(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Stephen A. Smith didn’t go easy on the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday morning.
Calling their Wednesday night loss “atrocious,” “a catastrophe,” and “lifeless,” he said on “First Take” that he wants to see “wholesale changes” with the team as soon as possible.
He hammered multiple players on the team, including Paul George and James Harden, whom he critiqued for their inconsistency.
But he also criticized Kawhi Leonard, who he said doesn’t step up to the task of being the team’s leader.
.@stephenasmith GOES OFF on the Clippers’ Game 5 performance
“It was a catastrophe. … I want wholesale changes in Los Angeles.” pic.twitter.com/HBHNeYghrY
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 2, 2024
Smith said the entire team is inconsistent, playing well one night and then horribly the night after.
He was shocked and appalled by what he saw during Game 5, as the Dallas Mavericks easily triumphed over the Clippers, even though the game was held in Los Angeles.
The team has had an impressive regular season and stayed mostly healthy for the majority of it.
They also got off to a good start at the beginning of the playoffs.
But Wednesday’s game showed all of their bad habits coming to the surface again and the team looked completely out of step and lackluster.
Now, few people believe they have what it takes to make it out of this series.
They are headed back to Dallas and will need to play like a completely different team if they wish to stay in the postseason.
If this team doesn’t make it much further, some of the changes that Smith is calling for will likely come.
George will probably leave the team and other stars could depart too.
Nearly everyone agreed that the Clippers had what it took to go very far in the playoffs this year.
But their collapse on Wednesday proves that maybe they weren’t as great as people thought.
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