[Saba Sports News] James Harden’s beginning with the Los Angeles Clippers hasn’t been as successful as hoped. The team has lost all three games since Harden joined. Beyond the losing streak, Harden’s performance hasn’t inspired much optimism among Clippers fans. A particular moment in their recent heavy loss to the Dallas Mavericks, which went viral, underscores this.
In that game, held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Harden, in a laid-back manner, passed the ball to Paul George, who seemed caught off guard. Following a lackluster cut to the basket, without keeping an eye on the ball-handler, Harden missed George’s return pass, which was easily picked off by Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving.
This error, seen over 1.2 million times online, was mistakenly attributed to George in the statistics, but it was clearly Harden’s oversight. Scoring only 14 points in the 144-126 defeat, Harden did little to counter the criticism he faced from the Mavericks’ pregame commentary.
This isn’t the first time a mistake by Harden has gained attention on social media. Integrating a player like Harden, who prefers to control the ball, into a team mid-season is challenging. Harden emphasized that more practice and game time with the team might help address these issues.
However, questions about Harden’s compatibility with the Clippers were raised from the start. Acquiring the 10-time All-Star was a significant risk for the Clippers, and so far, it hasn’t inspired much confidence.