The Los Angeles Clippers Are Running Out of Time to Find an Identity

The Clippers are sliding as the NBA regular season comes to a close.

Los Angeles Clippers v Portland Trail Blazers / Alika Jenner/GettyImages

On Monday night, the Los Angeles Clippers suffered a 133-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers. It was the Clippers' second consecutive loss and their third defeat in the last five games. The only two wins they've procured in that stretch have both come against the Portland Trail Blazers, owners of the fifth-worst record in the NBA. It's par for the course for the Clippers of late, and head coach Ty Lue is not happy with his team.

Speaking to media after Monday's loss, Lue said Los Angeles is struggling to find a positive identity. In fact, right now, their identity is "soft."

"So identity for us, it's got to be toughness," Lue said. "Which means physicality, mental and physical toughness, a high-powered offense -- we can score in a lot of different ways -- and we got to have a defensive mindset.

"And so right now, do we have an identity? I think, yeah, we're soft."

The last month or so has been quite the role reversal for the Clippers. They spent the first half of the season looking like the dominant unit that was promised when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both joined the franchise following the 2019 season. The pair of skilled wings played excellent ball and, crucially, were consistently on the court. It took time for James Harden to settle into his new role after he was acquired in October, but once he clicked the Clippers played an incredible stretch of basketball. From November 17 until the All-Star break, Los Angeles went 33-10.

Nobody expected them to keep that pace up. Winning more than 75 percent of games is extremely difficult in the NBA, but the Clippers have now reversed course. Since returning from the break on February 22, the Clippers have gone 8-10. They've battled through injuries to Leonard and Russell Westbrook, true, but that does not reflect well on their depth. Most concerning have been their performances against fellow playoff contenders. In the last month, the Clippers have lost to the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks (twice), New Orleans Pelicans, and split two games with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wins coming against fringe play-in tournament teams like the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls haven't offset concerns, either.

The last two days were especially rough and probably why Lue was willing to rip his team to reporters. The Clippers dropped a home game against the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid on Sunday before giving up 133 points on their court to the Pacers on Monday. Nobody should get too worked up over losses in late March, but it has clearly become concerning for Lue. The problems that led to those two losses are the same ones that have plagued his squad since February.

The Clippers are running out of time to figure out what kind of team they are. When everything was rolling, they gummed up opposing offenses with their strength and length, while dicing apart defenses at all three levels. The last few weeks of bad losses have looked completely different. As Lue said, they've been playing soft and letting other teams dictate the terms of engagement on both ends.

Los Angeles has 11 games left in the season to fix its most severe flaws. That includes a true test against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets on April 4. The Clippers have to figure it out, and soon. Otherwise they're staring down the barrel of another early playoff exit and questions about how much longer Steve Ballmer will shell out cash for an underwhelming roster.

Liam McKeone is a staff writer for The Big Lead.