The Los Angeles Clippers have now lost all four of their games with James Harden after a 105-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. After the contest, Josiah Johnson shared a picture to perfectly illustrate how different the Clippers look on the court as compared to on paper.
Clippers offense with Harden on paper vs Clippers offense on the court pic.twitter.com/Z194qXuUvG
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 12, 2023
On paper, it does look great. You’ve got two former MVPs, Harden and Russell Westbrook, who have won scoring and assist titles. Add in two three-level scorers, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and you get an offense that should be quite hard to deal with, right? Well, not so far.
The Clippers’ offense has pretty much been stuck in quicksand after this trade. They have an offensive rating of 106.9 in their last four games, as per the NBA, which is flat-out terrible. For context, that would rank 28th in the league this season, and going back to 2022-23, it would be at the bottom.
Without a training camp under his belt, Harden has been pretty terrible while Westbrook, George, and Leonard have struggled to adjust to a change in their roles. It was always going to take time for them to figure things out, but I don’t think you’d have thought it’d be this bad. The only consolation is that they have time on their hands to steady the ship.
NBA Fans Reacted To The Picture
Johnson pretty much hit the nail on the head with that picture for this situation. It quickly went viral on X and NBA fans reacted to it.
One wants it hung in the Louvre.
Hang this in the Louvre. 😂😂😂
— Chris Brathwaite (@ChrisBrathw8) November 12, 2023
A fan said this is the worst superteam ever.
The worst superteam in existence.
— Bourne Supreme (@Bourneinstinct) November 13, 2023
Harden is about to destroy one more team, a fan thinks.
— ً11 (@holexplorer11) November 12, 2023
One said this deserves five mic drops.
This get 5 mics 🎤 🎤🎤🎤🎤
Certified classic.
— Old Hater (@Dellharp3) November 13, 2023
One fan felt this seemed like a bad idea on paper too.
Nah on paper it's bad too, we saw what Westbrook and Harden can do together in Houston…
— Jason Lincoln (@VinoFiIipino) November 12, 2023
There were certainly some concerns raised regarding the trade. The biggest one in terms of fit for me was Harden and Westbrook. They both seemed like good third stars alongside Leonard and George, but put them together and you have some problems.
They both need the ball to be effective and at this point, one has to go to the bench. Westbrook is certainly the one who would seem more likely to be willing to accept it, having done so for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23. While everything won’t be fixed with that one move, I think somewhat staggering their minutes would be a step in the right direction as the Clippers look to figure things out.
James Harden’s Rough Start With The Clippers
You’d have expected some rust from Harden as he had missed training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers and was on a new team, but I don’t think anyone thought it’d be this bad. The 34-year-old is averaging just 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.
In the loss to the Grizzlies, he had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, and shot 4-12 from the field. Harden’s lowlights from the Clippers’ loss to the Grizzlies even went viral, and that’s never a good sign.
All of this would be forgotten if he gets it together as the season goes on, but until that happens, Harden is going to get bombarded with criticism. So far, all of his doubters who thought this trade would be a terrible idea for the Clippers have been proven right.
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