Can the Clippers keep up their stellar play?
The Clippers have been rolling as of late having won seven straight games and 12 of their last 15 contests.
Upon James Harden’s arrival, expectations were unfairly high right off the bat. After starting 0-5 with Harden, many were quick to dump on the Clippers as a failed experiment. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was never worried, though.
“We lost six games in a row but I still felt really good about this team,” Lue said after a recent game against the Warriors.
In terms of starting to figure out roles for everyone on the team, Lue talked about how this was exactly how he pictured it would be like when they acquired Harden.
“This is exactly what I envisioned. Just how we should play, how we can play. The biggest thing is PG [Paul George], Kawhi [Leonard], and James making each other better on a night-to-night basis. We understand they’re three future Hall-of-Famers, along with Russ. It’s gonna be a different guy every night, depending on how teams are playing us, what teams are willing to take away.”
Before getting overly excited about the Clippers’ future, there are several key questions that need positive answers, though.
Can James Harden and Kawhi Leonard maintain this level of play?
Say what you want about Harden, but he’s been on a tear along with Leonard. Over the past 10 games, Harden is averaging 18.1 ppg, 8.6 assists, 4.5 assists, on a 68.5 true shooting percentage with a net rating of +16.4 while he is on the floor.
Leonard on the other hand has been putting up one of the best stretches of his career. In his last 10 games, he is averaging 29.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, on a scorching 71.2 true shooting percentage.
It’s literally pick your poison for opponents. Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown broke it down recently about guarding the stars.
“Just knowing that’s James [Harden], that puts a little bit more sense of urgency into it,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said about guarding Clippers. “So you’re not as willing to go double or be as aggressive as you need to be when you go double those two guys [Kawhi and Paul] because you know James is sitting there. And then, when you do go double, you’re starting to pre-rotate to get to James, and then that skip pass goes to somebody else, and they’re a little bit more open, because you’re trying to take away from James.”
In the following play, Leonard sets a quick screen to get Brandon Podziemski to switch onto Harden, while Leonard slides a bit over to get a pick-and-pop three. Upon the screen, Harden had the rookie and Jonathan Kuminga just focused long enough on him, while Leonard shifts a bit to the side for an open three.
Can Russell Westbrook and James Harden co-exist?
The Beard and the Brodie, who went to high schools just 20 miles from each other, are two of the highest-usage players in NBA history. It is difficult to figure out if Lue can actually play them together while being effective. Westbrook tried that with the Lakers and LeBron James. Look how that turned out.
Through 18 games, the Westbrook-Harden tandem is -44 in 206 total minutes. It’s a small sample size, but it’s not looking too great.
“We have two guys that can create for other players,” Lue said. “They do it in different ways. Russ does it more with his speed, able to attack the basket in transition, making plays, but also being able to post up and taking advantage of smaller guards. And make plays for himself and for guys on the perimeter.
James is moreso just in the pick and roll. Being able to make plays, get downhill, making the right play to Zu, Theis, or shooters on the wing. Our closeout rate has been the best it’s ever been since I’ve been here, as far as James creating shots, and closing opportunities for our team.”
Westbrook minutes have dropped below 20 minutes in the month of December. It’s obviously not ideal for him personally, but the team has not lost this month, so there’s no reason to change anything for now.
Even though Harden has slowed down with his ability to blow by players, he still manages to put up a whopping 1.46 points per play on isolation plays in 20 games.
Can the stars keep making sacrifices?
The team was all out of sorts in Harden’s first five games, struggling to find out where everyone would be on the court. Westbrook, Harden, George, and Leonard started those games together, with both the eye test and numbers agreeing on how inefficient it is.
Those four have only seen the floor at the same time together for 12 total minutes with a net rating of -10.7.
In a lot of instances of championship teams, they can pinpoint certain points in their seasons where certain players made sacrifices to help the greater good of the team.
The Clippers seemed to find their moment on November 17. With the struggles and pressure mounting, Westbrook reportedly volunteered to be moved to the bench. Since then, the Clippers have been on a tear, going 11-3 up till now.
“We got three guys in the starting lineup that have to make each other better,” Lue said after a recent game against the Knicks. “Like tonight James [took] six shots, Kawhi 12 of 16 had it going, PG 11 of 18 had it going. So James got to make the right plays, the right reads. That’s what they have to understand, and that’s the sacrifice they’re going to have to make if we wanna be good.”
Harden surpassed the 25,000 career point mark recently and seemingly sort of scoffed when asked about his thoughts on that individual record. He said that he could care less about personal records, and instead wanted to focus more about getting as many wins as they could.
His teammate Leonard had similar sentiments.
“If you want to put it in numbers-wise,” Leonard responded when asked about his recent hot stretch. “I’m more focused on something bigger than just this stretch.”
The unity of all these stars willing to put aside their individual accolades and be ready to work together to get to the ultimate goal of winning a championship will be key for their success the rest of the season.
Can T-Mann step up?
Terence Mann‘s role is going to be pivotal as a glue guy with the athleticism this team mostly lacks.
When Mann is knocking down shots at a consistent rate, that unlocks another level to the Clippers’ offense. However, his shooting has to improve. As of now he is 8-for-45 (17.8 percent) on catch-and-shoot threes.
“At this point, I think TMann is a little in his head about shooting the three,” Paul George said recently. “I know he’s not off to the best start percentage-wise behind the line. The best way to get through that is to keep shooting.”
Mentally, Mann does seem to be second guessing himself. Watch his hesitation on shooting a wide-open three here:
Mann has never been a knockdown shooter, but he hasn’t been atrocious for his career. His coach doesn’t seem worried, pointing to the fact he hasn’t quite caught a rhythm yet being hurt earlier in the season.
“T-Mann’s a career 39 percent three-point shooter,” Lue said. “We understand he’s going to make shots. What he brings for us defensively, being able to guard the best player every night, allowing PG and Kawhi to get going later on in the game is huge for us. So, we’re not really worried about TMann’s shooting. He’s going to make shots.”
