The Los Angeles Clippers made a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire James Harden. In that trade the Clippers sent the 76ers, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, K.J. Martin, and lots of draft picks. The Clippers received James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrusev.
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James Harden has played in three games since becoming a Los Angeles Clipper. In his first game the Clippers were on the road against the New York Knicks. The game was nip and tuck through the first three quarters and then in the fourth quarter the Knicks pulled away. New York went on the win the game, 111-97. Harden had a good game especially considering that this was his first game of the season. He finished the game with 17 points and six assists. Harden was efficient from the field as well, shooting 6/9 from the floor and 2/4 from three point range.
Harden’s stats outside of his plus/minus, which was -18, were all good. The other players didn’t have their normal offensive outputs. This was probably caused by a combination of getting used to playing with each other and the Knicks defense. New York is only giving up 102.8 points per game. This is second best in the NBA.
Paul George was not good in that game. He shot 2/11 from the floor and 1/6 from three point range.
Is Brooklyn in the House?!
The Clippers stayed in New York as they took on the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are not expected to be good this season. So, going into this game fans expected the Clippers to have a bounce back game after their lost to the Knicks. That was not the case as the Nets outscored the Clippers in the second, third, and fourth quarters. Brooklyn defeated Los Angeles, 100-93.
Harden had a good game from an efficiency standpoint as he went 4/9 from the floor and 2/5 from three. He finished the game with 12 points, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers. Paul George had another subpar game as he shot 7/20 from the floor and 2/10 from three. Kawhi Leonard had 17 points on 7/16 shooting.
The Massacre By The Mavericks
The Clippers lost their third straight game last night as they were dominated by the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks outscored the Clippers, 47-18, in the second quarter. They were not able to climb back into the game after that. Dallas went on to win, 144-126.
James Harden had another efficient game as he went 3/6 from the field and 2/3 from three. This is a very low amount of shots for Harden who may be timid as he looks to build chemistry with his new teammates. The teammate that seems to be having the hardest time adjusting to the new lineup is Paul George.
In the three games George has played with Harden so far, he is averaging 14 points per game while shooting 27% from the floor and 17% from three.
This three game losing streak is not on James Harden as the team is trying to find their way but the whooping they received from the Dallas Mavericks has to be a wake up call. They can’t just walk into an arena with Harden, George, Leonard, and Russell Westbrook and think that’s enough. They are going to get every team’s best shot throughout the season. Clippers head coach Ty Lue needs to find a way for these stars to align in Los Angeles.
