INGLEWOOD — From the moment he walked off the Intuit Dome court to the last three words of his postgame interview, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s frustration had clearly reached a tipping point.
He was clearly annoyed how his team came out meekly against the Lakers, showing little fight in a listless 122-97 loss on Tuesday night. The Clippers were outhustled, outworked and eventually outplayed in the one-sided game, leaving Lue simmering.
“And we’ve been good, so I can’t be, you know, all the way upset. But the last three games have really pissed me off,” Lue said before walking out of the room.
The Clippers (28-22) started this malaise last week in a victory over the Charlotte Hornets and it extended into a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday and then to Tuesday against the Lakers.
“We’re just not getting off to good starts,” Lue said. “So, we’re not locking in defensively. Like 45 points in the first quarter (for the Lakers), like that’s just way too many. And so, we got to take pride in guarding.
“The last three games we’ve kind of let our guards down and this is what happens. So, we got to be better.”
Lue said their problems lie squarely with their transition game, turnovers and their lack of hustle.
“We got to have good floor balance. We’ve been talking about this for I don’t know how many years now. We came into this season and our defense was good,” Lue said.
“We got to make a conscious effort to make sure we are getting back, make sure we get the ball squared up. But right now, we’re not doing a great job with that.”
Lue said the players need time to reflect on what kind of team they want to be heading into the second half of the season.
“We got to look at ourselves in the mirror and think about do we want to win or not?” Lue said. “That’s got to be our mentality. And so, three games in a row, we come out with not a great defensive performance and it’s just not putting enough into the game. Even on the offensive end, not putting a lot into the game. And so, when that happens you get blown out like we did tonight.”
Lue said the Clippers have shown a lack of focus and “we got to change that mindset quickly.”
The Clippers get that chance to initiate change Thursday night when they face the Indiana Pacers at the Intuit Dome. But that might not be easy, according to star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Asked why the Clippers haven’t put forth the same effort they showed early in the season, especially with their transition defense where effort is key, Leonard said, “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. We all get paid to play this game and leave it all on the floor, so I’m not sure.”
Leonard agreed with his coach in thinking the team needs to take a hard look at itself.
“We have to look ourselves in the mirror first and be able to come out here and do our job,” Leonard said. “That’s where it starts. You know, can’t look over your shoulder for help with those things. Playing hard comes (from) within.”
PACERS AT CLIPPERS
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood
TV/radio: FDSN SoCal, 570 AM