The Clippers hit the first place in the West, and Harden let Wang Bang shake off his hands and compete for the richest record!
The Los Angeles Clippers have been flying since acquiring Harden, especially as they enter 2024, with the Clippers having the best record in the league at the same time. In their last 25 games, the Clippers have won 21 of their games. With this wave of strong momentum, the Clippers have rushed to the third place in the West, and even the gap with the first place in the West is not large, and there is a great hope of maintaining the first place in the West.
When the Clippers first acquired Harden, due to the team's need to make tactical adjustments and personnel rotation problems, the team's record was not ideal, and it even fell into a losing streak at one point. But as Harden fits perfectly into the Clippers' tactical system and leads the team to attack, the Clippers' record begins to improve little by little. In terms of tactics, although the Clippers still retain most of the original tactical system, under Harden's set of tactics, it is rare for the Clippers' tactics to show their power.
With Harden on the offensive end, the Clippers' tactical system may change more, and Westbrook will move to the bench, but the Clippers will have to rotate to ensure that there is enough offensive threat. At the beginning, in order to let Harden enter the team as soon as possible, Wei Shao took the initiative to give up the starting position, and it was Wei Shao who took the initiative to give up the position, and the Clippers regained their rhythm. Returning to the bench, Wei Shao did not get worse, but because he had more room to play, he became more and more efficient, and also because he returned to the original period of the Thunder.
In fact, the reason why Harden did not quickly integrate into the Clippers' tactical system is related to the need to adjust his own style of play, and also related to the conflict with Wei Shao's style of play. Although the two once played a delicate cooperation in the Thunder, as time went by, as well as the change of tactical position, the tacit understanding between Harden and Wei Shao began to decrease, and the ball possession of the two began to become more high, which led to the two not being able to find a tacit understanding after reuniting.
But after all, the two have been partners for many years, and after a period of debugging, they have also found a point where they can coexist with each other. Today's Harden takes fewer outside shots in the offensive half and scores when necessary, while Willis will focus on impacting the basket after coming off the bench. Even if the two have time to play together, they have a clear division of labor in terms of playing style, but the two have played a tacit cooperation under the stimulation of tacit understanding.
Harden and Westbrook are getting better and better, but Leonard and George can play more relaxed. Leonard and George are now more relaxed on the offensive end than they were some time ago, and even if they don't need to be involved in the offense at times, they can be appropriate on the court"Drain the water"。With Harden under command and Willis on the charge, the Clippers can secure victory, while Kawhi Leonard and George can maintain more fitness until the playoffs.
The Clippers waited patiently to prove that the team's choice to trade Harden was the right decision, and Wei Shao sat on the bench, which made the Clippers' roster more confident. Compared to other contenders, it can be said that the Clippers are strong today, and they can even send two starting lineups, which can have a better fighting force in the playoffs.