Is James Harden a good fit for the Clippers?

The Los Angeles Clippers have an All-Star lineup now that they have completed the trade for swingman James Harden. The roster of the Clippers consists of all-time stalwarts like Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and now Harden.

Several of these individuals, if not all, could be inducted someday into the Hall of Fame. The marriage between the Clippers and Harden didn’t start too hot as Los Angeles immediately went into a six-game losing streak.

But since then, Harden and the Clippers have been rolling along in producing some much-needed victories for the ballclub as well for the fan base. A rough start for a group of very talented NBA players, however, is not a big deal of concern because it is the NBA and a turn-around can easily happen at any time.

So, the Clippers’ trade for Harden begs several questions. The most obvious one? Is Harden a good fit for the Clippers? The Clippers brass seem to think so or they wouldn’t have worked hard to get this deal done.

Harden who is from the Los Angeles area and attended Artesia High School in Cerritos, appears to be at a certain point in his career. Harden is well-established as a prolific scorer, but he has yet to win an NBA championship.

Arriving back in his hometown just might allow Harden the opportunity to fulfill that ambition. It’s not like this is the first time that Harden has been surrounded by superstar talent. During his first three years in the NBA, Harden had Westbrook and Kevin Durant as teammates as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He then teamed up with Westbrook, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard in Houston before joining forces with Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets. And for a couple of seasons, Harden was paired with Joel Embiid.

With all this talent around him, Harden has made it to the NBA Finals one time during his illustrious career. That took place when Harden was a member of the Thunder. With that said, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, is in a much different scenario than the other situations he was in.

First, this is the third time that Harden has played on the same team as Westbrook, which should dispel any notion that the two stars can play alongside one another. The second consideration is that on the nights he’s not going off on a scoring binge, Harden is talented enough to play the facilitator role and dish the ball off to proven scorers in George and Leonard.

For his career, Harden averages seven assists a game to go along with the 24.6 points he puts up. One of the things that has dogged Harden wherever he has played has been his style of play.

Harden is one of those players who has a direct impact on a game because he likes to control the action. The ball is usually in the hands of the 2018 NBA regular season MVP. All those personal accolades are pretty weak and tossed out of the window now as Harden is now in the twilight of his career.

With Tyronn Lue running the ship for the Clippers, Harden and the rest of the talented roster should be able to mesh together to go for a deep postseason run should everybody stay healthy. For his part, Harden has received unfair criticism for his post-season play.

Honestly, from my point of view, the talent level around him was not equal to his opponents. The fact that he was able to lead his team, especially the Rockets, should have been celebrated given the level of success he brought to the team.

The critics also had something to say about the lack of or enthusiasm for defense on his part, which I would disagree with as well. I find Harden to be a very good defensive player.

Basketball is a team sport. Although the Rockets would score points in high volume the team also allowed their opponents to score at a high rate. Harden played as well as he could with those teams. Harden being on the Clippers might be beneficial for both parties.

The Clippers themselves have made a few playoff runs but a championship has yet to be won. I’m sure there are high hopes with the team the Clippers have put together. The NBA is competitive in both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference.

Each night a win will be difficult to gain. I think fans are hopeful and excited to see the Clippers games each and every night and looking forward to a strong push for the NBA playoffs.