Clippers' Clutch Struggles Hit New Low vs. Rockets on Thursday

The Los Angeles Clippers are statistically the worst clutch team in the NBA after an embarrassing fourth quarter collapse in Houston.

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers have a long list of issues ailing them this season. Between the Chris Paul saga, the Kawhi Leonard drama, and the disappointing offseason acquisition, the Clippers' on-court problems have largely gone under the radar. Their defensive struggles have been well-documented, but another glaring weakness showed its face once again on Thursday against the Rockets. The Clippers were tied with the Rockets with less than five minutes left in the game. After a series of blunders down the stretch, the Clippers lost another close game, officially making them the worst clutch team in the NBA.

The NBA defines "clutch" time as a situation where the score is within five points in the last five minutes of the game. The Clippers have had 12 clutch games this season based on this definition. After Thursday night's loss, LA has won only two of those. No team has a worse winning percentage in clutch games than the Clippers this season. If the Clippers had won half of these close games, as it would be expected of them, they would be 10-15 and in a play-in spot right now.

Considering that the Clippers are the oldest and most experienced team in the league, one would expect them to perform well in the clutch. They should have more composure and make fewer mistakes than their opponents. Plus, they have James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, who should be elite closers. Yet, the end of the Rockets game showed a team beating itself with unacceptable blunders.

Game on the line and Nicolas Batum had no one to help him on the inbound 👀pic.twitter.com/r8oGuqeBIg

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Clippers Had an Embarrassing Collapse vs. Rockets on Thursday

After Kawhi Leonard committed an offensive foul on Aaron Holiday with 11 seconds left in the game and the Clippers down two, the Rockets made one of their two free throws after the intentional foul. LA had a chance to get a game-tying three with eight seconds left. However, Nicolas Batum couldn't find anyone to inbound the ball for five seconds and eventually committed a violation, giving the ball to the Rockets, which ended the game.

That is a mistake you rarely see in the NBA. No Clipper being able to get to Batum to help inbound the ball is unforgivable. Presumably, a big reason for this was the lack of energy Harden and Leonard had after each playing over 40 minutes. Harden only sat for 68 seconds in the second half, and Leonard played the entire fourth quarter. Going up against a much younger group and one of the most athletic teams in the league, the Clippers' veterans simply lacked energy at the end.

This has been an issue all season. As the Clippers continue to struggle, Ty Lue is chasing wins, pushing Harden to his limits. The 36-year-old has played more minutes than all but four players in the league this season. In fact, there isn't a single player over 30 in the top ten of the list of most minutes played.

Not utilizing your stars properly is clearly a coaching staff issue. There is no reason the Clippers should be the worst clutch team in the league when they have Harden and Leonard on the roster. Among everything else wrong with this team, this problem remains one of the more frustrating ones.