Vinny Del Negro and the L.A. Clippers: Breaking Down the Collapse

Just a little over a month ago the Los Angeles Clippers led the Pacific Division and were a season-high 10 games over the .500 mark.

In the month since, the Clippers have shown that they aren't ready to take over Los Angeles just yet. Winners of only seven of their past 19 games, the Clippers now sit three games behind their crosstown rivals in the Pacific.

Even more unthinkable a month ago is that the Clippers could miss the playoffs altogether, but that's now a possibility, as they are only one game away from being on the outside looking in.

Their complete collapse ultimately may now cost head coach Vinny Del Negro his job.

What's the problem for the Clippers?

Maybe they just aren't that good.

After the Chris Paul acquisition, the Clippers were put on a pedestal far too early. They got off to a good 22-13 start to the season but since then have proven to be nothing more than an average team.

After the good start to the season, the Chauncey Billups injury really hurt this team. They were able to get by for a while, but the lack of quality depth hurt this team. Only three players—Paul, Blake Griffin and Mo Williams—are having good seasons, and quite frankly, you never know what you're going to get from the rest of the cast.

Often it's not good.

Del Negro is taking much of the heat for the recent struggles, and while his simple schemes seem predictable at times, he's not entirely to blame. But despite reports from ESPN's Chris Broussard that Del Negro has lost the team, it looks like the players still have his back.

Griffin told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times the following after last night's 97-90 loss to the New Orleans Hornets:

"

We're still behind him. ... It's not that. It's us. It's on me. I've got to find a way and we've got to find a way to put the fun back in it, the fun we had the first how many games and we were just going out and playing.

"

There's also the fact that they don't do anything exceptionally well as a team. They rank in the middle of the pack in the NBA in scoring, rebounds, assists and points allowed. They can't rely on any one part of their game to pull them out of a funk on a nightly basis.

But the most important reason for the Clippers' collapse is effort—they don't give any. They're a soft team that doesn't play hard every night, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

It is foolish to think that the forever horrible Clippers would suddenly become title contenders over night. They have to grow as a team, which takes some time.

Right now they are in the middle of a free fall, and if they don't figure something out soon, they could be going home much earlier this year than anyone would have thought.