Five games into the NBA season, and the Clippers already are at a critical juncture.
After a 121-104 blowout loss to Golden State on the road, Doc Rivers didn't hold back in his criticism of the Clippers, players and his coaching. He used words and phrases like "soft," "bad," "ran away," and "what we lacked was heart."
Those words must have made Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Co. cringe. Maybe it was just what they needed to hear, though.
This can make or break the Clippers.
The Clippers (3-2) beat the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs last year, but Rivers believes if they were playing a postseason series now, Golden State would win with ease.
"From our standpoint, I've got to do a better job. I told the guys that. This is not their fault," Rivers told reporters. "I've got to figure it out. I've never been in a game where a team scores 65 points, and we have one foul. That, to the core of me, bothers me to no end. I mean, I've never seen that before. And I think the foul was late, and it was a mistake. It probably wasn't a foul.
"For me, I'm doing something wrong because that's as soft as you can probably get in a game. One foul? At halftime? Are you (expletive) kidding me? That's as bad as I've seen. Forget what we've got to fix. That, over anything, tells me we weren't competitive."
On Thursday, Chris Douglas-Roberts tweeted:
The Clippers have plenty of work to do for that to change. How will they respond to Rivers' comments? That's key. It's a critical juncture because they could feel anger and hurt. Or, they could acknowledge the truth and fairness and become a stronger, more cohesive team.
They've already been kicked out of practice once this season by Rivers. What else is there to try?
Players had a team meeting after the loss to the Warriors, but Rivers didn't think it was productive, saying players weren't being real.
We might refer to that loss in the Bay Area as "Golden Gate" and in May, the Clippers could look back at that moment and show how it changed them for the better. Or, for the worse.
Even with those Movember mustaches, they can't hide behind the mistakes. They've already acknowledged deficiencies offensively and defensively, but problems still exist.
The Clippers could've lost the first three games of the season as well, having barely survived those. They've been outrebounded every game, a theme that has carried over from the preseason. Griffin accounted for only one rebound against the Warriors, tying a career low.
Most teams endure adversity, injuries or tough stretches and the Clippers have found theirs out of the gate. The Clippers essentially have the same team in tact from one year ago -- including all five starters -- but they're not playing the same.
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From defense to running the offense, the Clippers are struggling. They were outrebounded in all eight preseason games and all five regular season games, so that's 13 consecutive games.
This is a mentally and physically grueling stretch, and the Clippers now have tough games against Portland on Saturday and San Antonio on Monday, both games are at home.
"I don't think we're bringing anything into these games. Period," Rivers said. "It's funny, I was looking at the schedule, and I was like 'We'll find out right here.' We're 3-1, and it's great to be 3-1 and play poorly. It really is. You know when you're not playing well, and you know when you're not right. And I can sense it. But, I wanted to see this game. I could sense it, and it told me what I thought, if you want me to be honest."
And that wasn't anything promising.
Rivers and his Clippers now face an important crossroads. It's early, but it's already here.
