The Los Angeles Clippers dropped to 4-11 on the season after a crushing 129-101 loss to the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, and head coach Ty Lue didn't mince words about what's been going wrong all year long.

"We can't keep giving teams extra possessions," Lue said after the game. "That's been our problem all year. When you turn it over that much, it's almost impossible to win."

Turnovers Continue to Haunt LA

The Clippers have been one of the worst teams in the league at taking care of the basketball, averaging 16.1 turnovers per game this season and ranking dead last in the NBA.

Against Orlando, they coughed up the ball 21 times, which led to 33 Magic points and gave the home team a huge advantage in what became a blowout.

James Harden tried his best to keep the Clippers competitive with 31 points and eight assists, but even his strong performance couldn't overcome the team's defensive struggles and careless turnovers. Ivica Zubac was the only other Clipper to reach double figures with 14 points, though he did grab 19 rebounds in the losing effort.

Injury Problems Make Things Worse

The team's struggles have been made significantly worse by injuries to key players, with Kawhi Leonard missing his ninth straight game due to an ankle and foot sprain.

Derrick Jones Jr. has a significant sprain in his knee as well and is expected to be out until mid-January, further adding to the list of injury concerns. 

Bradley Beal is also out for the season after undergoing hip surgery, which has left the Clippers extremely shorthanded and unable to generate offense outside of Harden's individual efforts.

Is This Season Salvageable?

With a 4-11 record and having lost nine of their last ten games, the Clippers are in serious danger of falling out of the playoff race before December even arrives. The Western Conference is unforgiving, and every loss makes it harder to climb back into contention.

The team ranks 22nd in offensive rating and 24th in defensive rating, which shows they're struggling on both ends of the floor and don't have a clear identity right now.

Can They Land LaMelo Ball?

Recent reports suggest that LaMelo Ball has grown frustrated with the Charlotte Hornets and may be open to a trade. The Clippers have been mentioned as a possible landing spot, which would give them a young star to build around.

However, the team can only offer two first-round picks (2030 and 2032) along with a first-round swap in 2031, and it's unclear if that's enough to convince Charlotte to part with their franchise player.

What Does the Future Hold?

The Clippers' cap situation is complicated going forward, with most of their salary committed to aging veterans who haven't been able to stay healthy or produce winning basketball.

The team desperately needs to inject some youth and athleticism into a roster that's become one of the oldest in the league, but they don't have many assets to work with after years of trading away draft picks.

For now, the Clippers will try to end their losing streak when they visit Charlotte on Saturday, but the outlook for this season looks grim unless something changes quickly.