Amid the losses and questions, Bones Hyland sits in front of his locker with his headphones tucked over his ears, his phone in hand. Waiting.
He goes through warm-ups, drilling shot after shot, puts on his game jersey and takes a seat on the bench. Waiting.
Hyland watches as his teammates take the court and waits, waits some more for the nod from Coach Tyronn Lue to get into the game. It’s a signal that has become increasingly less and less forthcoming in recent weeks.
Hyland started the season playing significant minutes, posting a season-high 34 in a game against the Lakers. But after James Harden joined the team via trade on Oct. 31, the rangy young point guard has become somewhat obsolete. He has had six DNPs since Nov. 1, including one Monday in the Clippers’ 113-104 home loss to the Denver Nuggets, and his minutes have dipped from 24.5 to 16.3 in the Harden era.
In three games, Hyland stayed on the court for less than seven minutes and his scoring average went from 16.0 points per game in October to 6.0 per game in November.
His situation is not unlike his days with the Denver Nuggets, who drafted him in 2021. Hyland, 23, had hoped for a larger role in his second season but saw his minutes cut. That led to his trade to the Clippers last season for two second-round draft picks.
“Obviously everybody would be (bothered), especially for someone who wants to play like myself,” Hyland said. “But at the end of the day, sometimes the coaches see different things and maybe it’s not my time for a reason. Maybe it’s just something they are trying to figure out. So, it is what it is.”
Norman Powell, one of Hyland’s closest friends on the team, said he hasn’t seen any change in the young player’s attitude as he sits and waits for another chance.
“It’s natural to go within yourself and take yourself out of what’s going on,” Powell said. “You just have to know it’s nothing personal.”
Powell has been in a similar situation. In his second season with the Toronto Raptors, he found himself in and out of the rotation.
“It’s about being professional, understanding it’s about the team and it’s nothing personal about anything he’s done,” Powell said. “He’s played really well. He knows the team is looking at something different. It’s about being professional and continuing to get your work in and knowing that it’s a long season.
“The opportunity is going to come. It’s still early in the season. We haven’t even played 20 games. So, it’s being professional, doing your work and staying ready.”
Lue said he assured Hyland that he remains in the Clippers’ plans and that his opportunity will come again.
“He started out the season playing really well and then we acquired James and he’s had to be the one that sacrifices and loses minutes and loses playing time,” Lue said. “You have a good young talent like Bones and a guy who can score the basketball. He competes at a high level.”
There are worse things than seeing your minutes evaporate and your place in the rotation become null and void. Much worse. Just ask Hyland.
In 2018, Hyland, then a high school junior basketball standout, jumped from the second floor of his house to escape the flames. His grandmother and 11-month-old cousin died in the fire. Since then, Hyland has taken a glass-half-full approach to life.
“My whole life I try to stay positive, so I don’t let little things throw me off or change my attitude and stuff like that,” Hyland said. “At the end of the day, I always say I’ve been through worse.
“This is nothing.”
CLIPPERS AT KINGS
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento
TV/Radio: KTLA (Ch. 5), 570 AM