The LA Clippers have had a good start to their regular season run. After Kawhi Leonard’s continued absence initially placed doubts on how the franchise would be able to proceed, defeating a team like the Denver Nuggets by a 5-point margin assured fans that James Harden and Co. might be able to survive. However, with the Clippers being the team that finally broke the Warriors’ win streak, one can assume that the squad is not just gonna survive, but thrive! While James Harden has been carrying the offensive effort over the last couple of months, he himself believes that the 2-1 record would not have been possible without the presence of one other player.

After the Warriors-Clippers game, the 35-year-old took some questions in the locker room. Right from the start, he sent his praise to Ivica Zubac, stating, “He does so much for us on both ends of the floor, you know what I mean. So, I think the conversation is, as far as and it’s early, but he does a lot, and he’s going to continue to, you know, be aggressive, continue to do more for us.”

James Harden revealed that he told the Center about expecting the ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ title by the season’s end, as his individual presence can help the team as a whole, especially in Kawhi Leonard’s absence. In light of this, to help Zubac focus on his goal, the veteran and his squad look to focus on helping him. “The work is translating to the endgame,” Harden continued. “So, as a unit, we’ve got to continue to do a really good job, stand locked in, but, you know, he’s a main focus of this team.”

In the Clippers’ last 3 games, the Croatian hooper has managed to average 22.7 points to accompany his astonishing 14 rebounds and 4.3 assists. This is a drastic improvement from the 11.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists Zubac averaged the previous season.

The contributions have played a big role in majorly turning the favor towards his team in contests that’ve been won by razor-thin margins. During the recent Warriors game, the Clippers center pulled off one of his most impressive performances by accompanying his 23 points with 18 rebounds, allowing him to record a double-double for the second consecutive time! He is the first Clippers star since Andre Jordan to have at least 23 points and 15 rebounds back-to-back.

Despite this, coming back to the Warriors game, the competition remained thin even by the 4th quarter, with Andrew Wiggins making a 3-pointer at the 3:47 mark to make it a one-point game. Fortunately, the Clippers received an unanticipated advantage after Stephen Curry headed to the locker room after sustaining an ankle injury. Such a stroke of luck won’t always come the Clippers’ way. Therefore, Zubac looked to keep the efficiency intact from his end for as long as he could.

“It’s only been 3 games, but I’m trying to bring the consistency,” said the 27-year-old. “I’m trying to keep it up as long as I can. I’m trying to bring the same stuff every night for my teammates so they can count on me.”

Ivica Zubac is the next best thing for the Clippers, or at least till the time Kawhi Leonard returns. Therefore, James Harden is sure to make good use of him. After all, the veteran has already laid out his priorities for the upcoming game.

Amid Kawhi Leonard’s absence, James Harden reveals that the LA Clippers have no room for error: “That starts with me”

Kawhi Leonard has often been an integral part of the Clippers’ offense. In late 2023, his absence had caused them to lose 12 of their 13 matchups, and even Paul George’s presence was not enough to save them. Now, the franchise has to go ahead even without the 34-year-old small forward, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers back in July. In light of this, James Harden is being especially careful.

During an interview with Shams Charania, the 2018 MVP was asked whether he sees himself as ‘the man,’ now that Kawhi is not present. To this query, he answered, “I’ve been in situations like this where we have not as much as other teams, but then that’s when my leadership role has to really, really kick in. We don’t have room for error like a lot of other teams. We have to be detailed and precise on everything we do, and that starts with me.”

James Harden concluded his remarks, stating, “We started off in the summer, and we’ve had a really good preseason. So I think for us it’s just getting off to a really good start.” ‘Getting off to a good start’ is the term to describe the LA side for now. The priority and focus on the development of specific players may keep the franchise’s chances of being a championship contender alive for some time.