year.

“Before the Portland game, we were No. 1 in the league in shot quality or whatever, just not making shots right now. So we gotta continue to keep playing the right way and not get frustrated and we gotta continue to take our open shots. So we have good shooters on the team, we know that, just gotta be confident, step up and take them. And if it’s a good shot, you gotta take it no matter if you’re making them or not. We’ll be ok.”

Aside from shots not going in, the Clippers are still dealing with the absences of Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka, and Kawhi Leonard. Both Morris, Ibaka, and Justise Winslow participated in the hour-long, five-on-five workout with assistant coachecs prior to Clippers practice at 10 AM.

“Hopefully pretty soon,” Lue said of their progress towards a return to action. “I'm not sure the timetable, but they are coming along really well.”

The Clippers have back-to-back games in Minnesota against the Timberwolves this week before returning for a six-game home stand starting with the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday and ending with the San Antonio Spurs on November 16th.