Despite the addition of James Harden, the Los Angeles Clippers had a slow start to the season. However, since then, the team has been able to turn things around drastically, currently standing on a four-game winning streak. A lot of that credit goes to The Beard who went on to call out the critics that bashed him and the Clippers initially.
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Recently, Harden spoke to the media, addressing the naysayers and the trolls who were quick to count the Clippers out. While talking to the media, Harden said, “Obviously it didn’t start off well. It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way. And now those people that was talking, they’re nowhere to be found. Like literally nowhere to be found.”
Now that Los Angeles has one of the best records in the West, the very same critics and trolls seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. And rightfully so, given the strides the Clippers are making in the league.
Initially, when Harden joined the squad, the team went on to lose five straight games. Those losses were enough for quite a few people to criticize Harden and the Clippers organization on social media.
But since then, the team made quite a few changes to the rotation, leading the Clippers to clinch the fourth spot in the Western Conference. The Clippers were also the first team on the verge of winning 10 straight games this season, before their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last matchup.
Now, the Los Angeles Clippers have won 13 out of the 15 games they have played, placing them in the number one spot in their division.
Was James Harden the missing piece of the puzzle for the Clippers?
At first, many were skeptical about the Los Angeles Clippers deriving any success after the addition of another star player who demanded the ball in his hands to be productive on the floor. But instead, the team’s star players managed to work out the kinks themselves.
One of the biggest moves that nudged the Clippers in the right direction was Russell Westbrook voluntarily moving to the bench. Brodie made the sacrifice in the hopes of the entire team’s betterment. And it paid off handsomely as the Clippers are now one of the best teams in the West.
Recently, Paul George too spoke highly of James Harden becoming the team’s primary ball handler and how much it has helped him on both ends of the floor. PG13 is a great defender but handling the ball on offense and scoring while defending the opposing team’s best player did take somewhat of a toll on him.
Now that Harden has become the team’s lead on moving the rock, George has the freedom to move freely on offense, especially without having to worry about creating opportunities on offense for himself or others while giving his best on the defensive end as well.
The Los Angeles Clippers seem to firing on all cylinders lately. The team ranks at the third spot in three-point percentage, fifth in field goal percentage, sixth in steals, and are at the seventh spot in free throw percentage. The Clippers are also among the top 10 total points per game as a whole.
But if you’ve seen LAC play lately, there hasn’t been any other team in the league that can contain them when all their stars are in the zone. Los Angeles currently has a 21-12 overall season record so far. Plus, the biggest blessing so far for the team has been no injuries to its key players.
If the Clippers continue performing at this pace, the team has a very good chance of making a very deep playoff run, let alone finishing the season by bagging one of the best seeds in the West.
