The Los Angeles Clippers presumed starting lineup after trading away four players for James Harden has been revealed.
The Clippers will start Russell Westbrook at the point, with Harden as the shooting guard. The forward pair will be Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, while Ivica Zubac is expected to continue starting at center for the franchise.
“New Clippers star James Harden will debut on Monday vs. the Knicks at Madison Square Garden – and the team is expected to start Russell Westbrook, Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac moving forward.”
New Clippers star James Harden will debut on Monday vs. the Knicks at Madison Square Garden – and the team is expected to start Russell Westbrook, Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac moving forward, sources tell me and @LawMurrayTheNU.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 5, 2023
This means the Clippers will have a bench lineup of Bones Hyland, Norman Powell, Terance Mann, P.J. Tucker, and Mason Plumlee. The roster is rounded out with Kobe Brown, Amir Coffey, and Brandon Boston Jr, with Moussa Diabate, Jordan Miller, and Josh Primo on two-way contracts.
The Clippers have one of the most competitive starting fives in the NBA, with good balance on the bench. They’re heavily loaded at the guard spot, with Westbrook, Harden, Bones, and Mann all capable of playing in the position. However, it seems Mann will end up getting a lot of minutes at the two-guard or forward position with Harden and Westbrook monopolizing point guard minutes and Bones not being versatile enough to play other positions like Mann.
Should Russell Westbrook Come Off The Bench?
Russell Westbrook and the bench have had an interesting relationship over the last two seasons, with Westbrook resisting being moved to the bench with the Lakers. He ultimately accepted a sixth-man role last season but wasn’t happy with it. After earning a starting spot on the Clippers with his playoff heroics in 2023, the Clippers cannot justify benching Westbrook when he also made a financial sacrifice to re-sign with the Clippers for cheap.
He’s averaging 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists to start the season on 51.6% shooting efficiency. There’s no reason to claim Westbrook needs to be benched, especially with the team already trusting Norman Powell to be their sixth-man spark plug.
Harden is one of the best point guards in the league, so making him play off-ball in a more scoring role could hurt the franchise. Harden will have enough touches to still average seven or eight assists, but this is the man who’s effortlessly led the league in assists for two of the last three seasons. Making him sacrifice would be counter-intuitive, but this trade happening so early in the season means the Clippers have plenty of time to adjust.
If Harden can bring the scoring gravity we know he has, the lives of everyone on the Clippers are about to become easy. Westbrook has proven his utility as a half-court creator, sharing those responsibilities with Harden now. The pair of them are going to set up a lot of good and easy baskets for the Clippers players. Hopefully, their relationship doesn’t combust over the share of responsibility.
We’ll see this new-look Clippers team in action against the Knicks on Monday, with Harden making his debut for the franchise.
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