The Clippers, stuck in the past era, have seen their sentiment lose all value.

Watching the Trail Blazers' game first and then the Clippers' makes it feel like basketball from two completely different eras. The Blazers play small-ball and fast, completing possessions in just a few seconds. If the Blazers represent the speed of the new era, then the Clippers embody the slow pace of the old era.

When Paul, DeAndre, Bogdanović, and Batum appear on the court, you can distinctly feel their rhythm is a step slower. Especially 40-year-old Paul, who has scored only 5 points in seven games this season, with a three-point shooting percentage of just 23.5%.

Of course, Paul doesn't get much playing time per game now, but Bogdanović’s condition is even worse. In four games, he averages 22.8 minutes but only 6.2 points, with shooting and three-point percentages both below 30%, which is disappointing for a player who has made a living with his shooting.

So in today's game against the Suns, Paul and Bogdanović were left out of the rotation. Even so, the Clippers remained slow, running their offense through Harden in set plays—first using screens to find mismatches, and if that fails, relying on Harden to create or feeding Zubac in the low post.

The Clippers’ offense always follows this fixed pattern; after a few possessions, you can predict their next move, making it easier to defend over time. After helping the Heat win, Powell said, “The Clippers run set plays every time, guiding teammates to specific spots to exploit mismatches; whereas the Heat’s system emphasizes natural flow, teamwork, and off-ball movement.”

After a heavy loss to the Suns last game, the Clippers adjusted their rotation today, benching Paul and Bogdanović, but the team still showed no improvement. In the first half, the entire team made an astonishing 1 of 14 three-point attempts, with Harden scoring the only three. The Suns took 10 more shots than the Clippers in the first half, quickly extending the lead within a few possessions.

The Clippers’ three-point shooting improved in the third quarter, but their rebounding remained poor. After three quarters, among the five starters, four had zero rebounds, with only Zubac grabbing 11 boards. Such extraordinary stats seem to happen only to the Clippers.

In the final quarter, Batum suddenly found his rhythm, hitting three consecutive threes and briefly bringing some suspense back to the game. But you can’t rely on Batum to reverse the outcome; Harden played the entire fourth quarter but went 0 for 4 from the field, scoring only from free throws after a technical foul, otherwise he would have been scoreless in the quarter.

Harden has been the best-performing Clipper since the season started, but today he played 40 minutes while injured, scoring 13 points and 13 assists on 4 of 15 shooting, which was not impressive. Leonard remains sidelined, with Tyronn Lue confirming he will miss more time.

So the Clippers losing to the Suns today was expected, even though Jalen Green left after only a few minutes. The Suns still showed much more energy than the Clippers. The only player on the Clippers who matched the Suns’ vitality throughout the game was Collins.

However, Collins has come off the bench all season. Even in the last game when Harden and Leonard were both out, Tyronn Lue surprisingly started Batum instead of promoting Collins to the starting lineup. I really can’t understand why Lue is so reluctant to start Collins.

During the offseason, trading Powell for Collins was widely seen as solving the Clippers’ biggest problem at the power forward spot, allowing Leonard to return to his natural small forward position. Yet Collins is not in the starting lineup, and Leonard still covers the power forward role when needed.

So what is the point of trading Powell for Collins? Is it just to deepen the bench? Collins and Zubac don’t have positional conflicts, and Collins can even stretch the floor with his three-point shooting, boasting a 47.4% three-point percentage this season and going 2 for 3 from beyond the arc today.

I no longer want to criticize Beverley’s poor play; at a salary of 5 million, it’s hard to expect more. The Clippers have too many problems now, and the four-game losing streak is just a concentrated reflection of those issues. Harden can erupt with scoring bursts but cannot maintain consistent output throughout the game.

After playing a few games this season, Leonard seems to have entered a stop-and-go phase again. As Harden’s burden increases, his own form only worsens. Harden can no longer carry a team by himself—this is the reality.

Tyronn Lue remains rigid in tactics and rotation adjustments, unwilling to use new players, while the veterans have lost all form. After four consecutive losses, the Clippers are now 3-6, dropping to 13th in the Western Conference, only ahead of the Mavericks (3-7) and Pelicans (2-7).

This Clippers team ranks 28th in average points per game, 24th in assists, 19th in rebounds, and 27th in fast break points. They are aging and slow-footed, yet the team actually has athleticism and energy—it’s just that Tyronn Lue refuses to utilize it.

During the offseason, nearly everyone mentioned the Clippers’ age as a concern, but no one expected such a rapid collapse. Paul, Bogdanović, DeAndre, and even Batum, who played well today, all seem out of touch with the modern era.

The Clippers have an average age of 33.2 years, making them the oldest team in history. The "sunset tragedy" once seen with the Lakers now appears to be repeating with the Clippers.

In the face of harsh reality, the veterans’ sentiment has become worthless.