Clippers Coach Sends Reality Check Message to Team

For multiple games in a row, the LA Clippers have looked like a team that needs a reality check. After Sunday night's embarrassing loss against the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks, Clippers head coach Ty Lue didn't hold back.

“When you don’t execute what you’re supposed to execute, then anybody can be beat in this league," Lue said. And so, Hawks have great players, they have a great coach in Quinn and they’re gonna play hard and they’re gonna compete. And so, if you don’t take care of the things you’re supposed to take care of on a nightly basis, anybody can be beat in this league. I don't care who you play. We talked about all of them, losses count no matter what. So it’s not a bad loss of who you’re playing or what team, they're all professionals and they all play. And so, if you don't play hard and compete and you don’t take care of the things you need to take care of on a nightly basis, you could lose any given night and so, tonight was one of those nights.”

For years, it's felt like the Clippers have had the same Achilles heel every season. After years of frustration, Ty Lue made sure to let fans know that he's very aware of it. The four things that Lue emphasized the Clippers need to be better at are: taking care of the basketball, transition defense, rebounding, and spacing. They did none of that against the Atlanta Hawks, and numerous times since the All-Star break.

The LA Clippers don't even look like the same team since the All-Star break. The team has barely beaten bad teams and is 3-8 in their last 11 games against teams with winning records. Whether it's simply a matter of not caring, or being tired, the team isn't playing like who people thought they were.