Admitted, Harden 9+8+7 after the game: The Clippers are more talented on both offensive and defensive ends than the Rockets in '18!
This year, the Clippers defeated the Celtics 115-96, ending the Celtics' three-game winning streak, and Harden did not play well, but in the end, they won a victory, and Harden talked about the current state of the Clippers and the 18-year-old Rockets in an interview.
"Last time the Celtics beat us on our home court, so we have to change that, and now we have a whole team, both offensively and defensively, better than the Rockets in '18, we have a lot of veterans, and we've worked together for many years, so I think the Clippers are more talented at the moment, and we're very focused and very serious every game," Harden said. After the game, we're going to play together in the game, and that's exactly what the Clippers need.
To be honest, I have seen the Rockets in the 2018 season, but I have also seen the Clippers today, first, the number of players in the Clippers team has far exceeded that of the previous Rockets, although Harden is powerful, but his teammate is Paul. In the past, Tucker, Ariza, Gordon, Capela, these people were not superstars, but today's Clippers are different, they have Leonard, George, and Harden and Westbrook, this year's game, they did not enter the All-Star Game, but their ability is obvious to all.
Leonard's stability, George's breakaway, both of them are on the offensive end, the offensive end, the offensive end, the offensive end of Willis, Harden's excellent ball handling, made the Clippers the most talented team in the league all of a sudden, Zubac, Theis, Powell, Mann, Plumlee, Coffey, these are all very good players both offensively and defensively.
Coupled with Harden's strength, Paul's steadiness, and constant substitutions, this makes every team in the NBA more dependent on three-point shooting, while today's Clippers can carry out endless rotations, can conduct positional operations, and they don't need too many three-pointers, they can also use mid-range shooting to score, and among the 18 players in the Rockets, Paul is the only one who is good at mid-range shooting. The difference between the two sides is evident from this.
Harden was 2-of-11, 0-of-6 from 3-pointers, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw range to finish with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, +36+. If it were the current Rockets, it would not be easy to win the game, but against the Clippers, they defeated the top team in the league and won a big victory, and from this point of view, the Clippers are obviously a little stronger.