The Los Angeles Clippers are pretty much locked into the Play-In tournament, and at this point, they're fighting for seeding purposes. They came into their game against the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 8 seed, and after a 118-99 loss and the Portland Trail Blazers defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, they slid down to the No. 9.
It hasn't been a good two-game stretch for the Clippers, specifically for Darius Garland, who hasn't shot the ball well. Against the Spurs, he finished with 11 points and shot 5-for-17 from the field. In the game before this against the Blazers, he finished with 20 points and shot 7-for-17 from the field.
After both games, he had left before the locker room was open for media, according to Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points.
“Darius Garland left before the locker room was open to media today, making it a second straight game he left without speaking. Garland shot 12-of-34 in the last 2 games with 6 turnovers in back to back Clippers losses,” Azarly wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
There probably is some frustration for Garland with the season almost coming to an end and the Clippers trying to get the best seeding they can. He may also be putting pressure on himself and wants to perform the best for the team, but it's not happening at this moment.
Garland and the Clippers still have enough time to make some movement in the standings, but they'll have to win some games. They have the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks next, which are two winnable games. They then have the Oklahoma City Thunder, which could be a tough matchup.
The next two games are the Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors, the two other teams that are in the play-in. Those would be the two teams to beat if the Clippers want to have a good standing in the tournament.
