Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins broke down the team's nightmare start to the season after Saturday's loss.
The start of the season has gone much worse for the Los Angeles Clippers than anyone would have expected, as they’ve lost 15 of their first 20 games. They haven’t even looked like they’re particularly close to figuring things out after suffering their fourth straight loss and their seventh in eight games against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
Saturday’s loss marked a new low, considering Dallas has been going through some of the same things the Clippers have, despite also being expected to make the playoffs in most preseason projections.
Not only that, they let 19-year-old Cooper Flagg torch them for a career-high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting and wasted 59 combined points from James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. They also wasted a stellar performance from forward John Collins, who scored 21 points on an efficient 9-of-10 from the field while also recording three blocks on the defensive end.
Following the game, Collins made it clear that he believes the Clippers could still turn things around and that the locker room isn’t filled with losers despite the fact that the results to start the season haven’t gone the right way. Collins focused on what the team can do to improve on the rough start while keeping the right mindset.
“The only thing we can do is continue to fix our energy and watch film,” Collins said. “I mean, the same stuff we have been doing, but, what's the phrase, nsanity, right? It’s doing the same thing over and over again. So, we're trying, we're trying to do what we can, but right now, obviously, a tough time for us. Nobody in this locker room is a loser, so we're trying to figure it out.”
Keeping The Faith
Collins continued to explain why he has faith the Clippers can turn it around, crediting the roster construction while acknowledging the harsh realities of NBA competition.
“We have enough talent, experience, and knowledge in this room, basketball-wise, to truly be a force in this league,” Collins said. We’re just having a rough stretch right now, and nobody's enjoying it.”
When asked why the Clippers can’t seem to get anything to stick to start the season, Collins provided a blunt response.
“Sometimes it's just not that simple,” Collins said. “It's the best league in the world. Sometimes the ball's not going to roll n our favor, but on the other hand, effort and intensity, energy from our end has to be at a highly competitive nature for us to win games, and it can't fluctuate.”