The Los Angeles Clippers have yet to win a game this season with James Harden in the lineup, but the former MVP insists everything is eventually going to click for him and his new team.
Harden is now 0-5 with the Clippers after their Tuesday night loss to the Denver Nuggets. He played 35 minutes in that game and finished with a season-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. While speaking with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report after the game, Harden made a bold prediction about what the future in Los Angeles will look like.
“When we figure this out, it’s going to be scary,” Harden said. “We’re getting there. We’ll let others talk, and we’ll put the work in. It’s going to take some time, and that’s OK.”
Harden added that he is still trying to adjust to being “off the ball more than I’ve ever been in a very long time.” He insists he is willing to play any role that the Clippers need him to play.
“I’m just trying to find my way to leave an imprint on the game,” Harden said. “I’m using the first 10 games to get in real NBA basketball shape. I didn’t have a training camp, so it’s going to take some time.”
While he did not sound quite as confident as Harden, Paul George also downplayed the struggles the 3-7 Clippers have had early on. George said there is only one basketball and “four good motherf—ers” on the team, referring to himself, Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook. George insisted no one has been frustrated thus far.
That frustration will likely mount if Harden’s prediction does not come true. There is only so long the 34-year-old will be able to blame his conditioning for painfully bad sequences like this one.
