By Jalon DixonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe Los Angeles Clippers are running out of answers.
Saturday night’s loss to the short-handed Dallas Mavericks didn’t just extend an already bleak stretch, it exposed a locker room overwhelmed by frustration and doubt. Postgame reactions reflected that mood.
When Clippers on SI reporter Joey Linn asked James Harden if the season could still be salvaged, the former MVP didn’t try to spin it. He described the past month as “challenging,” pointing to the unexpected reliance on players who weren’t supposed to shoulder major minutes. Then he delivered the clearest assessment yet: the “situation here is difficult.”
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...That response captured how bleak things have become.
For most of November, both Harden and head coach Ty Lue tried to stay patient, insisting the team would stabilize once Kawhi Leonard returned. But Leonard has now been back for four games, all losses, including defeats to a depleted Memphis Grizzlies team and a 5-15 Mavericks squad missing its top four bigs. Instead of steadying the Clippers, Leonard’s return has exposed how many issues run deeper than injuries or lineup instability.
The on-court numbers back it up. The Clippers enter December ranked 22nd in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating. They’re the league’s fifth-worst scoring offense at 111.8 points per game, and they play at the NBA’s third-slowest pace, a brutal combination for an aging roster struggling to generate consistent looks.
Blowing double-digit leads on back-to-back nights, including a 16-point collapse against a Memphis team missing four point guards only adds to the concern.
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The season-ending injury to Bradley Beal widens the gap between what this team wants to be and what it realistically is. It’s why the Clippers have already been linked to potential trade targets like Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan, who could give them another perimeter creator and reduce the nightly burden on Harden and Leonard.
There is still time to regain momentum, but the margin for error is thin. Harden is fighting to avoid missing the postseason for the first time in his 17-year career, the league’s longest active streak, and the Clippers are giving him little reason for optimism.
Unless something changes quickly, this season won’t just be disappointing. It could force the franchise to confront hard questions about its future.
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