As predicted, James Harden’s Los Angeles Clippers debut went horribly wrong. The Clippers’ defense was dated, sluggish, and unathletic in a 14-point defeat to the New York Knicks, while they ended with more turnovers than assists. Harden has only played two games for the Clippers, and he’s already being blamed for everything that is going wrong.
With James Harden in their starting lineup, the Clippers have already dropped their past two games. A subpar Brooklyn Nets squad defeated Kawhi Leonard and company 100-93. A post that was shared on X by Clutchpoints showed how the Clippers are averaging just 95 points per game with Harden, in contrast to 121.4 points through their first five games.
Prior to trading for James Harden, the Clippers were averaging 121.4 points through their first 5 games.
They’ve averaged 95 points through 2 games with Harden 👀 pic.twitter.com/FMw1C7tRzk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 10, 2023
“Destroying yet another franchise,” wrote an annoyed fan. The Clippers are Harden’s fifth team he’s playing with, and except for the Houston Rockets, he has not been very successful with any other team. His performance for the Los Angeles Clippers might be too soon to judge, but by the looks of it, it does not seem to be getting any better.
Harden needs to restore his image after the controversy in Philadelphia, but at this stage of his career, that’s nothing new. The Clippers, who have the oldest squad in the NBA at 34 and are Harden’s fifth franchise, might be facing an early end to their title run.
James Harden made 29 points in his first two games
James Harden and the Clippers have suffered back-to-back losses, and agony has followed. In less than thirty minutes, Harden scored seventeen points in his first game against the New York Knicks. He then returned to the Nets and scored twelve points. Even in his second game with the new squad, James Harden was unable to provide much.
The second defeat for the Los Angeles Clippers under James Harden even caused some nervousness and problems for head coach Tyronn Lue. James Harden just managed 12 points in the Clippers’ second game. Russell Westbrook, his teammate, had a difficult time scoring points and ended the game with just 13 points.
The MVP pair and the rest of the Clippers team have been extremely reckless with the ball, aside from their lackluster performance on the night. Optimistically for the Clippers fans, they have plenty of time to establish chemistry and discover the ideal rotations. The Clippers’ next game is a Friday night matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA In-Season Tournament, which is intended to provide teams a chance to win a trophy before the season ends.