Darius Garland didn’t sugarcoat what’s going wrong for the Los Angeles Clippers. In his view, the rough start is a mix of injuries, a shuffled roster, and a group that still hasn’t had enough time together to sort out its roles.
The Clippers are 1-3, and the biggest problem has been the kind that can sink a team before it even settles into a game: turnovers. Garland pointed to the constant lineup churn and the number of new pieces trying to mesh on the fly.
“It’s our third game. A lot of guys out.
Just trying to figure everything out with these guys. It’s a learning curve.
Everybody is new. It’s my first full year.
Keaton is playing a lot of minutes, he’s a rookie. He’s the other head of the snake as well.
We gotta take care of the ball and try to help our other teammates out.”
That last part says plenty about where the Clippers are right now. Garland’s mention of Keaton Wagler underscores how much is being asked of a rookie guard, especially with several established scorers still unavailable.
Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal, and Max Strus have all been out to start the season, and those absences have pushed the available players into bigger roles than expected. Garland has become the main organizer on offense, and while the numbers show production, they also show the strain that comes with it.
He’s averaging 21.5 points and 6.5 assists, but he’s also averaging 5.75 turnovers a night. As a team, the Clippers are sitting at a league-worst 23.5 turnovers per game, a rough number that keeps putting them in bad spots before they can even get a shot up.
Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers was another ugly example. The Clippers coughed it up 24 times, Garland was responsible for five of them, and those mistakes turned into 31 Lakers points. The Clippers also became the first team since 2002 to post three straight games with at least 24 turnovers, according to advanced stats.
That turnover problem showed up in transition too. The Lakers held a 26-6 edge in fast-break points, and coach Tyronn Lue pointed to the ball security issues as the main reason. It’s an easy connection to make: a missed shot at least gives a defense a chance to reset, but a sloppy pass can hand over a clean lane the other way.
There were still a few defensive bright spots. With Luka Doncic unavailable, the Clippers limited Austin Reaves to 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and forced him into eight turnovers. But those stops never really paid off because the Clippers kept giving possessions back.
Garland’s explanation fits the reality of the situation, but it doesn’t change the task in front of the group. The Clippers can’t simply wait for the injured players to return and fix everything. The ball has to move cleaner, the spacing has to improve, and the current lineup has to be more patient.
That matters even more for a team trying to stay in the play-in mix. The difference between a rough patch and a damaging spiral may come down to these basics.
The Clippers get their next chance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 30, and while chemistry will take time, cutting out the easy turnovers is the clearest way for Garland and company to give themselves a fighting chance until the roster gets healthier.
In Other News...
Clippers Got Bullied In Every Important Area Against The Lakers
The Lakers spent most of the night making the Clippers look small in the places that usually decide a game. Quentin Grimes led Los Angeles with 23 points in a 103-87 win, and the supporting cast did plenty of the heavy lifting too, with Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Matisse Thybulle and Walker Kessler all helping tilt the game in the Lakers favor. The edge showed up everywhere that mattered, from the paint to the glass to the open floor.
For the Clippers, the numbers told a frustrating story because they could not protect the ball or recover enough second-chance opportunities to keep pace. The Lakers turned the game into a physical, turnover-heavy slog and made sure the Clippers paid for every mistake, which is exactly the sort of loss that lingers because it exposes so many problems at once. How quickly the Clippers clean that up will say a lot about whether this was just a bad night or a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Leonards Raptors Season Just Took A Tough Early Turn
Kawhi Leonards new start in Toronto was already unusual, with the Raptors waiting out an NBA investigation into possible salary-cap circumvention before the trade from the Clippers was finally completed. Once the deal went through, the immediate focus shifted from the paperwork to Leonards health, and the early signs were not encouraging as swelling in his left knee forced him to the sideline right away.
The hope around the Raptors has been that Leonard can get fully right before he steps back on the floor and becomes the kind of difference-maker they brought him in to be. For now, the organization is still navigating the uncertainty that comes with a star arrival delayed by injury, and the next stretch will matter as much for patience as it does for the long-term championship picture. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Have A Ben Sheppard Problem They Didn't Expect
The Clippers are still piecing together their own rotation picture as the road schedule approaches, with several familiar names working back from injury. Max Strus, Brandon Ingram and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are all staying in Los Angeles for rehab, leaving the team to manage depth and lineup flexibility a little longer than it would like.
There is at least one welcome note on the horizon, though. Rui Hachimura is expected to join the upcoming road trip after sitting out with left quad soreness, which gives the Clippers a chance to add another healthy body as they try to steady the group away from home. For a team already navigating absences, every returning piece matters, even if the full picture still is not quite settled. [Read more 🡒]