Prior to walking into the territory of a divisional rival last night, filled with memories of opponents scratching their heads, wondering how to stop Stephen Curry, the LA Clippers were 7-1 over their last eight versus the Golden State Warriors. This changed when LA lost by a near 20-point margin, and Tyronn Lue's coaching in the third quarter led to the end result.
Furthermore, Lue closed out the third quarter with his three best players, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac on the bench. This, as anyone would expect, was when Steve Kerr instructed his players to take advantage, and of course, they grabbed hold of the momentum.
Even in the fourth quarter, the white flag was waived a bit too soon. Lue subbed in the reserves, Cam Christie and Kobe Brown, at the 5:38 mark, when the Clippers were down 20.
A comeback at a late point in the game is challenging, but having over five minutes to make something happen is plenty of time, and the championship head coach eliminated all hope with the snap of his fingers.
Lue's poor decision-making is one of the two reasons LA needs to move on
With all of his proven veteran scorers on the bench to end the third quarter, Tyronn Lue hand-wrapped and gifted the Golden State Warriors the game, making it their fourth win of the season, extending their home win streak to three. This was also the LA Clippers' second loss of the year by over 15 points.
Moreover, this is a game the front office should not let go of easily. Lawrence Frank and his staff need to discuss what is in the team's best interest, and right now, it appears to be dismissing Lue from his position.
He is the best in the business at certain aspects, but the Clippers must realize that with him on the job, there is a chance that certain games could instantly get out of hand, like yesterday's late-night contest in The Bay.
Additionally, Lue has not shown many strengths in developing young talent. He prefers playing veterans, which works when it generates wins, yet with zero rings with the Clippers and several first-round exits, it is clear what the next step needs to be.
That said, although the front office will ultimately give Lue the benefit of the doubt, if multiple poorly coached losses occur, he could be let go in the middle of the season.