Shaquille O’Neal Concerned With James Harden and Paul George’s 1 Unfortunate Habit

The Los Angeles Clippers have not been the same since the All-Star break. Despite having a healthy team with top scorers like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden, they have dipped to the 4th seed in the Western Conference. In the 22 games they have played since the break, the Clippers are 11-11, and Shaquille O’Neal has decided to call out both Harden and George for their underwhelming performances.

Ahead of the Clippers face-off against the Denver Nuggets, Shaq shared on Inside the NBA, “James Harden knows what he got to do to get himself. This ain’t high school or AAU, where you are like going to call plays. He has the ball most of the time, when he wants to take a shot, he can take a shot… James Harden wanna win a championship, he gotta be a vital part of that offense…No disrespect, him and (Paul George) sometimes disappear in the playoffs.”

In the Clippers’ last two games against the Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Hornets, Harden scored just 6 points each. Although PG has been dropping most points for the Clippers recently, his efficiency has been quite concerning. It’s good that Shaq gave the analysis before the game because it looks like the above words got the attention of Harden and George. 

Clippers duo beat the defending champs to prove Shaquille O’Neal’s point 

Like Shaq demanded, Harden got himself going today. In the last two games against the Hornets and the Kings, Harden took a total of just 10 shots. However, today, the Beard was the second-highest scorer for the Clippers, as he attempted 23 shots, which included 13 from outside the arc. Although he shot a poor 2-13 from the three-point line, he managed to drop 20 points, and 8 assists which helped the Clippers beat the Nuggets in a thrilling matchup. 

Paul George, on the other hand, was excellent both on the offensive and defensive end. He finished the game with 28 points, with a FG percentage of nearly 50%. He also had 3 crucial steals that gave them a 102-100 win against Nikola Jokic and Co. However, the big question is, can they pull this off in the playoffs?

Injuries have been a huge concern for the Clippers in the last few seasons. Leonard was out today with a knee injury. In the playoffs last year, both Leonard and George were out, and that cost the Clippers a potential championship run. With James Harden added to the team, let us see if the Clippers can make a deep run in the postseason at least this time. 

 Read more: “I Trust Kawhi, I Trust Paul”: Shaquille O’Neal Admits His Lack of Faith in 2 Clippers Superstars