Lue Considering Rotation Tweaks, Still Stewing After Denver Loss
The LA Clippers coach is not yet over the team's last loss.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — You can understand why LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue would still be upset and stewing over Monday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
After holding two separate 11-point leads — one in the first half and one entering the fourth quarter — before succumbing to an onslaught at the hands of former Clippers Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan, Lue was highly critical of his team following the game.
“Low man was late all night,” Lue stated after the loss on Monday.
“We wasn't [sic] able to get there in time, and once he (DeAndre Jordan) takes off it was too late. So, defensively we didn't do a really good job of just understanding what we're trying to do and what we were trying to take away. Then we blitzed a little bit more in the second half and still wasn't very good in the blitz.”
Jordan finished the game with a season-high 21 points after coming into the contest with just seven points all season and playing in only two of Denver's first 17 games. Jordan also added 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block.
“We won four out of five until that bullshit game versus Denver,” Lue said to gathered media on Wednesday at the team’s shootaround availability in Sacramento ahead of their game against the Kings later that evening.
“But beat a good team in Houston, beat a good team in Dallas and things started coming together, but you have a loss like that, everything’s magnified. But it's over with, so I'm moving on to tonight. But we've done some good things,” remarked Lue.
Had that been the end of it, you’d have understood. But Lue continued by once again bringing up what the team failed at in Monday’s loss as they moved to 7-9 on the season.
“But if you want to talk about the Denver game, I think defensively more than anything let us down. Offensively, we didn't play great, but defensively just things we work on every single day that we do every single day that we didn't, I mean, we didn't do it as far as low-man activities, X-ing out on the backside. And so it was really a bad game as far as defensively of understanding what we're trying to do.”
Lue is still clearly, and rightfully, annoyed by the loss to the Nuggets. The Clippers had come into that game winners of four of their last five before dropping a very winnable game against a depleted opponent.
Talk after that game quickly turned to James Harden’s stat line as the star guard registered just 11 points and four assists on 3-for-7 shooting in 36 minutes. More staggering is that Harden did not attempt a single shot in his eight fourth-quarter minutes and did not take one for the final 11 minutes he was on the floor in general.
On Wednesday, Lue was asked about Harden’s struggles with aggression early on in his Clippers tenure.
“We need him to be more aggressive,” Lue commented.
In total, Harden has attempted two field goals in his last 23 fourth-quarter minutes. The Clippers have been outscored by 21 points in that time.
“Just find opportunities in rotations for him to be aggressive. But the guys that we have on the floor, he's just trying to get those guys involved. One thing about him, he can generate good shots every time. We can run pick-and-roll 60 times [and] we probably get 55 great shots. So, it's a fine line about keeping other guys in a rhythm, but also letting him be able to play pick and rolls and make plays, as well.”
Harden has logged 245 minutes and 37 seconds alongside both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in their 11 games together. The Clippers have been outscored by two points in that time. However, when assessing that, it should be noted that the Clippers have outscored opponents by 36 points in the 156 minutes that Harden, George, and Leonard have played without Russell Westbrook while being outscored by 38 points in the 90 minutes that Westbrook has been out there with them.
Still, even when on the floor with any of the other stars, Harden has noticeably deferred.
When Harden has played with either George and/or Leonard, he’s averaging 9.75 field goal attempts per 36 minutes. In the small 14-minute sample size that Harden has played with both George and Leonard sitting, Harden has attempted 10 shots and is averaging 25.7 field goal tries per 36 minutes.
Of course, while it’s inherently true that Harden’s shot attempts would naturally decrease when flanked by George and Leonard as compared to when they’re off the floor, it’s been a stunning development.
However, this isn’t the first time Harden has played with two other ball-dominant stars. He did, after all, feature with the Brooklyn Nets alongside both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, albeit for a brief 16-game spell as they each dealt with their own issues and turmoil that prevented the trio from teaming up more often.
“I think where our guys are different between KD (Kevin Durant) and Kyrie (Irving), they made more quick decisions, they got to their stuff quick where Kawhi more wants to survey, look it over,” Lue said when looking at Harden’s time in Brooklyn alongside their two stars and comparing it to the present situation in Los Angeles.
“So, it's a different game, different players, so it's a different mindset. So, we’ve just got to be able to keep everybody comfortable, getting guys comfortable. We only played 10 games, so continue to keep getting better each night outside of the letdown the other day against Denver. But we're doing some good things and I just think just got to continue to keep getting more and more comfortable.”
Getting guys comfortable has been the issue, namely with Harden. But perhaps there is a remedy to that situation.
Harden could find himself in more lineups where he’s the main ball-handler, initiator, and even scorer.
When asked if there was a way rotation-wise to “unlock” Harden or “get him more aggressive” going forward by potentially playing Harden alongside four bench players to maximize the ball in his hands and having him look to score more, Lue answered with a quick and substantial, “Yes, sir.”
Maybe the way the Clippers and Lue get over the embarrassing Denver loss is by empowering Harden to be more aggressive by getting him ample time without the other stars detracting from his playstyle.
Or else Lue might be stewing after another loss on Wednesday.