Losers of three straight games, the Los Angeles Clippers are winless since trading for James Harden last week. But even after the defeat against the Nets on Friday, Harden refused to show any sign of panic. In fact, according to Harden, there’s no reason to worry until he gets a few more Clippers games under his belt.
“For me individually, this is only my third game,” said Harden. “I didn’t have a training camp, I didn’t have a preseason, so everything is still moving fast speed for me. I need about a 10-game window then kind of see where I am from there.”
The Clippers took a bit of a risk by disrupting their chemistry and giving up valuable rotation players for a guy who has flaked on three of his previous teams. Even so, they felt they had no choice but to trade for James given his interest in joining the franchise and the relatively low asking price that he was available for this summer. And while it was always going to be an adjustment to incorporate Harden into the lineup, nobody expected it to look this bad and there is some major uncertainty about where they go from here.
What’s Wrong With The Clippers?
On paper, the Clippers have one of the most stacked starting lineups in the entire NBA. Between Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, they have all the pieces necessary to be a historically great offensive team. Instead, the Clippers have yet to crack 100 points with James in the rotation and everybody looks completely lost.
The biggest issue for the Clips may be their new big four. With all of the top guys needing the ball in their hands, it’s a tough assignment to ask Harden, Kawhi, George, and Russ to sacrifice their shots in order to keep their teammates involved and it’s why they look completely disjointed when playing together. Additionally, the supporting cast is also a problem for this team. After being known as a deep team for years now, the Clippers gave up a sizeable portion of their depth to chase Harden, and giving up wings like Robert Covington and Nicolas Batum may be moves that they come to regret down the road. But with no way back, Los Angeles has no choice but to carry on and try like hell to make the pieces fit.
The Last Chance For Harden
With just a handful of Clippers games played so far, we have to give James more time to adjust before we write him off completely. When the Clippers first signed Westbrook, there were some major growing pains at first before things settled into shape. The Clippers are hoping for a similar trajectory with Harden, but it’s hard to tell how a player of his talent will influence the team.
But at this point, after abandoning so many teams, it falls on Harden to prove that he can still be a winning player and it’ll start with making some sacrifices for the Clippers. If he can adjust his game and find a way to maximize his talents around Kawhi and Paul Geoge, it could unlock a different version of this Clippers squad. Right now, however, it’s clear that the hard work has only just begun.
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