The Clippers are still trying to find their way.
The Los Angeles Clippers had everything going their way heading into Saturday night at the Intuit Dome.
A four-game winning streak, a record back above .500, and John Collins returning from a seven-game absence all had the building feeling good.
Then the Sacramento Kings came in and spoiled it all.
Sacramento handed the Clippers a 118-109 loss in a game that never felt close, and head coach Ty Lue did not hold back when talking about what went wrong on the offensive end.
Lue Breaks Down the Spacing Problem
"Just getting in a rhythm… them putting a five on KD (Kris Dunn), he just stayed in the paint kind of hurt our spacing," Lue explained. "We know he can make shots. We know he can attack the paint and make plays, so he's only going to get better at that."
Lue's comments pointed to a real issue for the Clippers on Saturday and something that could linger as the team figures out its rotation down the stretch.
When the Kings sagged off Kris Dunn and packed the paint, it clogged the driving lanes that Darius Garland needs to be effective.
Garland thrives getting downhill to collapse the defense, but when defenders are already camped in the lane, those reads become a lot harder.
It is a spacing puzzle Lue will need to solve, because Dunn's defensive value is too important to lose and Garland's offensive game depends on having room to work.
Garland Still Showed Out
Even with the spacing issues and the team being flat, Darius Garland still turned in one of his best performances since arriving in Los Angeles.
He finished with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting, knocked down five threes on 10 attempts, and added seven assists in 30 minutes.
His plus-17 was the best mark on the team by a wide margin.
Since making his Clippers debut on March 2 and moving into the starting lineup on March 7, Garland has looked like a completely different player compared to his final stretch in Cleveland.
In his four starts with the Clippers, he has been averaging north of 22 points and six assists per game while shooting the ball with a confidence that was missing for most of his time with the Cavaliers this season.
Why Garland Looks So Different
In Cleveland, Garland was sharing backcourt duties in a loaded roster and dealing with nagging toe injuries that limited him to 26 games before the trade.
In Los Angeles, the Clippers have built the offense around getting Garland downhill and letting him create, and his teammates have noticed the difference he brings.
Playing next to Kawhi Leonard, who draws so much defensive attention on his own, has given Garland more space and cleaner looks than he ever had in Cleveland this season.
The two-time All-Star is averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 assists on the year between both teams, but his numbers with the Clippers have been trending way higher as he gets more comfortable.
Saturday's loss dropped the Clippers to 34-33 on the season, and the Kings, sitting at 17-51, were the last team they expected to lose to.
To make matters worse, Leonard left with a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter after scoring 31 points, which could affect his availability going forward.
Lue knows the spacing issue is fixable, and he also knows Garland is only scratching the surface of what he can do.
The Clippers just need everything to come together at the right time.