How the Clippers’ 7-Game Winning Streak Came to An End

The LA Clippers’ 100-90 loss to the Chicago Bulls put an end to a seven-game winning streak. How did they play during their surge differ from Sunday night’s game?

Basketball is a game of runs and the NBA is a league of streaks. The Phoenix Suns remains the hottest team in the league entering Monday thanks to their eight-game winning streak. However, the LA Clippers were right behind them with a seven-gamer heading into Sunday.

Unfortunately for the Clips, they failed to follow up on their 129-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, succumbing to the Chicago Bulls 100-90 Sunday night.

LA’s streak pulled them out of the depths of a 1-4 start to the 2021-22 season and helped them get to their current 8-5 record that seats them sixth in the Western Conference. What were the keys to the Clippers’ run and which of those tenants failed to come through in Sunday’s defeat?

The Clippers’ seven-game surge lasted through the first 13 days of November. Their per game point differential of 12.6 was second-highest over that span. It was bested only by the Golden State Warriors‘ 21.5 points per game during their 6-0 stretch.

However, LA’s domination did come at the expense of a softer, home-heavy schedule. Five of their seven games were on their Staples Center floor, and their two road games came back-to-back against the same opponent.

In fact, the Clippers played that opponent, the Timberwolves, three times over the course of this streak. In addition to two road games on Nov. 3 and 5, they also hosted the T’Wolves on Nov. 13. Minnesota are 4-8 and 12th in the West. They’re a respectable 14th in defensive rating but have the fifth-worst offensive rating in the league.

LA tipped off their streak with a five-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Another upstart outfit, OKC are tenth in the West at 5-7. Two of those wins are shockers over the Los Angeles Lakers, but they still hold a similar efficiency profile to Minnesota: 15th in defensive rating, 28th in offensive rating. The Clippers also picked up wins over the Portland Trail Blazers (ninth in the West) and the Charlotte Hornets (eighth in the East).

The toughest team they toppled were the Miami Heat, who are currently fifth in the East. The game was a thriller that saw Miami erase LA’s 11-point lead in the fourth quarter behind a 22-point frame from Kyle Lowry. While most of the Clippers’ opponents in this streak aren’t title contenders, the Heat game was certainly a signature win.

While their schedule was soft during the streak, the Clippers still handled their business and got the job done. They scored efficiently from the field, were aggressive at getting to the line, and made an effort to quickly end possessions when they made defensive stops.

During the streak, LA placed fifth in effective field goal percentage (56.6 percent), fifth in most fouls drawn per game (19.9), third in fewest fouls committed per game (15.4), second in defensive rebounds per game (39.6), and fourth in total rebounding percentage (52.7 percent).

The biggest key to their loss against the Bulls was their cold shooting. LA came away with a 42.6 effective field goal percentage, 14 percent below their output during their winning streak. Despite the continued home cooking (this was LA’s fifth straight home game), they failed to find any rhythm with the rims.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue went with a an eight-man rotation for this game, though Amir Coffey picked up 19 seconds of playing time at the end of the first quarter. Of those eight players, only two managed to match or exceed their scoring average from the streak.

Paul George’s 27 points was in line with his 25.6 points per game average during the run. Eric Bledsoe had 21 points on Sunday, blowing by the 10.4 he averaged during the streak. Everyone else fell short. Reggie Jackson was the second-leading scorer of the streak at 21.3, but only mustered 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting Sunday. Nicolas Batum was third at 13.6, but had just five against the Bulls. Even steady big Ivica Zubac, who averaged 11.4 points during the streak, finished with just four points.

It’s jarring, but not a complete shock. While the Clippers were fourth in offensive rating during the streak, they still sit 19th in that category for the overall season. They were also taking on a Bulls team that is currently fifth in defensive rating. That makes Chicago the toughest defense LA has faced since their season opener against the Warriors.

Despite the cold shooting night, the Clippers actually remained consistent in the other categories that bolstered their streak. They still got to the line plenty, taking and making all 21 of their free throw attempts. Their 51.5 total rebounding percentage also fell in line with their streak average. They were also strong defensively, finishing with an even 100.0 defensive rating, which actually exceeds the 102.1 rating they conceded during the streak!

So in the end, it seems that the LA Clippers were simply the victim of a cold shooting against a tough defensive opponent on the second game of a back-to-back.

At this juncture, there’s no cause for alarm in Clipper Nation. This is a confident team that will always enters each game looking to compete. It’s just intriguing to examine what went wrong to fully appreciate when things go right. Now we’ll see if Sunday’s loss will mark the beginning of a slump, or simply sets the foundation for another big winning streak.