The Clippers are in good shape, winning 6 of the last 7 games, but these victories don't seem to have much to do with him, even if they play an excellent record, the Clippers are basically in the top four positions in the West, but his state is still not flattering, this column will talk about James Harden.
In the last 10 games, he only scored 20+ points twice, and Harden's offensive threat was greatly reduced
Although he scored 22 points and 5 assists against the Cavaliers, in the last ten games, Harden only scored 20+ points a total of 2 times, and this game was his highest score in a single game in the past month and a half. Even if the Clippers narrowly won with George's stunner, but because they were behind more players in the last quarter, the Clippers directly hid Harden, but they didn't expect a wave to complete the reversal. This is very reminiscent of Game 6 of the second round of the 2015 playoffs, when the Rockets also abandoned Harden in the final quarter, only to reverse the Clippers and eventually eliminate the opponent.
Although the outside world knows that Harden has passed his prime, it is surprising that he has fallen so quickly. After all, Harden was still the outside core of the 76ers last season, and he still has an All-Star level in the face of the Green Army who saved the team twice. But now Harden is completely lost, and a series of recent sluggish performances have caused Harden to average only 16.7 points per game this season, only higher than the first two years of his career as a bench.
The sadness of holding the ball, the function on the field is too simple
Harden was able to solve problems with super individual ability in his prime, and as he grew older and accumulated injuries, Harden seemed to struggle more and more, which is also the sadness of the ball-holding core. Obviously, Harden and the Clippers are not so compatible, both sides have their own problems, from Harden's point of view, first of all, he is 34 years old, and since the hamstring strain, it is inevitable that his form will fluctuate or even decline. Secondly, Harden is not self-disciplined enough, he has the nickname "Nightclub Deng" many years ago, and he has also been absent from training and caused his body to be out of shape, which naturally affects his state. In the end, Harden was not used to playing an off-ball role, and rarely ran in the air during his prime, and now he has reduced possession and his form has declined, and he looks very lost for a while.
Of course, it is not appropriate to put the blame on Harden, the whole team of the Clippers lacks cooperation, Leonard and George are of course outstanding in individual ability, but they are not good at organizing tandem, and the lack of tactics makes the whole team fight separately, the Clippers rank 21st in the league in assists per game, and the assist rate is even more dismal, ranking 23rd in the league. During Harden's time with the 76ers, he still had Embiid to contain and attract the defense, and now he is on the Clippers, surrounded by blue-collar workers like Zubac and Theis, and it is good to be able to eat cake steadily.
The organizational skills are still top-notch, and the two figures are quite impressive
Even if Harden is seriously degraded, he is not without merit, and his playmaking skills are still among the top in the league. Harden is averaging 8.6 assists per game this season, ranking fourth in the league, and if you look at the assist-to-turnover ratio, Harden is better than Doncic and Jokic, second only to Haliburton, who is known for his steady calmness. On the other hand, when Harden double-doubles in assists, the Clippers are 23-4 this season, and the winning rate can reach 85%.
So if Harden is asked to play an average of 30+10 per game at his peak with a supergiant and a top-paid player, then he is really not qualified now. But as a three-man and a qualified point guard, Harden is always more than enough, and because of his presence, Leonard and George can focus on scoring, and the next thing is up to the Clippers coaching staff to improve chemistry and maximize their strength.