There were some promising signs for James Harden in his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers after a lengthy trade saga. Harden was a composed figure at the point of attack, he didn't force too many shots, and if anything, he was a bit passive in hunting his own shot. Nevertheless, Harden's Clippers debut game did not go well at all for them as they ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, allowing plenty of second chance points, open threes, and coughing the ball up plenty of times en route to a 111-97 loss to the New York Knicks.

While this naturally drew some emotional fan reactions, particularly from Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers fans, the veteran Clippers team knows better than to sound the alarm bells this early into the process of integrating Harden into the roster. In fact, head coach Tyronn Lue continued to preach patience, imploring the Clippers not to panic especially when they saw some impressive displays from Harden despite his lengthy layoff.

“I'm not going to panic right now,” Lue told reporters in his postgame presser, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “[James Harden was] making the right play, making the right pass and pick-and-rolls, he was really good. It's going to take him a little time to get in game shape. We understand that, but his presence on the floor was definitely felt.”

James Harden wasn't an active participant for much of the Sixers' training camp as he tended to his sick mother in Houston and essentially put more pressure on the Philadelphia front office to trade him away. Thus, there indeed were moments that Harden looked gassed, and even then, he was able to play 31 minutes and tally 17 points and six assists in the process — quality numbers, all things considered.

If there's anyone who can make a talented roster full of superstars work, it's head coach Tyronn Lue. After all, he has had plenty of experience making it work for a veteran team, most notably for the Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the championship in 2016, so he has definitely earned the benefit of the doubt in this regard.