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Pacific Notes: Clippers, Davis, LeBron, Green, Kuminga, Suns

March 18th 2024 at 9:20am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have fallen back to Earth after rampaging through the league earlier this winter and doubt is starting to creep in, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. There are legitimate reasons for Sunday’s loss to the short-handed Hawks, Youngmisuk notes. It was L.A.’s sixth game in nine days and the team has injury concerns of its own, but some players are pointing toward bigger issues.

“We want to be a team that’s consistent and we want to establish an identity,” Paul George said. “I’ve always spoken about having an identity and I think it’s extremely important. Right now, I don’t think we have an identity.”

The Clippers have dropped four of their last five games and are 8-10 since peaking at 34-15 on February 5. Russell Westbrook has been sidelined since the end of January with a broken left hand, and Norman Powell is dealing with a lower left leg contusion that had him on crutches Sunday night.

Tyronn Lue said the coaching staff continues to emphasize positive habits, such as protecting the ball, getting back on transition, hitting the offensive boards and spacing the court. However, the effort to do those things hasn’t been consistent.

“When they do it, it works,” Lue said. “When you have so much talent and you have guys that can do it so easily, they don’t understand that your talent is great, but the talent’s got to be for the team as well. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I got to do something a little different to make sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do. … [But] I’ll never really overreact because I know we’re a good team … If you want to win, I know what it looks like. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Lakers center Anthony Davis has shown improvement since suffering a left corneal abrasion on Saturday and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game with Atlanta, according to an ESPN report. Davis had to leave Saturday’s contest after being inadvertently hit in the face on a layup. His vision was impaired and his eye was swollen shut, but a source tells ESPN that his condition improved Saturday night and Sunday. L.A. is also listing LeBron James as questionable due to ongoing issues with his left ankle, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
  • While Draymond Green was away from the Warriors on his most recent suspension, he sent regular critiques to Jonathan Kuminga on his performance, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Those communications helped the pair form a partnership that has played an important role in Golden State’s surge in the second half of the season. Kuminga also credits Green for pushing the front office to select him in the 2021 draft. “He is one of the reasons I even ended up here,” Kuminga said. “Before they drafted me, he called [former Warriors general manager] Bob [Myers] and told him to bring me here. I think that was one of the greatest things to have ever happened.”
  • The Suns were unhappy with their defensive effort in Sunday’s loss at Milwaukee, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a hamstring injury, Phoenix allowed the Bucks to score 82 points in the first half and 140 for the game.
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