In a chat with the media ahead of Thursday’s game against the defending champions, Clippers star Paul George opened up on the team’s late-season skid. On the subject of his co-star James Harden, George put all responsibility on the coaches to get the man back on track.
“I’m not a coach,” George said, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I’m not the coach. Next question.”
The statement comes just a week after Tyronn Lue challenged his team and called them “soft” in front of the media. George, as he later admitted, was not a fan of this approach and said he’d rather handle such matters internally.
“No, I think it was kind of something that we needed to address internally amongst us in this locker room anyways, that we needed to play a little harder and establish a toughness,” George said. “I think we felt it before it needed to be addressed.”
The Clippers have struggled of late after a hot streak where they looked like one of the best teams in the West. But since acquiring James Harden early in the season, the team has experienced periods of major drought. The Clippers are at one of their lowest points right now, and James Harden is leading the way with averages of just 15.5 points on 40.4% shooting and 33.7% from 3-point range since February 7th.
He scored just 6 points against the Kings on Tuesday, going 1-7 from the field in 32 minutes. The loss put Los Angeles at 47-28 on the season, barely good enough for 4th in the West.
At his best, Harden has the potential to unlock the best version of the Clippers in a way that nobody else can. His shooting and playmaking open up the floor for everyone when things are working right, and it's no secret that many teams covet players with that skill set right now.
But with the Beard compromised and the playoffs right around the corner, there is a growing feeling around the league that the Clippers may not actually be ready to win the West this year.
Can James Harden Break His Legendary Playoff Curse?
The Clippers’ playoff track record is no secret. For most of their existence, they struggled to find any type of relevancy. Even when stars like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin arrived, the franchise never went past the semifinals and failed to live to their ultimate potential.
Now, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, there is new hope that the Clippers can break their streak and finally write their name in history as NBA champions. So far, the duo has only continued the cycle of failure for the franchise and it remains to be seen if James Harden can change the results.
While Harden’s talents are certainly impressive, he brings playoff baggage of his own that gives plenty of reason to be concerned. In Houston and Philadelphia, the post-season was Harden at his worst, and his tendency to disappear in big games likely cost him several chances at a deeper playoff run. As Harden experiences another slump this season, weeks before round one, some fans are starting to wonder whether or not James just is cut out for playoff basketball at all.
For the Clippers’ sake, they better hope he shapes up soon to kill that narrative and prove once, and for all that he’s a winning NBA player.
More must-reads: