How Many Gamers Does Ty Lue Want Earlier than We Ask If It’s Him — Particularly After One other Loss to the Lakers?

On this article, How Many Gamers Does Ty Lue Want Earlier than We Ask If It’s Him — Particularly After One other Loss to the Lakers?, MyntJ asks some essential questions on Coach Lue. Felicia Enriquez, aka Mynt J, is the host of the podcast BlackLove and Basketball – Compton Version. She is a Clippers fan, an NBA credentialed creator representing thePeachBasket.

Los Angeles, CA — On November 25, 2025, The LA Clippers simply obtained dealt with 135–118 by the Lakers within the NBA Cup, and Ty Lue walked into the postgame press convention once more with that very same nonchalant, “we’ll determine it out” vitality he offers after each loss. No urgency, no spark, no fireplace — simply vibes and veteran minutes.

And with the Clippers sitting at 5–13, our bodies dropping week after week, rotations caught in 2019, and the youth amassing mud like outdated trophies we could by no means see so long as Ty is teaching the staff the way in which he’s… it’s time to ask the query all people is whispering:

Is Ty Lue truly teaching this staff — or is he simply managing a gaggle of veterans till the clock runs out? And for my readers — sure, I do know this one is loads. I haven’t written in a couple of cycles, so… right here we go.

LOSS TO THE LAKERS – THE BATTLE OF L.A.: RECEIPTS DON’T LIE

For practically a decade, the Clippers owned the Lakers. During the last ten years, they had been 27–13 towards them, and from 2012 into the early 2020s, the Clippers went on a dominant run that reshaped the town vitality fully.

However all of a sudden, the momentum flipped. The Lakers took the 2023–24 sequence 3–1. They did it once more in 2024–25. And this season, in 2025–26, they walked into the Intuit Dome and received 135–118. The Lakers have now crushed the Clippers 5 straight occasions.

That form of shift doesn’t “simply occur.” It occurred throughout Ty Lue’s tenure — beneath his preparation, his rotations, and his strategy. That’s teaching. That’s urgency. And that’s precisely what the Clippers don’t have.

THE TEAM IS NOT OLD — THE ROTATIONS MAKE THEM LOOK OLD

Individuals like to say the Clippers are outdated. However the reality is easier:

The minutes are outdated.

Kawhi performed 28 minutes, Collins 34, Zubac 37, Harden 37, and Kris Dunn 30 — your complete beginning unit carrying virtually the complete load. In the meantime, the precise youth — Cam Christie, Yannic, and Telfort — touched the court docket for less than two minutes every. Kobe Brown obtained 21 minutes solely as a result of our bodies had been lacking, and Kobe Sanders had 17.

CP3 performed 9 minutes as a result of at this level he’s mainly an on-court assistant coach. Batum had 22. You can’t develop anybody in two minutes. That’s not growth — that’s attendance.

This roster isn’t outdated. The teaching type is. And the youth? They’re amassing mud like outdated trophies we could by no means see, so long as Ty is teaching the staff the way in which he’s.

THE LAKERS LOOK MODERN — THE CLIPPERS LOOK STUCK

The Lakers performed with tempo, intent, and motion. Their younger gamers regarded assured as a result of their system makes room for them. Their vitality hit in waves — quick breaks, chopping, switching, attacking.

The Clippers didn’t match that vitality.

They regarded sluggish, reactive, and disconnected, nonetheless looking for rhythm whereas the Lakers had been already in full stride. The distinction uncovered all the pieces: one staff is constructing towards the longer term, whereas the opposite feels trapped inside outdated rotations.

You can’t beat a contemporary staff with an outdated strategy.

And that’s precisely what the Clippers try to do.

THE INJURIES REVEALED THE REAL PROBLEM

Let’s be sincere. Bradley Beal is out for the season with a fractured hip, however he was averaging 8.2 factors, not carrying the offense. Derrick Jones Jr. is out with a Grade 2 MCL sprain, however he wasn’t the engine you construct a system round.

If shedding two gamers with restricted manufacturing makes your complete staff collapse, it means one factor:

You by no means developed the gamers behind them.

And Ty didn’t.

When the vets go down, the construction falls aside as a result of there IS no construction — no growth pipeline, no next-man-up system, no youth able to step in. Simply overworked veterans and unused younger gamers watching from the sidelines.

JAMES HARDEN IS PLAYING LIKE A MAN TRYING TO SAVE A SINKING SHIP

And talking of overworked veterans — let’s discuss James Harden.

In his final 5 video games, Harden is averaging over 32 factors, round 7 assists, and taking part in 34+ minutes an evening — all at 36 years outdated. That’s not a participant chasing headlines. That’s a participant carrying a system that’s not constructed to help him.

That 55-point sport towards Charlotte wasn’t Harden exhibiting off. It wasn’t “classic Harden” for enjoyable. It was pure survival. He’s doing it as a result of no one else is stepping up, and the offensive system behind him is inconsistent and predictable. And right here’s the half individuals overlook:

Harden truly loves basketball.

Basketball is life to him. So he’s going to go on the market and do it regardless — drained legs, heavy minutes, beat-up roster, damaged rotations, confusion on each ends… he’s nonetheless going to lace up and provides all the pieces he has. However a 36-year-old shouldn’t have to pull a staff simply to maintain them aggressive.

That’s not technique. That’s not management. That’s desperation brought on by teaching. And the saddest half?

Harden shouldn’t should show he can nonetheless play at this stage. The system needs to be serving to him — not draining him.

THE TRUST ISSUE IS TY LUE — NOT THE PLAYERS

Ty loves to evangelise about “belief.” However concentrate: no participant ever brings that up. Solely Ty does. He’s not reminding them. He’s revealing himself.

Ty Lue doesn’t belief youth with the offense, the protection, the reads, the system, the minutes, or the errors. He trusts veterans as a result of that’s the place he feels protected as a coach. However consolation zones don’t win video games, and so they undoubtedly don’t construct a future.

THE CHRIS PAUL SLIP-UP

Throughout a postgame interview, Ty Lue was requested why Chris Paul hadn’t performed the final three video games. Ty stated CP3 was acquired understanding he wouldn’t play each sport and that he’d be “utilized for different causes.”

All people within the room heard the interpretation: CP3 is mainly teaching the staff. Not taking part in. Not growing on the ground. Teaching from the bench. As a result of Ty wants somebody to do participant growth for him — one thing he struggles with himself.

THE STRANGEST PART: HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHY THEY LOST — BUT NEVER PREVENTS IT

One of many wildest issues about Ty Lue is how he talks after video games. He comes out sounding like a basketball professor — breaking down each opposing participant’s tendencies, each motion, each mistake, each angle of how the sport slipped away.

And that’s cool… however when you knew all that earlier than the sport, why didn’t you put together your staff to cease it?

How will you know precisely what an opposing participant does after which allow them to do precisely that? How will you know the blueprint of your loss whereas nonetheless strolling straight into it?

A coach who can clarify losses however not stop them isn’t teaching — he’s narrating.

TY LUE’S BODY LANGUAGE IS THE BIGGEST RED FLAG

The vitality shift is apparent the second he walks right into a postgame.

Pressed. Heavy respiration. Slumped shoulders. Gradual sit-down. Drained eyes. Monotone solutions. Zero urgency.

That’s not regular management. That’s a coach checked out. And the staff displays it — sluggish, hesitant, disconnected, with no spark, no urgency, and no id. A staff mirrors its coach. The Clippers look precisely how Ty sounds.

FANS SEE IT — AND THEY’RE FED UP

This isn’t simply media chatter. Followers see it too.

They’re annoyed not solely with Ty Lue however with Frank Lawrence as properly — a lot {that a} petition is circulating calling for his elimination.

Petitions don’t occur when followers really feel hope. They occur when followers really feel unheard and ignored. And proper now, the Clippers tradition feels stale and disconnected, with no accountability in sight.

CAN THE CULTURE CHANGE IF THE COACH DOESN’T?

Ty Lue has to alter his habits for the tradition to shift.

However can he?

Is it too late?

Does he wish to?

Is he teaching like somebody able to be fired?

As a result of this sample seems like a coach who’s mentally checked out and a staff ready for somebody new. And the reality is: higher coaches exist. Coaches who develop gamers, modify mid-game, belief youth, construct programs, and create an id that lasts longer than one season.

This doesn’t should be the Clippers’ id. However it will likely be in the event that they hold the identical management in place.

THE HOLIDAY TEST: REFLECT OR REPEAT

With the vacations developing, that is the second to regroup and reset.

Two residence video games are coming — Memphis and Dallas — and each groups will expose any group missing urgency, course, accountability, or management.

The Clippers can not stroll into the Dome with the identical vitality. This homestand will reveal who they wish to be for the remainder of the season.