The Los Angeles Clippers have 26 games remaining on their regular-season schedule, in addition to two possible postseason games if they qualify for the NBA play-in tournament. Contrary to Kawhi Leonard's belief that the team is not a contender to advance in the playoffs, head coach Tyronn Lue says the team will try to keep winning.
At 27-29 following Friday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers currently hold the ninth spot in the Western Conference standings, just a half-game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers.
"Man, we're playing to win," Lue told reporters afterwards, including ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "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."
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Lue's remarks appeared to be a response to Leonard saying earlier in the day that the Clippers' status as contenders was finished.
"I think it's over now," he said. "It’s, the second half, like a fourth of the season left. But every day is a day to grow. A day to learn and get better. So just got to keep looking over time and see in two weeks if we’re getting better and see what happens from there.”
Leonard's outlook follows the Clippers sending James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers before the NBA trade deadline. The team received Darius Garland, Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and two second-rounders in those deals. But those aren't the kinds of trades a playoff contender makes in hopes of boosting championship chances.
Additionally, the Clippers benched veteran point guard Chris Paul before sending him home and eventually traded him to the Toronto Raptors. Paul, 40, was subsequently released by the Raptors and announced his retirement. He signed a one-year deal before the season, presumably to be a veteran leader but reportedly clashed with Lue eventually.
Lue acknowledged that the Clippers team Leonard originally signed with in 2019 is much different now.
"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 told ESPN. "And so now, having a younger team, we got to play different. We got to do things different, we got to do things better."
The Clippers being in the play-in mix with a chance to make the playoffs as the eventual No. 8 seed is the result of an impressive turnaround. The team began the season as one of the league's biggest disappointments, compiling a 6-21 record. Yet a 21-8 run in December put a .500 record and postseason berth within reach.
Up next for the Clippers is a matchup with the Orlando Magic (29-25) on Sunday, followed by a Thursday contest versus the Minnesota Timberwolves (35-22).