The Clippers beat the Trail Blazers 132-127 at home to make it four wins in a row, and after a period of running-in, the Clippers have recently played the league's No. 1 win percentage. The record has also risen from the bottom of the West to the eighth place in the West, and the next Clippers schedule is not too difficult, and there is a good hope to hit the top half of the record. The most exciting thing is that the Clippers Big Three have become more and more compatible. Harden, whether he's a partner Leonard or George, can play his part.
It is also very tacit with the big men, Harden and Zubac, as well as the substitute Theis, have become more mature and fluent in blocking and launching tactics. Like Tyronn Lue said after the game, Zubac and Theis really enjoy working with Harden because it really improves their stats and makes it easier for them to play. Maybe this is the attribute that Harden has always had, he has always had a feeling for the interior, so far in Harden's career, all the interior players who have partnered with him, as long as they like to block and go down, are basically beneficiaries.
From the early butter hand Asik, to Capela during the Rockets period, he was fed a 90 million contract by Harden. Then when the Nets were in the Nets, Harden fed Zhao Si and Sharpe out again. The cooperation between Embiid and Harden during the Philadelphia period was actually very tacit, and Zubac, who is now called the most difficult to feed by Clippers fans, has also been fed by Harden. The Clippers' Big Three scored 74+21+20 in the whole game, Leonard still scored 34 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals on 11-of-19 shooting, Harden had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks, George had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, and it is worth mentioning that Zubac scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks on 9-of-12 shooting.
Coupled with Wei Shao off the bench, he played 16 minutes and scored 12 points and 6 assists, which perfectly became Harden's cheering bag. The current Clippers are very strong, and they are not at all inferior to the Rockets at their peak. Harden plays the role of Paul, George plays the role of Harden, Leonard plays the role of the power-enhanced version of Ariza, Zubac is Capela, and Mann is Gordon. The only bad thing is that Tucker is old, and Harden doesn't actually need to pack with him on the Clippers, if Batum stays, the Clippers will be stronger. Now that Tucker has been left in the snow, he has made a decision to the Clippers to leave, and he wants to go to a team where he can play.
But that's not a bad thing for the Clippers, and Tucker really doesn't come in handy right now. If Tucker can be exchanged for 10 million players who can be used, it will be a big plus for Harden to win the championship. Joining the Clippers for Harden may be the closest thing he has come to a championship in his career. So far, Harden and Leonard George have played a total of 17 games, while Harden has played 16 games with Durant and Irving in a year and a half when he was with the Nets. The reason why many Harden fans are frustrated with the Nets experience is that the Nets are not dying of skill inferiority, but of damn injuries and player problems.
There are problems with Durant's frequent injuries, as well as Irving's personal reasons for not playing, as well as the problem that Harden began to experience injuries when he was with the Nets. But when the Nets triumvirate combined, the power is amazing, and the win rate is as high as more than 85%. In the '21 playoffs, they swept the Celtics 4-1 and lost to the Bucks in the second round due to injury. The Clippers are more consistent today than the Nets were back then, and at least Leonard and George are starting to play, and they have to sprint for a contract year. And Leonard is also younger than Durant, and he is more balanced on both offensive and defensive ends. During the past Clippers winning streak, Leonard scored 41 points, 34 points, 34 points and 31 points, which can be called the league's No. 1 small forward, and the Clippers also won all of them.
His form may be his best year since joining the Clippers, and for Clippers owner Ballmer, betting on Harden is a winning bet. Since joining the Clippers, Harden has been incredibly efficient, contributing 16 points and 4 points without affecting Pepper's shooting power5 plates 68 assists and 46 percent from the field3%, a career-high 41% three-point shooting percentage, and a terrifying 64% true shooting percentage. Once the Clippers triumvirate continues to run in, the league is really about to usher in a finale. And the Clippers were ready to renew the Big Three the moment they traded Harden, in other words, Harden's decision to join the Clippers this time was the best decision of his career, and he got a 4-year contract with an annual salary of 30 million from the Clippers in the 24 offseason.