The Clippers are a Real Threat and James Harden Deserves His Flowers
On the Clippers really one of the hottest teams in basketball Harden let’s let’s start with him Harden I think has figured it out a little bit about how do I impact this team and he made the system comments and we discussed those at length on the previous podcast came on but I think
What I’ve seen is him figuring out this team and and to me he hasn’t been or tried to be James Harden in Houston or James Harden in Brooklyn or James Harden in Philly he has his his you know touch time is down possessions are possess time of possession is down
He’s really and he’s shooting 44% from three some of those uncatch and shoots which we’ve been asking for years for him to finally shoot catch and shoot threes um I I I think he’s like actually fit in and and complemented Paul George and kawhai perfectly perfectly Kawai is playing as well as
Anyone in the NBA right now and so much of my preseason thoughts around this team even before Harden and again we brought up we were not Harden got off to a rough start and with and the Clippers got up to rough start we brought up the
Sample size thing yeah you know we were willing to wait this out we’ve seen how good this team can be now I think part of me going into the season was like ah it’s the Clippers you know these guys are going to be hurt they’re gonna Walt you know they won’t
You know prioritize the regular season W’s played in every game now yeah and I think it’s start I I think it’s time to start thinking about the Clippers as a legitimate Championship Contender if not a tier one Championship Contender there’s no question but it and and again
And this is funny because there’s a they you know you get into these little things on social media with people with your analysis sometimes right it’s like Harden has these Legion of people that are just like they jump on every word you say that might be negative and so
Really all I’ve said from the beginning about the Clippers I’ve never said like Harden can’t play anymore Harden’s you you know he’s past the Horizon of his career no impact whatsoever all I kept saying was and I think it just gets verified every single night I’m watching
This team play you either bought into the Clippers as a legitimate threat in the west or you didn’t based on Kawhi Leonard Paul George certainly significant Harden adding that is is significant fire hour particularly in a regular season if those guys want to get some rest and you could still win games
Have an elite offensive player but James Harden fre wasn’t like moving the needle that’s not like criticizing James Harden that’s really actually what you I’m saying is that’s how much I believe in a healthy Kawhi Leonard being a guy that changes the dynamic in the Western Conference if he can stay on the
Floor for most of the regular season get an occasional night off hasn’t really had him at all this year which is crazy and be most importantly be ready on like April 15th for a two-month run if that’s what it takes playing like this yeah it’s great that they added
James heart it just gives them more reason to believe that this team could potentially get to the finals it it just it just adds to what they have but the reason is kawh Leonard and the way that he looks right now he and he’s getting better and better and better and he’s
Making everybody kind of believe more that like man he’s got another one of these years in him like he had the year that he won the championship in Toronto like he had when he was in San Antonio like he’s got another one of those in and he’s got this much help that’s
That’s why now the Clippers you’re like you can you can ignore them at your own Peril because of who it is and and the history of some of these guys go ahead what they’re doing right now is serving notice they’re they’re legitimately in the mix particularly if kawh stays
Healthy it’s a fair point and a point I agree with you know we’ve we’ve seen this he’s one of the six active players that have been the best player on a championship team he’s one of the six guys um and it’s interesting because I he did it
Last year from like January on where he just all of a sudden hit this stretch of like 30 games where he’s 30 a night six rebounds four assists two steals 52% from the field 42% from and he’s now just doing that every night and healthy going back to harden though you
Saying he doesn’t move the needle I think the Clash that we all expected and that maybe we saw early in terms of the ball yeah with those three guys this version of James Harden on this team with this role let’s be honest as the third third guy not the
First guy like he was for most of his career not the second guy like he was in Philly but the third guy and these two guys healthy does that move the needle yes it does that’s the perfect Lane for him in my opinion because if you’re the
Number two guy you’re going to 100% absolutely have to be counted on right pretty much night after night in a playoff series and we know he’s had some struggles there in times in Philly you know it wasn’t all him Joel didn’t have necessarily the kind of knights he
Needed in those moments either but certainly if embiid has a night where he’s below average in in those Series in Philly and Harden is the great that night you still had a great chance to win when you’re the number two guy that’s pretty much what you have to be
Maybe not every night in a seven game series but maybe have one game where you struggle you know maybe two if it goes seven those other five man you you got to be close to what you are at your best and right when you’re number two if
You’re the number three guy there’s just more margin for error for you and you could pick your spots a little bit better and there’s not nearly as much pressure on you like in this situation now if they’re all healthy and they get into the postseason the pressure is
Going to be on Kawai to carry them Paul George who also has had some you know some some tough moments in big spots with his shooting in in playoff series he’s going to be under the scrutiny because he hasn’t done it yet all the way through and then Harden then you
Would get to harden I just think less pressure on him less significance night after night to be great when you’ve got those two guys absolutely for me the perfect Lane for him to be in right now and and on that point I want to say this because like if this scenario happens
Where the Clippers are a top three team in the west they’re healthy going into the playoffs it’s going to be very easy for the talking point throughout the playoffs to be on James Harden and his playoff struggles and blah blah blah and it’s like let’s not do that I’m going to
Preemptively say this let’s not do that because the reality is now and the reality is the role on this team and if this role continues then he shouldn’t be under scrutiny yeah in in at the same level now he will be to some degree but he
Should be he’s a player it’s he’s the third guy yeah he’s the third guy
In this clip, JJ Redick and Tim Legler talk about how Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Paul George and The Los Angeles Clippers figured out how to play together.
Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.
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44 Comments
Everything changed when Russell volunteered to come off the bench.
Bullcrap. James Harden not moving the needle is damn disrespectful. You should be ashamed of yourself, Tim.
I love to watch a hater like Tim eat his words . Thanks for correcting him, JJ. Hater loser Tim. PG has played well in more playoff series than not. He redeemed himself vs the Jazz and Suns 4 seasons ago when Kawhi went down. Pls stop beating a dead horse.
Late in games like the one tonight against the Suns, Harden just dumps the ball to kawhi and let’s him work. He understands his role and is ready to shoot the three like he did against the rockets. This team is legit
Kawhi PG Harden Russ winning a ring for LA for the Clippers there last year in Staples and having banner night the opening night of Intuit Dome would be so so so so so poetic. Yeah I’m rooting for that to happen this year
Harden always plays well in the REGULAR season.
See me when the playoffs start.
Flowers for what??
A healthy kawhi is scary 😱😱😱
I still don't believe in them bec 1. they are the Clippers ….known for choking Games and 2. You have Harden…The guy that doesn't show up when it matters ….3. Kawhi/PG are sometimes questionable with their Health before the Playoffs start
Clippers wont win a ring.. Kawhi and PG always hurt and James Harden disappears in the Playoffs like every single time
Harden playing like he was on OKC
it’s simple
CONTRACT YEAR
Protect these guys! I know ESPN have a broad audience they need to appeal to; but these two have always been my faves as they talk about the details with very little bias and admit when they’re wrong🙏✊
PG and Leonard looked very dialled in before Harden got there this year and it looked well oiled. Now you have a Harden happy to actually play in a system and buy in, it could be over for a lot of the other teams in their division/conference.
Legler might b the biggest harden hater 🤣🤣
Everybody was just shitting on harden talk bout “he destroys teams” what happened?
PG and James are interchangeable on the second guy on the team. That's the beauty of the team. Sometimes PG plays well, sometimes James plays well.
How are they paying all of these players?
If you got Westbrook harden pg and kawhi on a team you better be good man 😂 it’s not abnormal
humble pie for legler who was sure harden couldnt fit with the clippers. What has he predicted ever?
Giving harden his flowers to early now he gone sell
Let's not make It all about James harden, let's give Russell Westbrook alot of credit for agreeing to be on the bench.
Clippers finally got their point guard no excuses
I mean harden was the third guy on OKC when he crumbled against the heat in the finals, yet he still carries a lot of the blame for losing that series. The third guy isn’t super important on deep teams with a small separation between the third guy and those after him. If harden plays poorly for more than a game or two, it will require someone else stepping up. Fortunately there are 2-3 other guys who can easily be a 15-20 point scorer
regular season Harden fooling ya'll again 🤣
Is Paul George really better than Harden?
When your haters become your supporters, love to see it
To take away what harden does and say it’s khawi being better is a dumb take. Khawi is a great player but the system before harden limited how great he could be . Harden pretty much released khawi. Khawi was locked and James was the key to release him.
James isn’t scoring 30 points but is averaging like 15 points and 10 assist. That right there is about 15 to 20 possessions a game . It he also opens up the lane, the threat of the pick and roll, the lob etc enables khawi to do this thing .
Can La win without khawi … no. Can La win without harden… no
Can La with with both? Yes
James harden is nit Paul George. He does not think Kawhi Leonard is better than him at all and I can guarantee you that
Tim is a coward and this is why I tend to hate the media. His was spewing so much vitriol for Harden and just cant admit it and now is blaming the fans who called him out. Own up to what you say people will respect you more. Kudos to JJ for once again being a man about his business and not making excuses and moving the goal post like Perk and Tim. These role players gain a voice and then attacks guys who did it better than they ever could its sickening.
What I see happening is what people didn’t believe would. It’s called sacrifice. It started with Westbrook opting into the bench unit. He wasn’t told to go there. Now we have Plumlee back from injury saying keep Theis as the backup since the team is winning. That has built cohesion instead of discourse. This team has fully bought in to the mission.
God doesn’t want anybody in hell because He loves us, but you must understand why we deserve hell and why those who refuse to live under His authority will go there. He gave us the law (Ten Commandments) not to make us righteous, but rather to show us our sin (Romans 3:20). We’re not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we’re sinners. Sin is the nature of our flesh that we are born with due to the sin of Adam in the garden. For someone to be justified before God they have to be sinless. We’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23), and the the law demands death for those who sin (Romans 6:23). God is righteous, so He must punish our sin, which is what He did through His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is Holy and sinless, yet He received our sin when He died on the cross, so that we can be righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:21). When He died on the cross, He said “It is finished” (John 19:30), which means He paid the full price for all of your sins (past, present, and future) to be forgiven. He was buried and rose again from the dead. God will forgive anybody who puts their full trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. We aren’t saved based on our good deeds, but only by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). His precious blood that He shed is the only reason why we can be forgiven of our sins (Hebrews 9:22). If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, then you’ll be saved (Romans 10:9). You are born-again with the Spirit of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and are not only legally justified before God, but also are accredited His righteous (Romans 4:24). Believers live for Christ now, so get to know Him through His Word. I recommend reading the book of Romans and the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and watching Pastor Joseph Prince’s online sermons!
The clippers the all Cali team
Harden gets himself a ring while still producing at a high level – he will be a top 30 player of all time. He is already top 50.
been a westbrook fan since day 1. so where ever he goes, that's the team im rooting for also.
its crazy that the only MVP in the team didnt move the needle for these guys. that james mfing harden. hate the harden disrespect
Why do they keep saying Kawhi has played in every game
Don’t cover a team if you don’t know what tf you’re talking about just because they’re hot 💩
The original Clipper a$$hats that jumped to shame them immediately following the trade now look like fools for not letting them get time to gel. It's still too soon to evaluate them. Harden's test will be at the end of the season. In absence of a 2nd round appearance or better (regardless of health of either one of Leonard or George), would you still give him "flowers?" That's the team expectation, and if fully healthy, we'll see where they go.
Legler needs 2 b on espn its a shame hes not brilliant basketball mind!
I think Russ need much more playing time a specially when the beard on the bench
Win in the playoffs i know harden can do damage in the regular season….PLAYOFFS HE CAN'T HAVE A BAD SERIES
In 76ers, Docs forces him to pass to Embiid first, there is no ball movement for the whole team. Anyone can become the guard in 76ers. Harden goes to Clippers is correct, he can make use of all the shooter in the team which can maximize his talent and power. In Nets, only big 3 are strong, other players all are very sucks. In Houston, only CP3 is strong, other players cannot say they are Big. Clippers is his best place to go which can have the highest chances to get the champion. Kawhii is a player who can play like Jordan with confidence in playoff. Luckily Lue put Russ on the bench to make a right solution as Russ and Harden are not match which has proved in Houston. Russ is not a guard with assist, he looks like Beal only play ISO and shoot only. I just hope all of them are heathly in playoff. One more interesting thing is Harden changes Zubac into Caplea form. They have good 3 pointers. I dont know what is missing. If the bench can be upgraded during mid season for buyout or from free agents which will be perfect.
They wouldve won a chip by now if not for Kawhis injuries. The year AD, Jamal Murray and Harden got injured was their year.
James Harden é o mais talentoso de todos eles. Sou fã!!!!!! Criativo demais… inteligente.
Legler is still right though. Hardens gift is to ensure they get a top seed, not necessarily making them that much better in the playoffs
It’s no surprise jj doesn’t like Westbrook. Never gives him his flowers and to completely disregard his impact is crazy .