The Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 133-116 on Monday night. It was a difficult game for LA, as the Clippers have struggled in recent action. They are now tied for fourth place in the Western Conference and sit just two games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings in the standings. Head coach Tyronn Lue referred to the Clippers' current team identity as “soft” following Monday's loss, via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.
“Right now do we have an identity? I think, yeah. We're soft,” Lue said. “That can be an identity if you want to call it that. We got to be tougher, mentally and physically. But we do have an identity.”
Lue is not giving up on the Clippers, though. He knows the team has potential to get back on track, but they just need to find their “great identity” once again.
“When we were 26-5, we had a great identity,” Lue continued. “You can't pick and choose when you want to lead. You can't pick and choose when you want to have identity. You can't pick and choose when you want to do things the right way. And so just do the right things every night and everything else will fall in order.”
Clippers difficult loss to Pacers
LA endured an up-and-down offensive night. They shot 54.1 percent from the field but connected on just 30 percent of their three-point attempts. The Clippers also turned the ball over just eight times.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both scored 26 points to lead Los Angeles. Norman Powell added 22 points off the bench. Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points and seven assists off the bench as well.
The primary issue was not the offensive performance. Rather, it was the team's inability to get a stop.
Sure, the Pacers have a strong offensive attack. Still, the Clippers just could not find an answer throughout Monday's affair. The Pacers ultimately shot 58.1 percent from the field and 60.7 percent from beyond the arc. Indiana also turned the ball over only eight times.
Pascal Siakam stepped up for the Pacers and scored 31 points. Myles Turner finished the game with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points and nine assists.
LA needs to get back on track soon
The Clippers know they need to find their footing soon. Los Angeles is 4-6 over their past 10 games. They are currently tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings.
Again, the Mavericks, Kings, and Phoenix Suns are closing in on the Clippers. The last thing LA will want to do is fall out of the top six spots and enter the postseason as a play-in tournament team.
Tyronn Lue isn't hesitant to share his brutally honest thoughts after a loss. Perhaps his comments will energize the team and spark a bounce-back performance soon.
Los Angeles will try to jump back into the win column during their upcoming clash with the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
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