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dave mcmenamin
multiple authors
Los Angeles – The LA Clippers It may look a lot different than the team that came into the season with lofty aspirations, but Clippers coach Tyronn Lue made it clear Friday that the organization’s goals remain the same.
“Man, we’re playing to win,” Lue said to them. loss of 125-122 till Los Angeles Lakers. “I don’t care if it’s young, old, kid… no matter who’s on the field, we’re trying to win. I mean, we’re trying to win. There’s no other reason to play.”
The Clippers started the season 6–21 and were a team in turmoil. bradley beal Suffered a season-ending hip injury, Chris Paul was ostracized by the franchise kawhi leonard – Already under investigation by the NBA for Aspiration endorsement deal, which allegedly included salary cap manipulation by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer – Missed significant time due to ankle sprain.
In December, when his team was 15 games under .500 and preparing to play the crosstown Lakers, Lue publicly challenged his group to finish the season 35–20 or better to ensure at least a 41–41 record.
The Clippers went on a 21-8 run from there and finished Friday’s action with a 27-29 record.
When asked about the Clippers peaking at .500, Lue said, “I didn’t think it would be that fast, but I thought we had a chance.” “Once we were able to get [Leonard] “Stay healthy and play more minutes and feel good, that’s how we’ve been able to go on and get wins, which has been good for us.”
But at the same time, the Clippers restructured the roster, trading away the perennial All-Star james harden till cleveland cavaliers for the guard darius garlandWho still has to suit up for LA, and send the big man ivica zubac till Indiana Pacers for wings benedict mathurin.
Leonard remained consistent during the team’s rise and helped LA win minnesota timberwolves, Houston Rockets And denver nuggets Since the trade deadline. And last weekend, he was one of the standouts of the NBA All-Star Game, finishing second in MVP voting.
But after the Clippers’ 115-114 win over the Nuggets on Thursday, he was asked if the Clippers could still be championship contenders this season. He classified his team in a different category.
“I think it’s over now,” Leonard told reporters Thursday. “This is the second part, like [final] There’s still a fourth of the season left, but every day is a day to grow, a day to learn and get better. So, you just have to keep an eye on time and see in two weeks if we’re getting better, and then see what happens from there.”
Lue said he interpreted Leonard’s comments as an apparent acknowledgment of the team’s change rather than an indictment.
“I thought when he first came here he was just being a contender saying, you have a PG [Paul George]Kawhi, you have James, you have Juice [Russell Westbrook]You have Zou,” Lue said. “And so now, being a younger team, we have to play differently. “We have to do something different, we have to do something better.”
Lue was asked what gives him confidence in his team, especially the depth in the West.
“I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players. I feel confident in our coaching staff and the culture that we’ve established,” he said. “And why wouldn’t you want to play to win.
“That’s our mentality. That’s my mentality every night. And no matter how hard it is or you start 6-21 or whatever, you’re playing to win. And so, we make the playoffs and then anything can happen. So, our goal is to make the playoffs and so I don’t know why anyone would scoff at that.”
And if they reach that goal?
“If we do that, and if I get to a playoff series, I like our chances,” Lue said.
