Gilbert Arenas recently made an interesting and slightly controversial take on the Los Angeles Clippers. Agent Zero, took to his podcast, Gil’s Arena, to talk about the newly constructed Los Angeles Clippers team as they laced up against the Knicks for their first time together. The Clippers recently added James Harden and PJ Tucker to the lineup, and on paper, the Clippers look stacked.
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Arenas, who also thinks similarly, had choice words for the team. Talking about the Clippers, Arenas said, “Who else are you going to take? From the 70’s 80’s all the way until 99′-2000, it was all like defense. You were trying to stack your team defensively. You didn’t really focus on offense. When your thinking about offensive players, there is rarely 3 players that average 20 points, that was rare. Now you got four. Kawhi might be the weakest scorer out of the 4. That says a lot.”
Are the Clippers the best offensive team EVER on paper?
Gil thinks so. pic.twitter.com/lurLW597DF
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) November 6, 2023
Arenas calling the Clippers the greatest offensive team on paper wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Looking at just scoring averages, leaving Kareem, Wilt, MJ, and Karl Malone, not a lot of players averaged insane numbers before the 2000s. But to have four franchise players, known for their scoring, on one team is unheard of. Not only does the team have two former MVPs in James Harden and Russel Westbrook, but also has Kawhi, a two-time finals MVP. James Harden is also a three-time scoring champ, making him possibly the most skilled offensive player on the squad.
Clippers surprisingly fall to the Knicks
James Harden, who was recently added to the squad, made his debut for the Clippers, in their recent game against the Knicks. Even though the Clippers fell to the Knicks with a final score of 111-97, James had a decent debut. Harden put up 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists for the night. With many concerned about Harden’s conditioning, it was surprising to see Harden this game-ready. Another issue that many had pointed out was Westbrook and Harden playing together, which, since Harden’s debut, has been put to rest, as Westbrook had an impressive 17-point night himself.
Even though the team is far from perfect, Paul George seems to be excited to play alongside Harden. Talking about the same on his podcast, Podcast with P, Paul said, “ You just forget, he is a bucket. He made it look so easy….Thats crazy adding that to this team now. He can make the plays. I haven’t seen us throw that many lobs since I’ve been here. When he was playing it was just like… Lobby. It was Lobby. He made it look so easy. ”
With the addition of James Harden, the Clippers on paper, should have a better chance. Not only do the Clips now have four- primary scorers who they can choose from, but they also have three players who can guard their positions well. Even though most superteams after the Golden State era have been failures, this might just work, as leaving Kawhi, none of the star players on the squad have won any rings yet. Just like Chris Paul on the Warriors, everyone on the Clippers is ready to win ‘now.’