NBA Rumors: LA Clippers star forward Paul George doesn't believe the team is playing with much of an identity of late.
Once the LA Clippers found their footing with James Harden in the lineup, they looked like a dark horse contender that could make some serious noise in the Western Conference playoffs. However, with the way the team has played of late, that sentiment has certainly changed across the league.
Since February 7, the Clippers have struggled mightily. And that's putting it lightly. Since then, the Clippers are just 8-10. Considering that before this rough stretch, the Clippers were looking more and more like a legit championship contender in the Western Conference, the team's last six weeks of play has to be quite alarming.
On February 6, the Clippers were 34-15 and were sitting atop the West standings as the No. 1 seed. After losing 10 of their last 18 games, the Clippers are now five full games back of the top seed in the West and clinging on to the 4th seed, with the New Orleans Pelicans just one game back.
As the playoffs quickly approach, the Clippers are not playing like the playoff contender most believed they would be. Right now, there are certainly more questions than answers for this team. So much so that after an extremely disappointing 17-point loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, Paul George put a voice to the team's recent frustrations.
""We want to be a team that's consistent and we want to establish an identity...Right now, I don't think we have an identity.”"Paul George
At this point in the season, PG may be right. When watching the Clippers, they've been widely too inconsistent of late to even discuss this team in the same conversation as some of the elite teams in the Western Conference such as the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Can the LA Clippers right the ship down the stretch?
Right now, what the Clippers must ask themselves is whether they'll be able to right the ship before the start of the playoffs. If not, it would put a huge downer on the season and, perhaps most importantly, bring about some big decisions heading into the offseason.
The Clippers built this team to win a championship. If they're unable to even make a deep playoff run with this core, you'd have to wonder if it's ever going to happen.
LA might be in some trouble heading into the playoffs. And if they do fall in the first round, there could be some big changes on the horizon for this franchise.