LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers opened the season with championship expectations. Six weeks later, their 6-16 record is near the bottom of the league and the defense that defined them has disappeared.

A season ago, the Clippers finished 50-32 behind a defense that became their identity. Ivica Zubac’s shot-blocking in the paint and high motor defenders Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. led the team to a 110.3 defensive rating, which was third in the NBA. 

This season, the Clippers rank 26th in defensive rating at 120.6 points allowed, a brutal slide from last year’s finish. With new additions such as Brook Lopez and Bradley Beal faltering under coach Tyronn Lue, the question now is where the problems start?

After a 135-118 loss to the Lakers in late November, Kawhi Leonard offered a blunt assessment of one of the defensive game plans.

“We’ve got to start making it a little harder on the better offensive players on the other teams,” Leonard said, according to Tomer Azarly. “Tonight, Luka had 40. In another game, Jokic had 50. I think we gotta make them pass the ball like they do to us.”

While it hasn’t defined the Clippers’ nightmarish start to the season, Lue’s defensive schemes have played a key role in many of their losses.

Leonard didn’t name names, but the comment pointed straight at Lue’s philosophy of guarding top players. Since Lue has been the head coach for the Clippers, the defensive approach is to let the superstars score their points while shutting down the supporting cast, an approach that has shown limited success.

Luka Dončić, for example, has been given the green light by the Clippers coach to score at will. He averages over 32 points a game against them, eight rebounds and seven assists. 

In previous seasons, that game plan saw some success in part because the Clippers had younger, fresher players who could keep up with opponents’ athletic role players. 

With the NBA’s oldest roster this season, those legs are gone. The team’s lack of energy has been on full display against teams across the league. 

Teams like the Memphis Grizzlies consistently beat the Clippers to loose balls, finishing with 15 offensive rebounds en route to a late November win. It’s raised a simple question: Are there any solutions left to salvage this disappointing season?

“We’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ll keep trying. There’s no next step right now,” Lue said, via Joey Linn.

While Lue has tried everything he can think of, he has had to rely on a second unit of veterans Lopez, Nicolas Batum and Bogdan Bogdanović. A seasoned bench that brings size, experience and shooting, but against younger and faster opponents they’re often outrun, out-hustled and beaten to the rim.

It’s no secret that the bench has become a glaring weak spot for the Clippers. The rest of the league knows exactly how to attack it. Teams are just running the Clippers off the floor. 

When the lineup has multiple players over 34 or older on the court, the Clippers surrender a league-worst 19.4 points of turnovers and 18 fastbreak points per game.

Numbers that do not help teams make the playoffs, let alone win championships.

If the Clippers want to turn their season around, the path runs through roster change. They do not own their own first-round pick this season and letting the losses pile up without that lottery ticket makes no sense, especially with Oklahoma City holding the pick. 

The Clippers are currently 13th in the West. Key players have missed extended time, but even with a healthier roster expected soon the margin for error is shrinking quickly. With 60 games left, the front office is facing major decisions to once again fortify a team without an identity.