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Tyronn Lue still holding out hope for Clippers despite 6-20 start
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- Tyronn Lue still holding out hope for Clippers despite 6-20 start
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OKLAHOMA CITY — After Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue addressed James Harden's day-to-day status due to a left calf contusion, he spoke on turning the regular season around. The Clippers entered Thursday's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder tied with the Sacramento Kings for the second-worst record in the Western Conference standings (6-20).
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Still, Lue says, with only 26 of 82 games under his belt, there's still plenty of regular-season games remaining for the Clippers to keep their playoff hopes alive , he said, during his pregame media availability.
"Just gotta be better. The season's not over. I know how you preferenced your comment, but we're four games out of the Play-In," Lue said. "That's gotta be our mindset going forward. Then, once we get there, it's however many games it takes to get out of 6. We have to play better, which we have the last four out of five games. But we gotta be able to close out games and finish them. That's what we've been struggling with.
"Instead of playing 48 minutes, we've been playing 37 minutes. It's just not enough if you want to beat some of these good teams," Lue concluded.
The Clippers enter the Paycom Center, looking to snap a four-game skid against the defending champions.
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James Harden ruled out for Clippers due to lingering calf injury
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
While head coach Tyronn Lue says Clippers veteran James Harden's nagging calf injury is day-to-day, facing the Thunder without their top scorer will be a challenge. Still, Lue believes his team is up for it, given how hard the Clippers have played of late. However, finishing games strongly remains an issue, which Lue addressed before the game.
Lue knows how rare it is for Harden to miss games, which gives him an idea of how important rest is , and for other Clippers players to step up in James' absence.
"When he's out something's really wrong with him, and we understand that," Lue said. "Just thought it was smart for him to try to get right."
After facing the Thunder on the road, the Clippers will host the Lakers on Saturday.
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