P.J. Tucker has been an accessory to the biggest trade saga of the summer, as he was moved alongside James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers after both former Rockets players fell out with Daryl Morey. Tucker hasn’t been playing too well for the Clippers, as the team has struggled to win consistently in the West. The 2021 NBA Champion told The Athletic the reason behind their struggles.
“There’s not enough basketballs on the planet for this team, really.”
It’s hard to interpret whether Tucker is trying to throw shade at the stars on the Clippers or is just making a painfully honest statement. All the Clippers stars are used to running the game with the ball in their hands and are now adjusting their style of play to be more team-oriented.
The lack of basketballs has been a problem for Tucker primarily, who has gone scoreless in his last nine games, with the last three being DNPs. He’s averaging just 1.2 points per game for LAC and has fallen out of the rotation right now after being virtually unplayable.
The Clippers Need To Fix Their Roster
Anyone who’s regularly watching Clippers games will see that there are stretches in games where the decision to put together James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard seems amazing. The Clippers 22-point comeback win over the Warriors is the latest example, as the Clippers are now 9-10 on the season. They can easily find their way into a play-in spot if they can continue enjoying the great health their stars have had this season.
Even with the moments of positivity, we just cannot ignore the fact that this is not a well-built roster. The reason Tucker said there are not enough basketballs isn’t solely about the superstars on the roster. Players like Russell Westbrook. Norman Powell, Terance Mann, and Bones Hyland (when he plays), all need to have the ball in their hands occasionally to get a rhythm going.
There aren’t enough dirty-work frontcourt players on the team, with the absence of Marcus Morris Sr. and Robert Covington being felt by the team. P.J. Tucker was expected to fit into the role those players played, but it looks like he may be on the last legs of his NBA career.
A trade to add frontcourt depth is crucial, but the Clippers have exhausted most of their first-round draft picks in the trade for Paul George and now Harden. They’re trying to promote players like Kobe Brown into the lineup, but the Clippers will either find a way to make a trade to improve around the margins or hope that the buyout market gives them the kind of player they need. Otherwise, this team could fall apart as the season wears on, especially if there are injuries.
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