James Harden has not had an ideal start to his Los Angeles Clippers career thus far.
The Clippers remain winless in three games since Harden debuted with the team earlier this week.
It’s not just the win-loss record that has yet to yield positive results. The eye test with Harden on the floor has not exactly given most Clippers fans many reasons for optimism.
One particular play from the Clippers’ blowout defeat Friday against the Dallas Mavericks has turned a few heads.
Harden brought the ball up for the Clippers in the opening minute of the second half at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The Beard nonchalantly delivered a bounce pass to Paul George, who looked a little surprised by the pass. Harden then made a soft cut to the basket without turning his head back to the ball-handler.
George tried to feed Harden on the cut. But since the former MVP was not paying attention, Mavs guard Kyrie Irving easily intercepted the pass.
The clip has been viewed over 1.2 million times on X as of writing.
The turnover went to George on the box score, but Harden was clearly at fault on the play.
Harden finished with 14 points on 3/6 shooting in the 144-126 loss. He did little to invalidate the tongue-lashing he received from the Mavs’ pregame broadcast that day.
It’s not the first mistake Harden's made this week.
It’s never going to be easy mixing a ball-dominant player like Harden into an NBA rotation in the middle of the season. The issues could potentially be remedied as Harden has more practice and playing time with his teammates.
On the other hand, Harden’s fit on the Clippers seemed questionable from the beginning.
LAC took a huge gamble bringing in the 10-time All-Star. The early returns have not evoked much confidence just yet.
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