The morale of the Los Angeles Clippers is slowly sinking as the team continues to come up small against contenders.
Saturday's 107-97 loss to the Houston Rockets - who are coming off an appearance in the Western Conference finals last season - was just another example of the Clippers playing uninspired, lethargic basketball. Los Angeles trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half, and conceded an 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter after cutting Houston's lead to 12.
"We're not a team that anybody needs to be worried about, I'll tell you that," point guard Chris Paul said postgame, according to the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch. "Not right now."
It was during the second round of last year's playoffs when the Rockets eked out a 113-100 Game 7 victory at the Toyota Center to send the Clippers packing. Back at the scene of the crime, head coach Doc Rivers' squad failed to put the hammer down on a Rockets team that's widely considered the biggest disappointment in the West after finishing second in the conference a year ago.
"We came out with no energy, no intensity on both ends of the floor,” Paul's teammate DeAndre Jordan added. "This loss was on the starters. We came out and we didn't establish anything, really."
This is the second time in a matter of days a Clippers player has openly questioned the team's standing in the NBA's upper echelon. J.J. Redick said the Clippers are "not as good as San Antonio or Golden State" after losing to the Spurs on Friday.
Los Angeles dropped all three of its meetings against the Spurs and Golden State Warriors this season, and 10 of its 16 wins have come versus teams not currently in the playoff picture.
The Clippers played seven of their last eight games away from the Staples Center, and return home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday before hitting the road again for a five-game trip.
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