Paul George spits fire after the embarrassing loss against the Atlanta Hawks. The LA Clippers‘ concerning form continued as they lost four in their last 5 games. Adding to the insult, they suffered this defeat against Trae Young-less Hawks at home. Despite the loss, George showed confidence in his team’s performance and demanded a unique trait from his teammates.

In the post-game press conference, speaking about the team’s slump, he said, “We want to be a team that’s consistent. We want to establish an identity… Right now, I don’t think we have an identity.” He further added, “I’m not sure. We’d be playing a lot better if I knew that answer,” when a reporter asked why the team doesn’t have an identity. Moreover, he also demanded his teammates to take pride in the side.

While Paul George stressed to his teammates to take pride in the side, it is still unclear on the part to whom he referred. Apart from PG-13 and Kawhi Leonard, everyone in the line-up had an underwhelming night, especially James Harden. The former MVP dropped 9 points with 9 assists with an embarrassing 3-10 FG. George and Leonard toiled hard to put up 44 points together without much support.

Interestingly, tonight was the first time in the last four months that the Clippers lost to a team with a losing record. The last time, they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies was on November 12, 2023. And tonight, they lost against Trae Young-less Hawks. The Clippers have been facing this slump since the exit of Russell Westbrook with an injury. The team might need to pull their socks before it’s too late.

Will Russell Westbrook’s return retain the Clippers’ identity?

Russell Westbrook suffered a fracture in his hand against the Wizards. Since then the Clippers have played 9 games and lost 5 of them. Last week, an update revealed that the star had undergone surgery to replace his fracture. And, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Russ will be evaluated weekly and expected him to return for the playoffs.

While the timeline of the star’s return is out, the question is, will he retain the Clippers’ lost identity? Fortunately, yes. Russ’ teammate Kawhi Leonard himself responded to it. Speaking of Russ after tonight’s game, Leonard said, “He’s another guy that comes in with energy, giving us a fast pace… Another defender, another scorer. We definitely miss him.”

The Clippers are only one loss away from slipping down to the fifth seed. Will they manage their position until Russ returns? Let us know in the comments below.

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