The LA Clippers were always far removed from being serious contenders, or any kind of contenders for that matter, for the NBA championship. Still, what has transpired this season has been tragic for their fans. The team is reeling at the bottom of the standings in the West, with the New Orleans Pelicans being the only team worse than them. Needless to say, questions are being asked.
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Last night was no different from what we have seen from the Clippers this season. They had hoped to get their season somewhat back on track against the Dallas Mavericks, who are going through turmoil of their own, having already sacked their general manager, Nico Harrison, earlier in the season.
On top of that, they were visiting the Intuit Dome with five of their key players missing from the lineup. If there was ever a time to get a win, this would have been it for the Clips. However, Mavs starboy Cooper Flagg, along with the usual excellence of former NBA champion Klay Thompson, pulled off a 114-110 win against the home team. The Clippers have now played 20 games this season, winning only five and losing fifteen.
Team veteran James Harden, who is still having a world-class season despite the team’s lack of fortune, believes it has been a task to replace the key players who are currently on the injured list. Players like Bogdan Bogdanovich, Derrick Jones Jr., Bradley Beal, and Jordan have had their spots taken, but not by athletes with equal attributes.
For Harden, who has had to carry the team all season, integrating new players has been, for the lack of a better word, “challenging.” The Beard actually seemed visibly frustrated and rolled his eyes when the reporter asked him about it. It was so in-the-nose that even ESPN’s Ramona Shellburne acknowledged it on Twitter:
Wow. This is a next-level eye roll. https://t.co/aTBsJMDMfB
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) November 30, 2025
“I don’t know, I can’t recall the last situation or whatever. The situation here is difficult. We’re not making shots offensively, defensively, we allow the game plan mistakes, we allow that to happen too many times, so that’s one of the reasons why we lose games,” a frustrated Harden explained.
Last season, the Clippers were a top 5 team defensively. This season, they have somehow been sleepwalking, allowing opponents to keep possession, with little energy being spent to get turnovers.
The controversial Kawhi Leonard, who himself had been sidelined for some time, claimed earlier this week that the team was feeling the absence of its missing star players.
“Just gotta get the right lineups on the court, I guess. Get some more talent. Play with better talent and see what happens. Internally, I’m saying like playing better. Like we all just gotta play better, make shots,” he had said after the Lakers game, earlier this week.
It looks like Harden isn’t the only one frustrated with the state of affairs with the current roster available to the LA Clippers. Unfortunately, it’s not something that can be resolved anytime soon
