Ty Lue admitted his faults after Tuesday's loss.
The Los Angeles Clippers dropped a game 114-104 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and after the game head coach Ty Lue explained that a lot of the problems that arose in that game stemmed from the Clippers' inexperience at playing with a smaller lineup.
"We're just not very good at it. We haven't done it all season long. When two of your centers go down, it puts you into a position where you have to play that way," Lue said. "We're not good at it. So, I take responsibility. It happened two games ago. We haven't has a chance to really work on how we want to play."
The Clippers have been put into a difficult position due to injuries to both Isaiah Jackson and Yanic Konan Niederhauser, depriving the Clippers of two of their centers with just a handful of games left in the season.
LA Clippers guard Darius Garland (10) dribbles the ball against Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle (4) during the first half at Intuit Dome. Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesLosing Centers
Niederhauser is out for the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury in his right foot and he hasn't played in a game since March 5. The Clippers have had some time to adapt without him in the lineup, which meant that they relied more heavily on Isaiah Jackson than ever before.
That's what's made Jackson's own injury so devastating to the Clippers' roster construction. Jackson has been sidelined with a right ankle sprain since March 27 and with how fresh his injury has been, Lue and the Clippers haven't had a chance to adjust appropriately.
LA Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the first half at Intuit Dome. Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesBrook Lopez has always been the Clippers' starting center this season, but the center may be more reliant than any other position on switch-ins due to the inherent physicality involved in playing the five. Without the next two centers on the depth chart, Lue has has to turn to more guards to supply those switch-ins.
Playing Small
Kris Dunn, Jordan Miller and Bennedict Mathurin all saw heavy minutes in Tuesday's loss and while those three players have all been successful this season, playing them all on the floor without more size to back them up isn't something the Clippers are used to, nor do they have the game plan at this point to make it effective.
There's no timetable for Jackson's return at this point and with just a handful of games left in the regular season, the Clippers don't have much time to make their smaller lineup work.
There will have to be a crash course on small-ball in the Clippers' upcoming training sessions and while they have the talent to make that kind of game plan, they need the time together to actually make it work.