The Los Angeles Clippers landed James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in a midnight blockbuster earlier this week. Harden is reportedly targeting November 6th as his Clippers debut. Therefore, The Beard should be ready when the Clippers tip off their inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament later next week.

The Clippers are in West Group B for the NBA In-Season Tournament. They play their first game on November 10th against the Dallas Mavericks. The Clips then take on the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets four days later. On November 17th, they then face the lowly Houston Rockets. Los Angeles then closes out its NBA In-Season Tournament group play versus the New Orleans Pelicans on November 24th.

The introduction of the NBA In-Season Tournament is a way for the league to get more eyeballs in a rather dry part of the regular season. But it will be interesting to see how veteran teams with title aspirations like the Clippers treat the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Considering their circumstance, their schedule, and the teams in their group, the Los Angeles Clippers likely won't emerge as the last team standing in Las Vegas, where the winner of the 2023 In-Season Tournament will be crowned.

Why Clippers won't win the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament

With an injury-prone star duo and an aging roster that is looking to just stay healthy and intact by the postseason, will the Los Angeles Clippers be motivated to take a regular season trophy seriously? Perhaps their motivation, or lack thereof, is the main reason why Los Angeles won't win this tournament.

Sure, it's great that the NBA is introducing an In-Season Tournament that adds value to the regular season. But at the end of the day, all teams are vying for the big gold trophy in June. For the Clippers, they haven't won the Larry O'Brien trophy and would like to get one on their end of Los Angeles for once.

Focus is on the playoffs

The NBA championship has also always been the goal for the Clippers ever since they paired Paul George and Kawhi Leonard together in the summer of 2019. But each year, they have come up short of their goal mainly because the two just cannot stay healthy throughout the course of an entire playoff run.

Save for the 2020 Bubble Playoffs, where they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals, the Clippers dealt with injuries that prevented them a chance to even compete for a title.

2021 was likely their best chance, when Leonard was having one of those special playoff runs he showed before. However, the two-time NBA Finals MVP tore his ACL in their second round series against the Utah Jazz. Though they were able to get to the Western Conference Finals, missing Leonard proved to be too much for Los Angeles to overcome.

The Clippers missed the 2022 NBA Playoffs entirely due to Leonard being out the entire season. George also played just 31 games that year.

In 2023, George was sidelined to begin the playoffs. Leonard played just two games in their first round series against Phoenix before injuring his knee. The injuries to the two stars sent the Clippers home once again in the first round.

Leonard and George could become free agents next season, should both of them opt out of their respective player options. Many see this season as a last chance for the Clippers to win a title. If not, the two stars could go their separate ways and look elsewhere for the chance to win a ring.

Trading for Harden essentially gives the Clippers more insurance for Kawhi and PG13 to remain healthy by the postseason. As such, it doesn't make sense for them to go hard for a regular season trophy when their goal is to win that “Larry O-B” in June.

Integrating James Harden into the Clippers

Integrating James Harden into the offense is another reason why the Clippers won't win the NBA In-Season Tournament. Tyronn Lue may need to make a lot of tweaks to his offensive schemes with the arrival of a ball-dominant guard like the 2018 NBA MVP. Harden is someone who works best with the ball in his hands. That's whether he is creating for himself or for his teammates.

Harden's arrival will supplant someone in the starting lineup. He will also take away touches from everyone, even Leonard and George. Those things will take time and establishing chemistry and cohesion is one of the main functions of the regular season.

With that, the Clippers will need time to familiarize themselves with their new teammate. There could be an adjustment period on their part as roles get redefined and sorted out.