The Los Angeles Clippers continue to have a nightmare season with a 5-15 record. Kawhi Leonard’s previous injury time out hurt the team’s momentum. The Clippers fell apart during this time and still look weak despite the star returning to the court. Only one Western Conference team currently has a worse record to put them in a tough predicament.
Star guard James Harden made some interesting comments about the team having a “difficult situation” to play through right now. Phrases like this usually leads to more issues behind the scenes, but Harden made it clear he’s only talking about things being difficult on the court during actual games.
“Situation here is difficult,” Harden said to the media after Saturday’s loss to the Mavericks. “We’re not making shots offensively. Defensively, the game plan mistakes we allow to happen too many times. That’s one of the reasons why we lose games.”
The Clippers have been credited with having a great coach and front office to make this look even worse. Teams with high expectations losing this much and having players call out such mistakes prove there is something wrong right now with the Clippers from front to back.
Harden Was Upset After Brutal Loss
The reason for Harden’s comments wasn’t even the loss itself on Saturday, but it was who they lost against and how. The Dallas Mavericks did not have Anthony Davis on the court during the second half of a back-to-back. All betting sites made the Clippers the strong favorites since the Mavericks are one team that looks worse than them and is dealing with multiple injuries.
Los Angeles even looked like they had the game in control for the first half and most of the third quarter. Dallas making a big comeback with a hot finish made the Clippers look like jokes with a heartbreaking loss. Blowing a lead to another bad team missing some of their best players made Harden comment on this.
The belief of the former MVP is that the team is going through a difficult situation of not being able to score easy shots and making too many mental mistakes on defense. Harden has become more of a leader in Los Angeles than his previous teams to make this comment feel relevant.
Can Harden Help Clippers Fix Season?
One positive for the Clippers is that the Western Conference is not as deep as everyone expected. Last season saw the top eight teams all having records of 48-34 or better at a 58% winning percentage. Only five West teams are currently with a record of 58% or better to show more teams falling off.
The Clippers are currently just three games out of a play-in seed to show that still within a reach. A couple of hot weeks would put them into the play-in with a chance for the ideal sixth seed to guarantee a playoff spot. Leonard’s health and the team’s age issue harming their depth must both improve for ultimate success.
Harden is clearly the Clippers’ brightest spot this season and is on pace for another All-Star appearance. Averages of 27.7 points, 8.7 assists, and 5.9 rebounds make it one of Harden’s best starts to a season in many years. The Clippers will need more play like this from Harden to have any chance of success.
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