Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue opens up about the team's struggles defending the three-pointer
The Los Angeles Clippers improved their roster, no doubt, after winning 50 games last season despite many thinking they were bound for the lottery. With Norman Powell being the only key departure, they brought in Brook Lopez, John Collins, Chris Paul, and Bradley Beal to double down on their veteran presence. Unfortunately, it's been a disaster start to say the least.
On Thursday night, the Clippers suffered a 115-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns, as their depth failed to step up without Kawhi Leonard and James Harden playing. Not only has their depth been underwhelming, but they've continued to struggle in multiple areas. One of those has been their three-point defense, and Tyronn Lue addressed that after the loss.
“Teams are looking and they're hunting threes, but I think when you have your rotations, you're in scramble mode, it's hard to really get out to shoot, especially with the way everybody shoots the ball in the league nowadays, it's just tough to get to them," Lue said.
The Suns shot 19-of-49 from beyond the arc in the win, with Jalen Green, Royce O'Neale, and Grayson Allen all having at least four makes. On the season, the Clippers are allowing opponents to shoot 39.3% from beyond the arc, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA. In addition, they also concede the most makes per game at 16.0 on 40.8 attempts.
"JG (Jeff Van Gundy) preaches every day, ‘Just close out. Don't fly by, because when you fly by, it's really five on four, on the backside’. That's what makes it tough. I think we had like, four or five of those in that third quarter, we were just flying by guys, now they put it on the floor, now you got to cover for him, and now you're in rotation and give up a three.”
How Can The Clippers Address These Problems?
Outside of just hoping that Harden and Leonard don't miss time this season, the Clippers need to address these early-season problems through coaching and potential lineup changes. While Harden, Leonard, and Zubac are locks for the starting lineup, it might be time for Lue and his staff to look at mixing things up to see if they can avoid these turnovers and poor three-point defense.
As for the turnovers, a lot of them are careless and should be able to be fixed with time. In terms of the three-point defense, it's another area that can be coached, but change needs to be led by the star players and top defenders on the team. There's no doubt this is a playoff contender caliber roster, but that reality becomes distant if they continue to dig themselves in a hole.