There have been many pleasant surprises in the NBA this season. Not many fans had the Cleveland Cavaliers winning 64 games or the Pistons making the playoffs, for instance. Out West, few could have predicted that the Los Angeles Clippers would win 50 games after watching Paul George go to Philly, especially with Kawhi Leonard missing more than half the season. Ty Lue has gotten career-best contributions from Norm Powell, who just missed out on making his first All-Star team, and Ivica Zubac, who averaged 16.8 points per game while finishing fourth in the league in rebounding and field goal percentage, resulting in a nod for Most Improved Player.
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Nevertheless, L.A.’s second team has thrived, and they’ve been one of the hottest teams in the league for more than a month now, a fact that is only slightly dimmed by their come-from-ahead Game 1 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets to start the playoffs.
The heart of the team, though, has been James Harden, who is still going strong in his 16th season. Harden played 79 games this year, averaging 22.8 points, 8.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds while making everyone around him better.
Shannon Sharpe praised Harden’s performance, and his positive effect on his teammates, on yesterday’s episode of his Nightcap podcast. “He’s tremendous. He’s turned Zubac into a $100-million man,” Sharpe gushed. “You can’t say enough good things about James Harden.”
Zubac begins his three-year, $58.6 million extension next season, but Sharpe’s point remains. The big Croatian has made beautiful music with his famously bearded point guard, running the pick-and-roll to near-perfection while dominating most of the Western Conference’s other centers. As much as Harden has maximized Zubac, Ivica has enable James.
Zubac is also one of the few opponents that’s capable of making Nikola Jokic’s life difficult, which is something he’ll need to do if the Clippers hope to advance past the Nuggets and into the Western Conference semifinals.
The Clippers need to be taken seriously in the playoffs
Harden, Kawhi, and Zubac are not often mentioned by NBA fans when talking about the best “Big Threes” in the NBA, but they should be. Even though he’s missed so much time, Kawhi is finally healthy when it matters, and he can still D up with the best of them while also being able to take over a game with his scoring.
Harden put up a 32 points and 11 assists in Game 1, and he was the main reason the Clippers jumped out to a 15-point first-half lead. Between his step-back three, his ability to finish in traffic, and his extraordinary court vision and passing, he still has one of the deepest bags in the league. Things only got tough for the Clips when he got in foul trouble in the second half.
Zubac did what he’s done all season, shooting 10-15 from the floor on the way to 21 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. The big man is likely one of the most underrated players in the league, setting brick wall screens and finishing everything inside.
The Clippers will get another shot at stealing a game in Denver tonight. Fans can watch starting at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.
