The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing with fire over their last three games, and after a surprising late-game collapse against the Sacramento Kings, they finally got burned on Sunday.
For the third straight game, the Clips played a team with sub-.500 talent (if you include the Thunder minus Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) and failed to put them away early.
On Thursday and Friday, the Clippers were able to mask their deficiencies and make enough plays down the stretch to eke out close wins.
On Sunday, the Clippers' complacency caught up to them and handed them an embarrassing 98-92 loss, dropping them to 2-1.
"In the locker room after the game, I said 'It finally caught up with us,'" Chris Paul said. "We've been in here the past two games like yeah, it may have been ugly, but it tonight it caught up with us."
The theme coming out of preseason was that the Clippers' struggles were easily correctable with effort and execution, that they were nothing more than aberrations. But the same issues -- perimeter defense, defensive rebounding, 3-point shooting -- have now persisted into the regular season, and the Clips look particularly vulnerable.
"I thought we played poorly," Blake Griffin said. "It's a learning point for us."
The loss was not without bright spots, though. The bench, despite missing Jamal Crawford (sore ribs), scored a season-high 36 points and moved the ball a lot better than it had in the preseason and first two games. And, according to Doc Rivers, the team's execution was solid, they just missed shots.
"I just liked the way we played tonight overall," Rivers said. "The missed shots, I don't ever worry about the open missed shots. ...Percentages tell you that they are going to make more shots than they miss. Tonight, they didn't make any."
After going 7 of 15 from deep in the first half, the Clips went 2 of 16 in the second half, including 0 for 10 over the final 6:07 (0 of 12 overall in the fourth). DeMarcus Cousins' monster performance -- 34 points (15 of 23 shooting), 17 rebounds and 5 assists -- didn't help matters, and completely offset Paul's impressive game (16 points, 11 assists, 4 steals).
"We've got a lot of stuff that we know we need to improve on, and tonight down the stretch, we missed a lot of shots," Spencer Hawes said. "We'll be alright."
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's game:
Clippers, you have a problem
Perry Jones scored 32 points. Kobe Bryant dropped 21. Now you can add Rudy Gay's 25 points to the list of wings that have torched the Clippers' defense. Chris Paul is their best perimeter defender, which is fine against teams with elite point guards or smaller shooting guards. But if he has to consistently defend guys 6-7 and taller in the fourth quarter (like he has done in the past), it's going to take a toll on his offense. Matt Barnes is a fine defender, but he can struggle against bigger and/or explosive wings, as he did today. Somehow, someway, this needs to be addressed.
Second-unit synergy
The Clippers' bench was largely ineffective in its first two games, but it bounced back with an impressive performance. Spencer Hawes and Hedo Turkoglu's passing and 3-point shooting skills were on display, and the ball zipped around with purpose. If Hawes (17 points), Turkoglu (7) and Jordan Farmar (10) can continue directing the second unit's offense this way, combined with Jamal Crawford's ability to go off at any time, the Clips will be able to maintain --and even extend -- leads when their bench comes in.
Bad News Blake
Ever since he emerged as a reliable 25-plus per game scorer last December, Griffin rarely has clunkers. But today qualified as a subpar performance (17 points on 6-of-20 shooting). He didn't make a shot outside of 10 feet (0 of 8), yet continued to force it. Perhaps Ben McLemore's flagrant foul midway through the first quarter threw him off -- Griffin seemed noticeably upset and spent a majority of the game complaining about non-calls and chirping with the Kings' bigs. "I had some bad possessions and I missed a lot of shots," Griffin said. "I did a poor job of setting the tone early... I need to be better."
Clippers inconsistent play results in first loss vs. Sacramento
Communication breakdown
Before the game, former Clippers guard Darren Collison reunited with the L.A. media and discussed his free agency last summer. Collison expressed disappointment in the Clippers not pursuing him harder, and said finding a starting job wasn't his priority. "They were looking for a wing player, and I was looking for a home," Collison said. "I thought it was going to be with the Clippers, but it didn't work out." Rivers said he knew Collison was gone midway through the season because he had been playing so well, but Collison disagreed and said there may have been some miscommunication.
Focusing on what they can control
After the Warriors, Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, the Kings are probably the Clippers' next-closest thing to a rival. Every game is testy, and Paul and Griffin have made it clear they aren't fan of Cousins (and vice versa). That being said, it seemed as if the Clippers let the Kings rattle them today. Their bigs frustrated Griffin and Jordan into foul trouble and complaining, and in Jordan's case, a costly technical. "The technical that D.J. got, we cannot get. Those are bad technicals. You cannot make up a technical in the fourth." The Clips need to do a better job of keeping their composure.
