There are issues aplenty in Clippers’ rough six-game start

The new NBA season isn’t two weeks old, and the Clippers already have vexing problems. And that doesn’t include their turnovers.

There are defensive breakdowns in the second half of games, and offensive lapses and spacing issues throughout. The Clippers have nine new faces, one familiar face still missing in action, and fatigue is becoming a problem. And yeah, there’s those 17 turnovers a game.

In their first six games this season, the Clippers (2-4) have had difficulty putting together a solid 48 minutes. If the defense locks down in the second half, the offense sputters. If the offense clicks, the defense stalls and suddenly double-digit leads have slipped away.

The Clippers saw another game escape their grasp Saturday, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-92, after being up by 13 points.

“We just need to pay attention to details and just play better in the second half on both sides of the floor,” Coach Tyronn Lue said.

With Kawhi Leonard still on the bench with knee issues, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac have been playing more than 33 minutes a game, and with a young bench, finding rest for the starters has been a challenge.

Harden is carrying the bulk of the load, willing his 35-year-old body to post 21.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 10.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.5 minutes a night. Powell leads the team in scoring at 25.2 points in 33 minutes, while Zubac is adding 17.5 points and 13.0 rebounds 34.3 minutes a game.

“I ask myself the same thing every night. Is it fatigue? Can we do something different,” Lue said of the second-half collapses.

“It’s the same team (that started the game). So, we got to be able to come out in that third quarter and have the mentality that we want to be aggressive defensively like we always are and we want to attack. We don’t want to be back on our heels.

Like Lue, Terance Mann struggled to explain the Clippers’ rocky start.

“I’m not really sure what it is. It’s hard to really put my finger on it. Film will tell us the story,” Mann said. “It’s a long season. We just got to November, and we lost a bunch of close games. We’ve been up in every game. We know what we’re capable of.”

WHERE’S TMANN?

Some on social media have asked where has Mann gone?

Mann is scoring just 5.5 points a game, down from his 8.8 average last season, and making just 10 percent of his 3-point attempts. He also is averaging 3.3 fouls, earning him extra time on the bench. Lue, however, isn’t alarmed.

“TMann is TMann and we never look at TMann to score 20 and 25 points,” Lue said. “Like (he’s) just guarding the best player every single night, being great defensively, rebounding the basketball, bringing the energy. When he scores, that’s gravy for us.

“We’re not looking at his shots or how many. He needs to take more shots when he’s open but other than that, like I said, for us, his game is different than most teams.”

MAKING PROGRESS

One bench option for Lue has been Kevin Porter Jr., who earned a spot in the rotation after being out of the league last season.

Porter Jr. has quietly increased his productivity, averaging 7.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16 minutes a game.

“He is just trying to find his way,” Lue said. “And we’re just trying to figure out how we can integrate him into our system and allow him to be himself, but also have him understand what we need from him offensively.

“So, we’ve been working with him. I think his last game was his best. You know he hasn’t played in a year, so just making sure he understands what we want and then we kind of understand how he needs to play for him to be effective for us.”

In 2023, Porter Jr. accepted a plea deal in a domestic assault case and was waived by the Thunder after being traded by the Houston Rockets. He played in Greece in the latter part of last season and signed a two-year deal with the Clippers in July.