The Clippers beat the Pacers 151-127 and recently moved up to sixth in the West. There's no doubt that having James Harden will have that effect. Because in the regular season, Harden has always been not bad. Whether it's with the Rockets, or the Nets, or Philadelphia, Harden can help get better there. And the reason why Harden can make the team better is because he can always activate role players. With the Clippers, he solved the team's toughest problems.
Before Harden joined the Clippers, some fans bluntly said that if Harden could feed Zubac out, they would be convinced. Because Zubac is a well-known butter player for the Clippers, his style of play is weak. If you want to feed Zubac, it will always be more difficult than Capela's. But the results are amazing, although Zubac still spit out some of the pie that Harden fed into his mouth, but the overall evolution has been completed, and at least 8 consecutive wins have been played.
In this game, Zubac was full on both offensive and defensive ends, he shot 7 of 10, 4 of 5 free throws, and cut a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds, plus 3 assists and 3 blocks, with a plus/minus of +27 that can be described as an All-Star level inside. Obviously, Harden slapped the outside world in the face again, and he is indeed good enough at feeding the big man. Back then, a rough brother like Capela could eat and drink in the hands of Harden, and finally signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Rockets, which was a top-level contract at the time.
Of course, Harden didn't just feed Capela, he and Zhao Si Claxton also cooperated tacitly when he was in the Nets, and the latter also took off directly. In the case of Zhao Si's injury, Harden fed the substitute big man Sharpe until he vomited. At that time, the Nets Big Three played a game against the Bulls, and Harden really fed Sharpe until he vomited. So every time Harden leaves the team, the most reluctant to him is often a role player, because there is really money to be made by following Harden. Just like when Capela and Harden worked together, they had records and statistics, and now they are getting worse and worse with the Hawks.
The two biggest problems for the Clippers in the past;
First: The team lacks a playmaker, although Wei Shao is okay, but the outside projection is not good, and it is easy to get on the head, and the shooting rate is not high. There is no qualified point guard who has a brain and can project without dead ends, and Ka Pepper can't break the bag. This inadvertently made Leonard and George fight like headless flies, and the two of them could not exert their full power.
Second: the weakness of the interior line, which is also something that Clippers fans have been complaining about, and Zubac has not been scolded less.
But with the addition of Harden, it seems that the Clippers problem has been solved. Leonard now just needs to find an opportunity, Harden can get the ball over, and George doesn't need to hold the ball to break the press. Of course, it is also good for Harden, Cayenne basically faces the opponent's strongest offensive point, it can be said that both offensive and defensive ends take away the strong points for Harden, and the rest of the points Harden can eat as much as he wants, so the Big Three belong to mutual promotion. But the most exciting thing is that the inside issue has been solved, and Zubac is now playing like Gasol Jr., a template that people gave him when he first entered the league. Maybe Zubac can also get a 90 million contract in the future. As Zubac said after the game, he has never faced a passer like Harden in the past five years.