Clippers HC Told Paul George He's Not a Glue Guy: 'You're a F--king Bad Motherf--ker'
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue encouraged star forward Paul George to be aggressive during a recent film session.
According to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, George said he was trying to be a "glue guy" amid the Clippers' recent struggles and focused primarily on trying to make defensive stops and grab rebounds during a 144-126 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
As a result, George finished with just eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, and Lue made it clear that he wanted PG-13 to be one of his alpha players, saying: "You're not a glue guy! You're a f--king bad motherf--ker!"
The Clippers are in the midst of a six-game slide that has dropped them to 3-7 on the season, including five straight losses since the acquisition of guard James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Although L.A. has lost twice more since the blowout against Dallas, George has turned in strong back-to-back individual performances.
In a four-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, George racked up 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, and he followed that up with arguably his best performance of the season.
Going up against the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, George scored 35 points on 13-of-26 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and only one turnover, plus he played a season-high 40 minutes.
The Clips narrowly fell 111-108 to the Nuggets, but they were perhaps able to take some positives away from the game.
In addition to George's excellent showing, Harden had his best showing as a member of the Clippers, registering 21 points, four assists and two rebounds.
The Clippers are a veteran-laden team led by George, Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook, plus they have an experienced coach in Lue with one NBA championship under his belt as a coach and two as a player.
Expectations for the Clippers were high entering the season, but at 3-7, they are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference.
L.A. undoubtedly has the talent and leadership to turn things around, and it is clear that Lue's opinions resonate with his players, as George has played far differently since the disaster against Dallas.
That may eventually start translating into wins. The Clippers' next chance to break their losing streak will come Friday when they host the Houston Rockets.
