The Clippers lost 107-129 to the Thunder, this game was very difficult, there was only a 2-point gap in the first quarter, and after Harden played the court in the second quarter, the Thunder began to fight back, Harden hit two three-pointers in a row, but this did not change anything, and soon, the Clippers were in a desperate situation. In terms of statistics, Leonard had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers; Harden had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers; George 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists; Powell 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers; Wei had 2 points and 5 assists; Zubac had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
According to statistics, the Clippers have only won a 2-3 record in the past five league rounds, and they have also lost to the top three in the West, the Pelicans, the Timberwolves, and the Thunder, the Clippers' problems are also obvious, their three-point lines are relatively weak, once they meet a team with a strong center, they will suffer a big loss, just like the Timberwolves, the Clippers give people a feeling that they are really invincible, the Pelicans' interior line is also strong, and the Clippers can't win at all. Coupled with the Clippers' last two key card battles, namely the Timberwolves and the Thunder, they collapsed directly in the third quarter, with a total point difference of more than 20 points, which made the Clippers not have much chance of winning against the strong teams in the East.
Against Minnesota, they lost 2-2 to Minnesota, 2-2 to the Pelicans and 2-2 to the Thunder. Judging from the performance of this game, the Clippers performed poorly in four places in this game, first, their defense was very poor, Alexander's personal strength was very strong, the Clippers couldn't help him at all, Alexander could break through, but the Clippers didn't dare to wrap him, because they scored too much, for example, in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers pinched Alexander, Jalen Williams scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, causing huge losses to the Clippers, and before that, Holmgren, Keady and others have also repeatedly stepped forward and proved their strength.
I have to say that Alexander, Jalen Williams, Holmgren, Keady, the new Thunder four less, is too enviable, not to mention Dort, this season, the Thunder may not have any achievements, but what about two or three years later? It's incredible. The second question, after Harden was injured, the Clippers' offense came to a standstill, and when Harden was still there, the Clippers began to lose points, but after Harden left, the Clippers quickly lost, Tyronn Lue may be hoping that Harden can get more rest, the beard has been the main player this season, in a sense, Harden needs more games, if you really want him to rest, then let Tyronn Lue take a break.
Take Harden as an example, he can also take a break in the game against the weak team. The third mistake, George and Wei Shao's performance is very bad, George is 6 of 16, Wei Shao is 1 of 9, George's state is very poor, we all know, his state is very poor, it is difficult to find his own state, no matter how Harden passes the ball, George has no chance to score, so Harden must have more three-pointers, not rely on Leonard, when George is not good, Harden must go all out. As for why he lost, Tyronn Lue also has a big problem, last season, the Clippers used Leonard and Harden with George, the cooperation of these two people is not bad, but in recent games, we found that the combination of Wei Shao and Leonard often causes the state of both people to not be very good, the combination of Harden and George, George's state is not very good, and Harden's passing is also a waste.
After the game, Harden gave an interview after the game, talking about the loss, Harden looked very disappointed: "It's a pity to lose, especially to lose to the second place in the West, this is what I should bear, what I want to do is to make everyone easier, let everyone relax, this time I didn't get many points, what I have to do is to use my body to attract the attention of the other party, and then go to create opportunities for my teammates." Harden didn't blame his teammates, nor did he blame Tyronn Lue, he just took all the blame on himself, which shows that Harden is a very responsible person, in fact, the failure of the Clippers is not Harden's fault, according to the data, Harden only played four minutes in the third quarter, Lu directed a timeout, Harden replaced Harden, and this began the rise of the Thunder.
Leonard also mentioned why his team lost in qualifying, saying: "We want the team to stay in the top six, whether we are first or sixth, we have to keep going, that's what we're aiming for. Leonard's meaning is obvious, Xiaoka recovered from the shock, he felt that the Clippers could not dominate the West, there were too many opponents, and Leonard was also very confident in the Clippers, he said that the Clippers can still improve, as said before, George and Westbrook are the core players of the team, and they must recover as soon as possible.