The Los Angeles Clippers have struggled to maintain their momentum this season, largely due to the absence of Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has been sidelined since Game 4 of the first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks in May, as he continues to recover from a right knee injury. The team’s inability to acquire significant assets in exchange for Paul George, due to salary cap constraints, has further compounded their challenges.
The result is an increased workload on the team’s remaining star player, James Harden. While it has resulted in a bump in traditional counting stats as well as Harden playing some of the best defense at this stage of his career, Bleacher Report has labeled this as one of the team’s biggest problems so far this season.
Los Angeles Clippers Leaning Heavily On James Harden
“Losing Paul George and not having a healthy Kawhi Leonard without adding another tried-and-true creator has left James Harden to carry an in-his-prime workload. He has not averaged this many isolations per 75 possessions since 2019-20, and his shot quality at the rim is the lowest it’s been since 2018-19, according to BBall Index.
Difficulty borne from necessity deserves latitude. But banking on the hardly-ever-available Leonard to streamline Harden’s existence feels foolish. L.A. needs another from-scratch maestro to maximize this season’s window.”
This stands to change when Leonard makes his return, but that has yet be be given a timeline. However, his status has been upgraded to day-to-day and Leonard has returned to practice. Yet, either the Clippers are in no hurry to get him back, or Leonard refuses to be rushed back into the lineup. Either way, Harden will have to continue his role for at least the next three games, as Leonard has already been ruled out of those games.
Harden, who has never been known as the most prepared player or dedicated teammate, has taken this opportunity to take on a true leadership role on the team, starting before the season when he hosted a weekend retreat at Arizona State, where much of the roster competed in intense workouts and scrimmages.
“I wanted to kind of take on that leadership role early,” Harden said. “First of all, get to know each other. That’s the most important thing. And then carry that camaraderie on the court and off the court. So I think it worked well.”
Where Harden has continued to excel is in his chameleon-like ability to morph into what his team needs the most. Whether it was when the Thunder needed a bench role player, Houston needed three-pointers, 76ers needed a facilitator, Harden has always risen to the occasion. In this case, the Clippers needed a glue guy and he continues to meet that need. The only question now is can he keep it all together till reinforcements arrive?