Russell Westbrook’s return gives Clippers last chance to fix unreliable play before playoffs
LOS ANGELES — For most of last week, it looked as if the LA Clippers had applied lessons learned from their bouts of weird basketball and understood what they needed to do to get their season back on track. The 76ers were short-handed, playing without reigning MVP Joel Embiid for the 25th straight game while also holding out rotation players such as Kyle Lowry, De’Anthony Melton and former Clippers Robert Covington and Nicolas Batum. “He’s another guy that comes in with energy, playing and giving us a fast pace, playing in transition, another defender on the floor, another scorer,” Leonard said after the Hawks loss when asked how much the Clippers miss Westbrook in the second unit. Even if he’s on the floor or not, it’s still five other guys that’s on that floor that could run hard and do what’s told.” GO DEEPER For Clippers' Paul George, the 'focus on moving forward' means being healthy and playing The Clippers need the jolt that comes with a Westbrook return to play. “When stuff gets hard, you got to get tougher,” Lue said two weeks ago after the Clippers blew a 22-point lead in a lopsided loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves when asked about Westbrook not being on the floor while opponents go on extended scoring runs.
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