Los Angeles Clippers News and Rumors – Chemistry is Still an Issue in Clippers Locker Room

"It doesn't matter," Doc Rivers quipped when asked last Wednesday about chemistry issues in the Los Angeles Clippers locker room.

But chemistry does matter. It is more than banal concept aimed at giving false perceptions. Ask last year's Miami Heat, or the rebuilt Cleveland Cavaliers whose lofty expectations wane with every second LeBron James misses. Team comradery may not matter to Rivers, but it will deter the Clippers from reaching the NBA championship.

Los Angeles has gone just 7-7 since losing at Washington on Dec. 12. Six losses came to an opponent with a .500 winning percentage or better and each loss came by an average of 7.7 points. While this is a small window in what is an 82-game season, it's one that's seen Los Angeles feed on bottom dwellers and roll over to playoff contenders.

Atlanta coasted to a 107-98 win at Staples Center Monday night, dominating the second half by forcing 14 turnovers while holding Blake Griffin and Chris Paul to a combined 11 shot attempts. The surging Hawks shot 44.4 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers en route to their Eastern Conference-leading 26^th victory.

"Defensively, we have no presence right now," Paul said in speaking with the L.A. Times. "We're late on rotations. A lot of that is me trying to contain these guards on the ball off the ball. We've just got to be better all around." 25 turnovers and Atlanta's 13 steals were each season-highs for the Clippers.

It's easy to blame their meager 105.9 defensive rating, or the futility of any bench player not named Jamal Crawford. One could even blame the lack of rest between games- the Clippers only had consecutive days off once since Dec. 6. The underlying cause may not be as simple a diagnosis.

Buried in NBA.com writer David Aldridge's year-end wrap-up was this seed of skepticism surrounding the Clippers' struggles. "Is it personnel, or is it personal? Here's the unvarnished opinion of someone who knows the team well: 'They don't like each other.' FWIW."

Rivers' downplayed it. Paul scoffed at it. Even backup center Spencer Hawes chimed in, essentially saying every team goes through the motions. And it would be easy to ignore if the Clippers weren't clinging the Western Conference's sixth seed, ahead of defending champion San Antonio and the suddenly-competitive Phoenix Suns. They've stumbled from title to contender to a middle-of-the-pack squad without losing any key pieces.

No one is significantly injured. They still hold the league's third highest offensive rating (112.4). Where are the Clippers going wrong?

"I'm not getting into all of this [chemistry] stuff," Rivers said following a New Year's Eve win over New York. "I've had teams that have won that got along. I've had teams that have won that hadn't got along. That's why it doesn't matter. Really, it's so silly."

By all accounts, the Clippers do get along. During training camp players gloated about how close they had become. Most of the team attended Crawford's wedding in Seattle, and several participated in Matt Barnes' charity football game in Los Angeles. Then what to make of Aldridge's anonymous source, the one saying - in so many words- that there is turmoil in the Clippers' locker room?

Take it from Heat guard Dwyane Wade and his forgettable experience reaching the NBA Finals last year.

"It was great, you know, we went to the Finals four years in a row, and it was everything we wanted from that standpoint, but sometimes throughout that run, at certain times, it just wasn't fun," Wade told Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick. "Individually, it was great having certain relationships and having my best friend here with me, but all of us didn't have fun all the time." Wade went on to specify that being on the 2013-14 Heat wasn't fun and he was amazed they nearly won the championship.

The comparison between the Clippers and Heat is this: off-the-court friendships are one thing, but locker room chemistry is a whole different animal. Miami could get away with a few players resenting each other because they had three potential hall of famers in Wade, James, and Chris Bosh.

The Clippers don't have that luxury. They've got five impact players in Paul, Griffin, Crawford, J.J. Reddick, and DeAndre Jordan. Mediocrity follows. If these guys can't get on the same page, if Aldridge's source is suggesting any of these players don't like each other, then Los Angeles can't progress.

Rectifying this should matter to Rivers, whether he'll admit to it or not. Sure, they'll have to shore up their defense and give Paul and Griffin more opportunities late in games, but those are problems fixed on the floor. Chemistry is formed in the locker room and, for the Clippers, there's plenty of time to fix it.