New arena, same Clippers. That seems to be the vibe as the Clippers are facing yet another season with Kawhi Leonard‘s health in question, leaving James Harden as the primary option. So the question becomes, can James Harden still be that guy for the Clippers?
Harden made basketball look easy when he joined the Houston Rockets and routinely scored 30, 40, and even 50 points.
His 2018-19 season was one for the ages: 57 games with 30+ points; 28 games with 40+ points; 9 games with 50+ points; 2 games with 60+ points; 34 double-doubles; 7 triple-doubles.
Harden’s style of play routinely gets a bad rap, with critics arguing he can't win playing this way. His Rockets though were routinely a top five team in the NBA, they just ran into the same problem every other team ran into during that time — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and the Golden State Warriors.
Since then, Harden decided he wanted to compete for championships and has made calculated decisions to try to be part of a few different super teams. His Brooklyn Nets team up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was a major bust — injuries, Covid and Kyrie drama got in their way of a title — and Harden was basically asked to be the number three option of that trio.
When Harden joined the Philadelphia 76ers, he was asked to be a number two option behind Joel Embiid, with a rising star in Tyrese Maxey right on his tail. Injuries also got in the way of a title in Philly.
When Harden first joined the Clippers, he was pairing up with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook — on paper potentially his most loaded super team yet. But my how things have changed.
Paul George is gone. Westbrook is gone. Kawhi is in rehab yet again, with his status for the season very much uncertain. So the Clippers are basically asking James Harden to come full circle in his career — it’s the Harden show all over again, and the Clippers are going to need that same Harden that broke basketball.
According to Harden, he’s still that guy: “I’m the same person. That was just me sacrificing to try to chase something that I haven't accomplished before. But I'm the same person.”
The Clippers better hope that James Harden is right about that. Otherwise it could be a very long season at the new Intuit Dome.
Follow Us
Subscribe
