The Los Angeles Clippers became the laughingstock of the NBA when they proceeded to lose their first five games with James Harden on the roster. They even nearly lost a sixth consecutive outing with the Beard (and seventh overall) if not for an incredible shot from Harden in the clutch. Even during those struggles, however, the Clippers were adamant that once they figured things out, it will be scary for the rest of the association.

And scary, indeed, it has been for the NBA over the past month or so, with the veteran Clippers team getting into a groove. Following their 131-122 win over the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, they have now won 13 of their past 15 games. They have found a much better two-way balance and a much better allocation of touches, and now, they are humming, emerging as one of the best teams in the NBA.

Now, James Harden is calling out the doubters who were noisy during their acclimation period who have now returned to their bunkers, silenced by the Clippers' transformation.

“[Our struggles back in November] gave people so much to talk about in a negative way and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found. Which we knew that was going to happen,” Harden told reporters following the Clippers' win over the Suns, per Andrew Greif of LA Times.

A few factors have contributed to this turnaround for the Clippers. For one, James Harden has returned to being an All-NBA caliber player; he was insisting back in November that he needed some time to get back into game shape, and now that he is, he is playing his role as the team's primary offensive conductor to a T.

Russell Westbrook's move to the bench has done wonders as well; it has freed up Harden to be the primary ballhandler, it has allowed Terance Mann to enter the starting lineup as a glue guy, and Westbrook can now play more freely as the leader of the second unit. The addition of Daniel Theis has been instrumental as well.

The Clippers could very well add more depth by dangling PJ Tucker as trade bait. Whatever the case may be, the Clippers are instilling fear into the rest of the league, but they are flying under the radar — which may be exactly how they like it.