By Mykell Mathieu
Many didn’t know what to expect after the Clippers traded for future hall of famer James Harden.
Would this move work right away? How much time will it take to get things right? Will the trade even work at all?
This are questions that were asked when the rumors of this trade started during the offseason.
With the Harden trade now a couple weeks behind us the team is still trying to figure things out.
The Clippers are 0-4 since Harden has suited up. In their latest game against the Memphis Grizzles which the team lost, 105-101, you saw a few positives.
“I saw some intriguing things but we just got to be better,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
Harden scored 11 points. He came off the bench to hitting a tying three pointer with 1:33 left but missed another in the closing seconds.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard said of his new teammate, “I think he’s being aggressive when he is getting the ball.”
Coach Lue thinks differently of Harden so far.
“He’s being too polite,” Lue said of Harden.
Since Harden has joined the Clippers he has compiled a negative plus/minus rating in each game he has played, starting with minus-18 in his Clippers debut against the New York Knicks, minus-15 at Brooklyn, and minus-6 at Dallas before dropping to minus-28 on Sunday.
“Hopefully very, very soon we’ll figure it out,” said Harden. “Trying to take advantage of opportunities and things like that. It’s an accumulation of everything — transition, defense, generating really good shots possession by possession and for me individually when I do get opportunities, being aggressive and making the right basketball play.”
Los Angles is looking to get back to the winning basketball that helped them win multiple games to start off the year
The Clippers will look to pick up their first victory with Harden on the roster tonight as they face-off against the defending champion, Denver Nuggets, for their second game of the In-Season Tournament.
