The sun might not have come up as usual on Monday morning, not with the winter’s first storm drenching Southern California overnight and blanketing the metropolis with grey skies.
But following the Clippers’ 124-73 loss to Dallas on Sunday – in which they trailed by 50 points at halftime and lost by 51, league and franchise records, respectively – they clocked into work like normal.
Tyronn Lue’s team arrived for another day of practice amidst an unrelenting schedule that delivers back-to-back games against Minnesota and Portland. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Timberwolves, Kawhi Leonard (mouth laceration) is questionable and Marcus Morris Sr. (right knee soreness) is again out.
“In the NBA, we don’t have a lot of time to try to be out there and then be sad or cry,” veteran center Serge Ibaka said before practice, via Zoom. “We know the next game’s coming and the next team is gonna try to kick your butt, so you have to be ready.”
Unable to stop the bleeding against visiting Dallas on Sunday, the Clippers’ focus on Monday was at least to stop the reeling – as national TV pundits feasted on the red meat offered up by Sunday’s stunning blowout.
Shannon Sharpe’s assessment on FS1: “What it shows me is the Clippers have the same issues that they had last year: They get up, they rise to the occasion (only) to play the Lakers … their championship is centered around the Lakers.”
On ESPN’s SportsCenter, the Clippers’ effort was described as “trash, trash, trash,” and Kendrick Perkins expressed dismay on “First Take” that they failed to close the gap in a game they trailed, at one point, by 57 points: “To be down 50 at the half, that’s one thing. But to not fight back is another thing.”
Off-screen and on the ground at the Honey Training Center, the Clippers acknowledged the ignominy of the defeat – “obviously a little bit more than normal, right?” Ibaka said of the roughest of rough losses – and the need to move past it.
“After a day like yesterday, where it can be both mentally and physically draining, today I think is more of a mental day,” Terance Mann said via Zoom. “Just getting everybody back on the same page, see where we can get better at, and then worry about the game tomorrow.”
“What game?” Lue joked when asked about Sunday’s events, before noting some of the tangible areas needing improvement that it exposed.
Lue said his Clippers (1-2) – who went 4 for 33 from 3-point range on Sunday after shooting 42.3 percent from deep in their first two victories – were not aggressive enough, especially when it came to attacking the paint.
By his count, the Clippers had more than 300 passes, as is the goal, but they had only 16 “paint attacks.” And that, Lue said, is “very, very low.” The Clippers were just 5 for 11 in the paint in the first half.
The lack of attack was obvious in real time. But being able to adjust mid-stride, Lue said, is a process, one that continued Sunday, scoreboard be damned.
“Even though the score was pretty lopsided, we still wanted to be who we are and continue to work good habits,” Lue said. “It was a bad game for us and they kicked our butt – no excuses – but I really liked the way our guys, Kawhi and Marcus and Serge and PG (Paul George) and Pat (Beverley) and those guys were very encouraging to the young guys who were playing most of the second half. Just staying engaged and still being a part of the team collectively, that was a good thing to see.”
Mann concurred.
The second-year point guard played 18 minutes in the second half, when the Clippers punted, prioritizing progress. He went 2 for 7 for four points, adding three rebounds, two assists, a foul and a turnover while fielding a steady stream of advice from the sideline.“When the game started getting out of hand, (it was) just keep working on our stuff, try to execute our plays and get better at that more so than just trying to win the game,” Mann said. “Go out there and start working on our stuff. The vets were in tune with that.”
That included George, who led L.A. with 15 points and, with Leonard out, took much of the heat as the lone superstar in the Clippers’ lineup.
“It’s still our duty to help the younger guys, try to help them learn something in the situation and the minutes they were playing,” George said Sunday, finding the silver lining. “It is all about building, and we understood that we gave a poor performance, but the young guys still have a lot to learn and it was more so about helping them.”
TIMBERWOLVES AT CLIPPERS
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Staples Center
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket
Here we go, dejavu! Clippers are at it again. Profile of a contender, performance of a pretender. The teacher’s pet out here flunking exams! Carry on… https://t.co/PqSke6w1cb
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 28, 2020
.@ShannonSharpe on the Clippers 51-point loss to the Mavs:
"I'm glad I have extra TVs, because I needed to see it to believe it. The Clippers have the same issues as last year. They only rise to the occasion to play the Lakers." pic.twitter.com/K1GvdGB4eJ
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) December 28, 2020
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Clippers get back to work following historic 51-point defeat - OCRegister
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