It's no secret that the Clippers have had their ups and downs since January, and it comes down to a bit of a relaxation from the second half of their seven-game road schedule.
Losing to the Thunder and Timberwolves was crisp and crisp, losing to the Lakers. It was a game that should not be lost at all, against the Lakers, as long as the Clippers don't relax too much, James can't single-handedly reverse the 21-point difference in a single quarter like that day, after all, it is impossible for James to play with you on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends of the court. And the few games that were won were won by the end with great difficulty, and they were not hearty at all.
After losing this game against the Lakers, the Clippers need to sound the alarm and face up to the question: Who is the real leader of the Clippers?
The Clippers' current division of labor is very reasonable, and so is the style of play, but because it is too reasonable, this problem arises, after all, Leonard can only be the leader on the court, not off the court. At the Spurs, Popovich is the leader of the team, and Leonard is a shy kid who just needs to do all the things a leader should do on the court, but Tyronn Lue is not Popovich.
This is not a small problem, because there is always a need for someone on a team who can stand up and speak up off the court, unite the team, and make the team cohesive——— why can the Bulls become a dynasty, because Jordan is a well-deserved leader on the court, and there is Phil Jackson off the court; The Warriors' Green is the one who can be a voice in the locker room, but Green's sometimes unintelligent personality over the past two years has made his speech not achieve the ultimate goal of making the team cohesive. So who will be the Spurs' "Popovich" on the Clippers' team?
Wei Shao, the leader of the atmosphere group, has this talent, although he can't be entrusted with important responsibilities on the court, but I believe that his voice in the locker room can still play a role in uniting the team, anyway, what he says is easier to agree with and accept than Dream Green next door. To tell the truth, I believe in Wei Shao, after all, in the original Thunder team, Wei Shao is the leader, and he has more leadership temperament than Durant and George! Durant, in particular, is really inferior to Wei Shao in terms of leadership.
George's injury, Harden's ability on the offensive end declined, Zubac stopped playing Tucker's long-term absence from the lineup and no three-point basket was a factor, but small injuries were small in the long run. Didn't the day before yesterday the Kings lose to the Nuggets because of Fox's absence? That doesn't mean anything, no one can play all 82 games in the regular season, it's okay to let the opponent win because of injuries, and the most important thing is to make sure that the players can enter the playoff race with a healthy body and good chemistry of the team.
But we can't deny the strength of the Clippers, the reason why they haven't won the championship in the past four years is because bad luck always hangs over this team, and life is like this, some people just don't succeed. The Clippers can't blame themselves for their failures over the past four years, because the luck has been so bad.
I'm still bullish on the Clippers to win the championship, because it's a team with a clear division of labor and a reasonable style of play. Once they get to the playoffs and get into battle mode, the more the series gets to the back of the game, the more dominant they are, down to each game, the tighter the score, the more critical the second half of the game, the more they have a way to win. After all, the game is played out until the end, and the two teams compare the individual ability of the stars and the degree of desire for the championship in their hearts!