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Dave McMenamin
LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers might look drastically 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 before their 125-122 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. «I don’t care if it’s young, old, toddlers … whoever’s on the floor, 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 excommunicated by the franchise and Kawhi Leonard — already being investigated by the NBA for an Aspiration endorsement deal that allegedly involved salary cap circumvention by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer — missed significant time because of a sprained ankle.
In December, when his team was 15 games under .500 and preparing to play the crosstown Lakers, Lue dug in and publicly challenged his group to finish the season 35-20 or better to at least assure a 41-41 record.
The Clippers took off from there, going 21-8, and ended Friday’s action with a 27-29 record.
«I didn’t think it would be this fast, but I thought we had opportunity,» Lue said when asked about the Clippers being on the cusp of .500. «Once we were able to get [Leonard] healthy and play more minutes and feel good, that’s when we were able to take off and start stacking wins, which has been good for us.»
But along the way, the Clippers restructured the roster, trading perennial All-Star James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Darius Garland, who has yet to suit up for LA, and sending big man Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers for wing Bennedict Mathurin.
Leonard has been a constant during the team’s upswing, helping LA to wins over the 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. «It’s the second half, like [final] fourth of the season left, but every day is a day to grow, a day to learn and get better. So, you just got to keep looking over time and see in two weeks if we’re getting better, and see what happens from there.»
Lue said he interpreted Leonard’s remarks as an obvious acknowledgement of the way the team has changed, rather than an indictment.
«I thought he was just saying far as contender when he first got here, you have PG [Paul George], Kawhi, you have James, you have Russ [Russell Westbrook], you have Zu,» Lue said. «And so now, having a younger team, we got to play different. We got to do things different, we got to do things better.»
Lue was asked what gives him confidence in his team, especially with the depth of the West.
«I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players. I feel confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment, like the culture we’ve set,» he said. «And why wouldn’t you want to play to win.
«That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. And as tough as it may be or you start 6-21 or whatever it may be, 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 somebody would scoff at that.»
And if they reach that goal?
«If we do, and if I get in the playoff series, I like my chances,» Lue said.
