Ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers were projected to be among the upper echelon of Western Conference contenders. Now, 20 games into the season, they are near the bottom of the conference. While many doubt whether the Clippers can turn their season around, James Harden has a straightforward response to the uphill battle the team faces.
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Last year, the Clippers had quite an impressive regular season. Despite Paul George leaving for nothing in free agency, they still managed a 50-32 record. They intended to compete for a deep postseason run, but suffered a devastating Game 7 loss in the first round. In the offseason, the organization responded by adding a few notable names.
The Clippers brought in Bradley Beal, John Collins, Brook Lopez and Chris Paul in hopes of building a true contender. On paper, the roster construction seemed good, but it turns out their flaws are too great to cover.
Los Angeles led by as much as 10 points against a struggling Dallas Mavericks team without Anthony Davis. It appeared they would have a clear runway to a much-needed win. Instead, they suffered a huge collapse thanks to a career-high 35 points from Cooper Flagg.
James Harden did what he could, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds. Following the game, media personnel asked Harden a question regarding salvaging the team’s season. The 11-time All-Star provided quite an honest answer.
“What other choice we got?” Harden said. “We’ll see.”
The former MVP kept his answers brief but was clearly irritated during his media availability. One reporter asked Harden about the challenges that have sprung due to relying on players they didn’t expect to rely on. His answer consisted of a huge eye roll, followed by one word, “Challenging.”
This is far from the ideal situation the Clippers could be in. It doesn’t make it any better, considering their head coach, Ty Lue, doesn’t have any next steps the team could take from this point on.
“We’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ll keep trying. There’s no next step right now,” Lue said.
The Clippers will need to turn things around and do it soon. The entire NBA world should be hoping for the same because the Oklahoma City Thunder their first-round pick. If losses continue at this rate, the Thunder could acquire another lottery pick which would make it a less than desirable situation for the rest of the league.
