The road loss continues to outline the glaring issues for a Clippers team unable to realize their basketball identity

So far this season, the Clippers have juggled between promising sparks of brilliance and sluggish clogs of disappointment throughout their previous matchups. With the opportunity to win three games in a row presented in last night’s game, Los Angeles was unable to find their groove against Steph Curry and the Warriors in the troubling 98-79 road loss. 

In general, this was a vastly underwhelming, low-scoring game for both teams, but the Clippers as a whole shot poorly overall, 36.6% field goals made and only 18.2% from beyond the arc, along with 16 stinging turnovers. In comparison, the Warriors made 45.3% of their field goals, with 37.8% from beyond the arc and 13 turnovers. 

Aside from the second quarter, the Clippers were completely outscored and failed to contain opposing shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who went on to score a game-high 21 points on 9/12 shots, and Steph Curry, who produced 19 points and 8 assists. The defense was inconsistent and sloppy for Los Angeles, especially with the aforementioned 16 costly turnovers. 

The Clippers’ bench was essentially nonexistent as well, scoring only 22 points as a whole over the entirety of the game, an unusual position for a franchise that has seen some of the greatest sixth men in recent NBA history. The starting five played well for the most part, apart from Bogdan Bogdanovic (2 points) and Derrick Jones Jr. (3 points) hardly contributing offensively.

James Harden led the team in scoring, tallying 20 points and 4 assists, and Kawhi Leonard followed closely with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Center Ivica Zubac had arguably the best all-around performance, finishing with a nice 14-point and 12-rebound double-double. 

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Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to observe if head coach Ty Lue will continue experimenting with alternate starting lineups and rotations in order to consolidate some of that scoring onto the bench. On Halloween Friday, the Clippers will face the New Orleans Pelicans in what should be an entertaining clash.Â