In an NBA game that ended today, the Clippers defeated the Pelicans 111-95, there was basically no suspense in the process, the Pelicans were more tenacious in the first quarter, and the Clippers were inseparable, but in the second quarter, Harden frequently assisted his teammates to score, and the Clippers instantly opened up the point difference, and the Clippers still had the upper hand in the third quarter, and the final quarter was reduced to garbage time. In terms of statistics, George had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist, Leonard had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, Ka Pepper combined to shoot 43+16+3, hammering the Pelicans, Harden had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 13 assists, Wei Shao had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and Zubac also contributed 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
The current Clippers are the pinnacle Rockets, and the Pelicans still have the strength to fight back in the first quarter, but Harden sent a few assists in the second quarter, and the Pelicans immediately couldn't stand it. We have to take a look at Harden's various operations, he first hit a three-pointer himself, and then fed Zubac an empty catch, not over, George hit two three-pointers in a row, all from Harden's assist, and then Mann hit three points again, the same Harden's pass, just these few rounds The Clippers played a wave, and the difference was widened. And in the third quarter, Harden also assisted Willis to shoot a three-pointer in the bottom corner.
With or without Harden, the Clippers are completely different teams, in other words, Harden's importance is no longer under Leonard, the two are indispensable, it can be clearly seen during the game, Harden's ability to control the rhythm is extremely strong, with him, the Clippers' offense is really smooth, Leonard can often get comfortable shots, George, Mann and Powell got a lot of vacant seats, Zubac ate cake and ate to support, and even Wei Shao benefited because of Harden. Speaking of which, you have to praise Wei Shao, when Deng Wei is on the court at the same time, it is still Harden who controls the ball, Wei Shao is not fighting, he would rather stand in the bottom corner to receive the ball, and will never steal Harden's ball.
On the other hand, when Harden is not on the court, the Clippers' offense is easy to stagnate, which is why we say that Harden's importance is not under Leonard, just imagine that the Clippers do not have a picture of Harden, and the opponent can arbitrarily wrap up the pepper, because although Wei Shao can also organize, his projection ability is a shortcoming, and it is easy to be empty by the opponent, and Harden does not have this problem, as long as the beard goes to that station, it is a huge threat. As Xu Jingyu said during the game: "Under the leadership of Harden's passing, the Clippers' entire team's combat potential has been fully activated, which is a height that the Clippers have not reached in recent years. ”
Leonard only made 15 shots today, obviously without power, and played haphazardly. George also changed his style, trying not to dribble and standing on the perimeter waiting for Harden to assist. Zubac became the new Cake Emperor and blocked Zion twice. In this game, the Clippers have strong firepower on the offensive end, in fact, the defensive end is also remarkable, the most obvious point is that the restriction of Zion is very successful, George and Leonard take turns to take care of it, and Zubac is in charge of the interior, Zion plays very hard, his killer weapon does not work, and when he rushes inside, he is either blocked or blocked, and as a result, Zion only got 12 points and 6 rebounds in 3 of 9 in the whole game.
The Clippers can get to this day, and it is important for Harden to gradually adapt, but the Clippers should be most grateful to Wei Shao, if Wei Shao did not take the initiative to play as a substitute, the Clippers may still be a mess now. In an interview after the game, Harden was also very moved when he talked about Wei Shao, and the beard said: "I didn't play well when I first came to the Clippers, and a lot of people looked down on me or the team verbally, Russell (Wei Shao) has been encouraging me, and he advised me to stay away from these voices and focus on the game," these words are very easy to understand, Harden thinks that Wei Shao has been helping him adapt to the Clippers, and I have to sigh that the relationship between the two is really good. Later, when talking about the Clippers' current five-game winning streak, Harden said: "We haven't quite figured out the offense yet, it's still far from what we need, and only one team can win the championship at the end of the day, but I'm going to keep trying to do that." ”
Harden's words made the 29 team unable to sit still, and the bearded man believes that the strength of the Clippers is far from reaching the ceiling, on the grounds that the offense has not yet been fully figured out, and it can be seen that although the team has won five consecutive wins, Harden is still dissatisfied with the team's performance. Since leaving the Rockets, Harden has played for the Nets and the 76ers for three years, the beard is nothing more than to pursue a better chance to win the championship, he doesn't want to go without a championship for life, unfortunately, the Nets and Duou broke up unhappily, the 76ers period, Harden and the management had an unhappy quarrel, coupled with Embiid's guard play, Harden can't see hope, he has to apply for a trade again, is it Harden's problem? The answer is no, it can only be said that the Nets and the 76ers have delayed the beard, and now joining the Clippers, this is probably the best chance for Harden to compete for the championship so far in his career.