James Harden’s Clippers Nightmare Continues as Shorthanded Grizzlies Prevail – 3 Takeaways From LA’s Humiliation Despite JJJ Disaster

The LA Clippers could not be in a much worse situation than they are in right now. Their 2023 regular season has been one long stretch of misfortunes. Of the nine games played, they have just three wins. The addition of James Harden to the roster has not been helpful as the team has lost their last five consecutive games. This includes the four games since his joining.

Their tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies was a continuation of this string of bad performances from everybody on the team. Despite maintaining a lead for the most part of the game, they still failed to wrap it up with a win.  and failed to take home a win. They lost 101-105 against the Grizzlies, who weren’t even at their best. So, what went wrong for the Clippers? Here are our three takeaways from the game.

1. Harden is yet to prove his worth

The shooting guard made his debut with LA on November 6th against the New York Knicks. Since then, he has been averaging just 14 points with 5.3 rebounds. Against the Grizzlies, he put up a sorry 11 points with four rebounds and three assists while playing 29 minutes. If this dismal performance continues, his legacy as one of the best in the league will be put into question after his continuous trade dramas for the past few seasons.

2. The ripple effect on Clippers’ trio

Harden’s poor performance has put a dent in the productivity of Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook. Pre-Harden, the team had three wins from the five games they played. But now, they have lost all four games that he participated in. Per the stats, the Clippers with James on the court had -67 points. Whereas, with him on the bench, they average +24 points. Post Harden, Kawhi has logged in 18, 17, 26, and 14 points. A similar score applies to George (10, 24, 8, 26 points) and Westbrook (17,13,14 points) as well. This is just an indicator of the fact that adding Harden to this already-established mix was not the greatest idea.  

3. Failure to capitalize on JJJ’s bad night

Jaren Jackson Jr. has been playing at his best since the start of this season. But he fumbled a little in the previous game and the Jazz were able to turn it to their benefit and win the match. But tonight, despite his underwhelming game (12 points with four rebounds), the Clippers did not make use of it. Without key players like Ja Morant, this should have been a job done easily, but that, unfortunately, did not happen. The star of the day was Bismack Biyombo, who put up 13 points with 12 rebounds and three assists.

Read More: Can Paul George Finally Deliver? Clippers’ Star Doubles Down on “Bully” Remark, Revealing Major Goal For Year 14 

While we thought that the Clippers had finally found their harmony, it looks like adding Harden had slowed down the progress. Will they be able to get their winning performances back? We will be able to tell as they face off against the defending champions Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. What are your thoughts on Harden’s performance with the Clippers? Let us know!

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