In the aftermath of the team’s most embarrassing loss of the season so far, Clippers guard Paul George came to the defense of his backcourt teammate Russell Westbrook, who was caught in a heated court-side exchange with a fan during the game.
“Nowhere else can people go to someone’s job and disrespect you at your job and it be okay… When people come to work, they should be respected at their job.”
Paul George on Russell Westbrook’s fan interaction:
“Nowhere else can people go to someone’s job and disrespect you at your job and it be okay… When people come to work, they should be respected at their job.” pic.twitter.com/mkqUx1zCne
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 28, 2023
George, who shot 2-13 on the night, and could do nothing but watch as his Clippers blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against a Nuggets team without Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray. Reggie Jackson and Deandre Jordan combined to drop 56 points in the game, completely exposing and embarrassing the Clippers’ defense. While the blame cannot be put all on Westbrook, he’s an easy target for blame given his history with the Lakers and Rockets, and now, with the Clips at rock bottom, things are starting to get ugly in Crypto.com arena.
The Clippers Are In Free-Fall
After trading for Harden, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue urged the media to give him 10 games before drawing any conclusions. Including this week’s loss to the Nuggets, it’s now 11 games into Harden’s Clippers tenure and they don’t look any better than they did in his very first game. Concerningly, the Clippers’ big four are a negative on the floor together and Harden’s play in particular has been brutal since joining Kawhi and Paul George. In 11 games so far, James is averaging just 14.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 44% shooting.
At 7-9 on the season, the Clippers are 11th in the Western Conference and everything looks disjointed. Specifically, the offense, which sits 20th in the league at 111.8 points per game, has been anemic and contradictory to the whole reason why they picked up James Harden in the first place. It’s not too late for the Clippers to turn the situation around, but the deeper their hole grows, the harder it will be to stabilize for the postseason.
Westbrook On Thin Ice With The Clippers
The Clippers are not at the point of moving off Westbrook yet, but those feelings could change depending on how the season plays out. Since coming off the bench, Westbrook has been noticeably more detached from the team and his game has suffered as well with a few stinkers before dropping 14 points on Monday night.
At 35 years old, Russ was nearly out of the league before the Clippers gave him another chance. And while the vibes were immaculate at first, the temperature is starting to change as the Clippers lose more and more games. If they don’t turn it around soon, Russ could face the worst of the music from frustrated Clippers fans around the country. Against the Kings on Wednesday, Westbrook and the Clippers will have another chance to make things right but the road only gets tougher from here and no competitive team in the West can afford to struggle for too long before losing significant ground in the standings. For now, Paul George and his team are still all-in on Russ, but one has to wonder how long that loyalty will last if the team is unable to figure it out.
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