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Ben-N1ce wrote:It's early. Give it 30-50 games

dirkdiggler4177 wrote:Jizez. He is out of shape because he is not going to look good for the trade. It is a new team and he is 34. It is not about how you start it is about how you finish.

Ben-N1ce wrote:It's early. Give it 30-50 games

clippertown wrote:It's not fair to say James is cooked. He is unable to perform his normal role as he keeps deferring to superior players instead of just being James Harden. It was never going to be easy with so many executive chefs in the same kitchen.

There is only one quick solution to the Clippers problems. James needs go come off the bench. It's not his fault, but the lack of defensive bigs and both Kawhi and Georges inability to play the Power Forward position make this inevitable.

Russ clearly has a more ideal skillset to play with KL and PG. Russ is a true pass first guard, who also rebounds and defends way better, injects much more energy into the starting squad, and is not somebody KL and PG will defer to at crucial moments.

Harden, on the other hand, is a system unto himself and struggles when he is not the primary focus on offense. That is not going to happen when playing next two very similarly skilled small forwards, it's just too much overlap and iso play.

The starting squad should play 60% of the time and comprise of Russ / PG / Kawhi / Tucker / Zubac
The backup squad should play 40% of the time and comprise of Harden / Norm / Bones or Coffey / Mann / Theis

Ty needs to build chemistry, so I would suggest the rosters do not cross-over unless injuries or fouls require it. The backup squad is still strong enough to compete with most starting lineups and this would give Kawhi and George more in-game rest. Over time, James could work his way to the starting lineup, but it is going to take some time (maybe months) for the squad to figure it out.

JShuttlesworth wrote:There's still a lot of time, but Harden hasn't looked great, or even good.

But then again, was anyone expecting the Westbrook / Harden / George / Kawhi experiment to be successful? I know I wasn't.

Harden said it himself, he isn't a system player, and that's what he needs to be at this point in his career. If he wants to be "the guy", he is going to have a hard time find a suitor (unless they're bringing him in to command their tank).

It's going to be a tough pill for him to swallow. It's probably difficult for him to watch Philly (and Houston) doing better without him

What's surprising to me is that neither Kawhi nor George has missed a game (and I expect that's coming) and yet they still haven't looked good

ryguy613 wrote:

clippertown wrote:It's not fair to say James is cooked. He is unable to perform his normal role as he keeps deferring to superior players instead of just being James Harden. It was never going to be easy with so many executive chefs in the same kitchen.

There is only one quick solution to the Clippers problems. James needs go come off the bench. It's not his fault, but the lack of defensive bigs and both Kawhi and Georges inability to play the Power Forward position make this inevitable.

Russ clearly has a more ideal skillset to play with KL and PG. Russ is a true pass first guard, who also rebounds and defends way better, injects much more energy into the starting squad, and is not somebody KL and PG will defer to at crucial moments.

Harden, on the other hand, is a system unto himself and struggles when he is not the primary focus on offense. That is not going to happen when playing next two very similarly skilled small forwards, it's just too much overlap and iso play.

The starting squad should play 60% of the time and comprise of Russ / PG / Kawhi / Tucker / Zubac
The backup squad should play 40% of the time and comprise of Harden / Norm / Bones or Coffey / Mann / Theis

Ty needs to build chemistry, so I would suggest the rosters do not cross-over unless injuries or fouls require it. The backup squad is still strong enough to compete with most starting lineups and this would give Kawhi and George more in-game rest. Over time, James could work his way to the starting lineup, but it is going to take some time (maybe months) for the squad to figure it out.

on paper you might be right, but unfortunately egos get in the way. i dont see harden accepting a backup role. Ty could just force him to do it but uh... we have plenty of evidence what happens to harden when he's forced into situations he doesnt like. its not pretty.

clippertown wrote:

JShuttlesworth wrote:There's still a lot of time, but Harden hasn't looked great, or even good.

But then again, was anyone expecting the Westbrook / Harden / George / Kawhi experiment to be successful? I know I wasn't.

Harden said it himself, he isn't a system player, and that's what he needs to be at this point in his career. If he wants to be "the guy", he is going to have a hard time find a suitor (unless they're bringing him in to command their tank).

It's going to be a tough pill for him to swallow. It's probably difficult for him to watch Philly (and Houston) doing better without him

What's surprising to me is that neither Kawhi nor George has missed a game (and I expect that's coming) and yet they still haven't looked good

In Kawhi's defense, he was absolutely rocking it prior to Harden's arrival. Now he looks awful. I get that he had great chemistry with Batum who is already being missed, but there is more to this. Kawhi looks tired and unmotivated. He is deferring to Harden and no longer looks like the captain of the team. He is a true star so he will figure it out, but Frank needs to create a roster that works with the star players, not the other way around. Ty needs to get control of his team or Ballmer needs to find a new coach.

JShuttlesworth wrote:I think Kawhi needs a vocal leader in the locker room, as good as he is on the basketball court, I don't really see him as being a locker room leader. I just don't think that's who he is (maybe I'm wrong, I'm not in the room).

Still, the Clippers have a lot of time to figure this out, but it's going to be difficult for them to exceed the play-in range. Losing in the play-in would suck for Clippers fans

Edrees wrote:He's 34. No surprise he's in massive decline. can you imagine what he'll look like at 35?

In-N-Out 247 wrote:

Peregrine01 wrote:I think the fact that he isn't dominating the ball has him looking a lot worse than otherwise. The guy was never very versatile in how he played. If he doesn't have the ball he just stands there watching.

This is spot on.... I also think he does not care about winning so that does not help the situation either. I suspect basketball is just a paycheck for him these days.

Edrees wrote:He's 34. No surprise he's in massive decline. can you imagine what he'll look like at 35?

Frank Dux wrote:

Roy T wrote:He can play a 6th man role on a contender for the vet minimum next year. That's whats up. He's a lazy bum at this point of his career. What a shame.

why didn’t they move his ass to the bench instead of Westbrook?

Homer38 wrote:

In-N-Out 247 wrote:

Peregrine01 wrote:I think the fact that he isn't dominating the ball has him looking a lot worse than otherwise. The guy was never very versatile in how he played. If he doesn't have the ball he just stands there watching.

This is spot on.... I also think he does not care about winning so that does not help the situation either. I suspect basketball is just a paycheck for him these days.

If the paycheck was the only thing who was important for him,he would accept the offer of the Nets in 2021....

Edrees wrote:He's 34. No surprise he's in massive decline. can you imagine what he'll look like at 35?