The NBA playoffs continued, and today the Clippers traveled to the Mavericks to take on the Mavericks, and they finally beat the Mavericks 116-111, Leonard was absent in this game, but George and Harden scored 33 points each to help the team win. In particular, Harden scored continuously through his individual ability in the final moments, and became the main contributor to the Clippers' ability to win today.
Obviously, the current Clippers team is very dependent on Harden, and after Leonard's absence today, the Clippers' style of play is simpler and clearer. On the offensive end, it was to put the ball in Harden's hands as much as possible, and Paul George played more off-ball today, and it seemed that the two men were very evenly distributed. And when Leonard is on the team, they have to give the ball to Leonard in addition, and Leonard's style of play also slows down the pace of the half-court offense, and it seems that Harden is more suitable to partner with a simple shooting guard.
Of course, Harden's touch outside the three-point line today is also the key to the Clippers' victory. In fact, Harden's shooting was very accurate throughout the series, and his three-point shooting rate reached 50%. Today, the Mavericks' defensive approach to defending Harden in the final moments was very extreme, that is, to let Harden break through. After the game, Kidd also talked about why they adopted this defensive style, and Kidd admitted that they were more afraid of letting Harden shoot threes.
And what kind of person is Harden? He once fought with the Warriors in the Finals to a tiebreaker, and he has experienced too many big playoff scenes in his career. He can take any defence in his stride. Since the other party chose to let him break through, Harden gladly accepted it. Today, in the final moments, Harden kept rushing to the basket and scored easily. And who noticed Tyronn Lue's actions on the sidelines in the final moments of the day? When Harden got the ball in the half, Tyronn Lue motioned for all the players of the Clippers to pull Harden away and let Harden play alone. Because Tyronn Lue seemed to let Harden choose to play alone at that time, but it was a more efficient offense. Because Harden's overall shooting percentage is very high today, which proves that he has entered his own personal offensive state.
So now the Clippers are technically playing more like a leader, more like a boss. It seems that Leonard and Paul George are more like his auxiliaries. In fact, when these three stars are partnered together, Harden is more capable of leadership, because Harden's passing ability is above the two of them in his career, so the ball is more suitable for his hands. The next thing that needs to be tested is how the three of them will integrate after Leonard's return, it seems that the current combination of Harden and George is extremely reasonable, but after Leonard's return, it will destroy the chemistry a little, I don't know what the fans think?