Clippers Lose Harden's Debut as "System" Still Loads

James Harden had 17 points and 6 assists in his debut. It wasn't enough. Neither was much else the Clippers did.

Maybe the LA Clippers were onto something by preaching patience and process over the last week after acquiring superstar guard James Harden.

Harden’s debut took place within shouting distance of Broadway, deep in the heart of New York City. The show people tuned in for became an opening night flop by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, as the Clippers (3-3) fell to the New York Knicks (3-4) on Monday night, 111-97.

For his part in the festivities, Harden showed dazzling displays of passing acumen and scoring prowess. The 10-time All-Star finished with 17 points — 15 of those 17 came in lineups that didn’t feature Russell Westbrook, Paul George, or Kawhi Leonard alongside him as Harden got extended run with mostly bench lineups that yearned for a lead ball-handler.

The “system”, as Harden referred to himself during his introductory press conference last Thursday, was more of an on-again, off-again endeavor akin to blowing on the cartridge of your favorite Nintendo game to ensure it’d work properly. Harden was one player with the stars on the floor, another when they weren’t. Consistency needs to emerge, even while the process and patience chugs along.

“I thought James was really good,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said following Monday’s loss.

“I thought overall, just orchestrating, making the right play, making the right pass in pick-and-rolls, he was really good. So, it’s gonna take a little time to get in game shape and we understand that. But his presence on the floor was definitely felt.”

Harden also added six assists, three rebounds, and a steal on 6-for-9 shooting. Harden didn’t score after sinking three free throws to tie the game with 10:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. His lone field goal attempt after that came with 8:27 to play, a missed three-pointer.

“[I] tried to go off my basketball instincts and what I’ve been doing for the last few years or whatnot,” Harden said when asked postgame what it was like to get back into the swing of things after not participating in preseason prior to his trade from the Philadelphia 76ers and now having to ramp up immediately into game action. “Just went out there and playing and thinking the game and try to make the game easier for everybody else.”

The problem for the Clippers was that the starting lineup which featured the likes of Westbrook, Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac was outscored by 13 points in their 18 minutes and 29 seconds on the floor together.

That scoring margin was entirely a byproduct of the second half as the starters got blitzed to start the third quarter and then couldn’t reel in a surging Knicks squad after coming back into the game with the Clippers trailing 87-79 in the fourth.

To compound matters, just like their game in Utah, the Clippers ultimately succumbed to two key areas: (1) turnovers and (2) offensive rebounds.

The Clippers turned the ball over 22 times on Monday night, resulting in 35 New York points. To their credit, L.A. did force the Knicks into 20 turnovers themselves, but the Clippers only managed to scratch 21 points out of it. That 14-point margin represented the difference in the game if one feels so inclined to point to one specific area.

For the third time this season, the Clippers gave up at least 15 offensive rebounds. Portland hit them for 15 on opening night before that fateful game against the Jazz that saw Utah convert 17 offensive rebounds into 33 second-chance points.

While the Knicks only scored 16 second-chance points, it was their 18 offensive rebounds that ultimately caused the Clippers tons of pain just based on sheer volume. The Knicks got 15 more shots up than the Clippers did, and it’s seldom beneficial to give up more shots than the final scoring margin — 15 to 14.

“You can’t be a good team when you give up 18 offensive rebounds and turn the ball over 22 times,” said Lue postgame. “It’s just too hard to win a game.”

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting, adding five rebounds and three assists. But Leonard wasn’t without his follies, either. At one point in the third quarter, Leonard missed a putback dunk that, if converted, would have catapulted the Clippers in front of the Knicks by five. Instead, the Knicks rattled off a 4-0 run to snatch the lead away.

Leonard’s putback attempt came following a Russell Westbrook layup that was too strong off the glass. Westbrook finished the night with 17 points on an efficient 8-for-13 from the field, including four rebounds and four assists, but four turnovers, as well.

Lost in the shuffle of their first night together was Paul George. After beginning the season on a tear, George was relegated to Fourth Beatle status as he finished with 10 points on a paltry 2-for-11 shooting while also turning the ball over four times. George did add seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals to his ledger.

The four-star ideal can yield positive results, but the early cracks, even in one game, were apparent of why this sort of thing is seldom attempted. Far too often one or more of the incumbents can feel to be bit players, and on Monday night it surely seemed that way with George, saddled with being a passenger to the new show in town.

Everything was off for the Clippers from the get-go.

Harden found Ivica Zubac with a pretty pocket pass just three possessions into the game, but Zubac seemed remarkably stunned at Harden’s panache to attempt such a brazen pass and the fact it even got to him at all. It resulted in Zubac hesitating which led to a foul. Zubac would split the free throws. Zubac didn’t get it going much after that, totaling eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and a steal, but also turning the ball over a team-high five times.

To compound matters for the Clippers, backup center Mason Plumlee suffered a potentially catastrophic injury in the third quarter when Knicks forward Julius Randle collided with Plumlee’s left leg while Randle was diving for a loose ball. Plumlee’s left leg bent in an awkward fashion and the 11-year veteran had to be carried off the floor by multiple Clippers staffers, including trainer Jasen Powell. Plumlee was a team-best plus-10 before his injury.

Lue said postgame that Plumlee has a “sprained knee” and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.

After consolidating their forward depth to make a run at Harden, the Clippers now have to figure out how to survive a potentially serious injury to their backup center that could keep him out for a prolonged period of time.

The Clippers will remain in New York to play against the Brooklyn Nets (3-4) on Wednesday evening just a few miles down the road from where they played on Monday.

After Monday’s game, Harden spoke to reporters in the locker room, citing that he thought the lineup featuring him and the three other stars had “unlimited possibilities.”

That’ll be put to the test on Wednesday.