NBA scores 2015: The Clippers’ miserable start is riddled with bad omens

Nothing is working for Los Angeles.

by Tim Cato

Nov 23, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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Meet the Los Angeles Clippers, the most recent Western Conference contender -- or so we thought -- to ignite in a fiery blaze of hideous basketball.

On Sunday, the Clippers fell 91-80 to the Toronto Raptors. It's their third straight loss and the seventh in the last nine games. It sends Los Angeles tumbling below .500 on Nov. 22, the latest in a season they've gone below that mark since Chris Paul arrived to town. And it has them as only eighth-best in the Western Conference.

Those are frustrating circumstances for the entire Clippers roster and for Josh Smith, at least, that frustration boiled over after falling to Toronto. Media members reportedly heard Smith's profanity-laden tirade through the wall while waiting for Doc Rivers near the locker room after the game.

And it's not just the loss, but the way they did it. Los Angeles jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead before they were outscored 57-23 the rest of the first half. The Raptors led by 29 points at halftime and won despite scoring just eight points in the third quarter. The Clippers shot under 40 percent from the floor and missed 25 of their 32 three-point attempts. Los Angeles' laissez-faire attitude is infecting their defense and stymying what should be an offense that scares every team in the league. Remember when Lob City garnered images of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan tearing down rims symbiotically, not whatever weird car commercial Griffin's starring in lately?

We didn't need a yelling match to realize how troubling these past few weeks have been for the Clippers, but it's now clear they feel the same way. Los Angeles was a complete collapse away from making the Western Conference Finals and they ostensibly improved their bench over the summer, even if Lance Stephenson is finding new, more creative ways to exile himself to the doghouse. Blake Griffin's off to his best start ever, firmly entrenching himself in the MVP conversation through a month.

But somewhere, something’s not right. The bench doesn’t quite click and Jordan sometimes still seems haunted by the summer’s drama. Doc Rivers, a widely respected coach, isn’t finding solutions that are workable. And the result is seven losses for the Clippers, more than three weeks quicker than they reached that total last year.

There’s no excuse for Los Angeles, especially since they should have all the motivation to reprove themselves after last year’s terrible collapse. Even Golden State, the reigning NBA champions, found a way to motivate themselves over the summer. The Clippers, instead, look like they’re waiting every game for someone to say something mean, to “fire them up.” Far too often, they appear listless and lost, as if they’re lacking guidance. They actually made a late comeback on Sunday, coming as close as six points, before Portland tossed them away. But why that effort can be accepted in the second half when it’s not present in the first tells nearly all you need to know about Los Angeles through a month.

The Clippers will break out of this eventually. To a certain extent, it’ll just be the law of averages balancing the equation. But a start like this is too troubling to ignore, especially when it boils over into the locker room.

2 other things we learned

The Warriors make history

Two teams in the modern era have started a season 15-0: The 1993-94 Rockets and the 2015-16 Warriors. By beating Denver on Sunday, Golden State still hasn't lost and continues to terrify the NBA with basketball that's not just unstoppable, but unsolvable. Here's more on their accomplishment.

Oklahoma City halts the Mavericks' six-game winning streak

Dallas came into Sunday as one of the hottest teams in the NBA but the Thunder, even missing Kevin Durant, had something to say about that. The game was easily the most entertaining of the night, featuring back-and-forth lead tilts and a typically absurd Russell Westbrook, who finished with 31 points and 11 assists. Poor execution in the final 20 seconds prevented the Mavericks from even attempted a reasonable shot to tie the game -- but at 9-5, it's hard to complain.