The Los Angeles Clippers, amid all the hype surrounding them following their acquisition of James Harden, fell flat on their faces in The Beard's debut for LA on Monday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Clippers failed to get into much of an offensive rhythm, with Paul George being one of the biggest culprits behind their uneven display for much of the night en route to a 111-97 defeat to the Knicks.

George, who has been on fire to begin the year, came crashing right down to earth. The Clippers star forward shot a putrid 2-11 from the field for a total of 10 points, and he also coughed the ball up four times to pile on what was a nightmare outing for the veteran two-way wing.

Nevertheless, Paul George, in his postgame presser, vowed that the Clippers will be able to integrate James Harden in a more seamless manner as the season goes on. After all, not only are they quite the talented bunch, they still have the luxury of time, as they have 76 regular season games left to play.

“When it comes down to the talent aspect, this is one of the [most] talented teams I've played for. We'll figure it out. First game. A lot of moving pieces, but it was fun. Playing on the court with those guys was fun and a lot of optimism going forward,” George said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

However, the Clippers may have to look into getting more frontcourt depth; as talented as their core four of Paul George, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook may be, not to mention high-level role players such as Norman Powell, Bones Hyland, and PJ Tucker, they may not survive the season with only Ivica Zubac as their solid piece at the center position. Mason Plumlee needed to be carted off the court against the Knicks on Monday, which forced Moussa Diabate into some minutes that he may not be prepared for just yet.

But with a collective goal of winning a championship in mind, it should only be a matter of time before the Clippers unlock a winning combination, loss to the Knicks in Harden's debut game notwithstanding.