The Los Angeles Clippers have gotten off to the worst start in 15 years. But the Clippers are hoping that renewed health and a historic performance by James Harden on Saturday afternoon will spur a rejuvenation.
Clippers Get Good News As They Look To Parlay Historic Performance Into Season Turnaround
Los Angeles received good news before its afternoon game against the Charlotte Hornets. About an hour before the Clippers were slated to play the fifth of seven consecutive road games, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reported that Kawhi Leonard is expected to return to the court on Sunday when the Clippers are in Cleveland.
“Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (foot) is expected to make his return Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the last 10 games, league sources tell me,” Haynes tweeted.
The Clippers, Harden in particular, must have been inspired by Leonard’s news. The Clippers raced past the homestanding Hornets 131-116, led by a franchise-record 55 points from Harden. Harden, who broke the mark previously held by Charles Smith (1990) and Bob McAdoo (1972 and 1974), knocked down 17 of 26 shots, including 10 threes.
“Needed a win,” Harden said after the game. “At this point, it’s about winning. So, I had to do what I had to do.”
Harden’s Historic Performance
Harden’s performance was the 25th time that he hit the 50-point plateau, tying Kobe Bryant for the third most in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain (118) tops the list and is followed by Michael Jordan (31).
According to Clutchpoints, Tomer Azarly, Harden also became the fourth-oldest player in NBA history to tally 50 points. Only Bryant, LeBron James, and Stephon Curry were older.
While the Clippers have struggled without Leonard, Harden has thrived. Over nine games, the 36-year-old averaged 32 points, 8.2 assists, and 6.6 rebounds. He also drained 4.7 threes while compiling shooting splits of 45.1/41.6/88.9. Additionally, he totaled three double-doubles and two triple-doubles during this stretch.
“If we just continue to stack days the right way, continue to understand what our foundation is on both sides of the basketball, then we’ll be a good team,” Lue said. “I know we had some injuries, and we’ve been fighting through that. But everybody in the league is injured. So, we just got to continue to keep doing things the right way, and then kind of build from there.”
The win over the Hornets was just the Clippers’ second in 11 games. The Clippers are now 5-11 and sit in 12th place in the Western Conference. It is the franchise’s worst record after 16 games, since 2010-11, and is more troubling since the Clippers saw themselves as championship contenders before the season.
The Clippers Do Have A Chance To Turn Things Around
Leonard has been out since November 3 due to right ankle and foot sprains. Before suffering the injury, Leonard had gotten off to a strong start as he scored 27 points in four of his six outings, topping the 30-point mark twice. The 34-year-old forward averages 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists along with shooting splits of 50.5/40.0/96.3. The Clippers are 3-3 in the games Leonard has played this season, though they have been outscored by nearly 8 points per game when he has been on the floor. However, that number is mainly the result of two poor performances, where he was -29 and -35.
Despite the Clippers’ struggles, they still have a chance to make the playoffs. The Clippers are only one-half game behind 10th-place Memphis and five games back of the surprising sixth-place Phoenix. While they haven’t played the most daunting schedule thus far, their remaining 66 opponents rank in the middle of the pack, per Power Rankings Guru.
After tonight’s game against Cleveland, which will be without Jarrett Allen, Lonzo Ball, and three others, the Clippers return to LA to face the Lakers at Crypto.com. They will host Memphis and Dallas later in the week before heading back out for a five-game road trip.
Injuries Update
Injuries have been part of the Clippers’ struggle, but the whole story. Their biggest issue has been on defense, where they rank 24th in defensive rating and allow 117.1 points per game. They allow opponents to shoot 47.1% from the field and are among the worst at defending the 3-point line. Opponents are making nearly 15 threes a game (fourth-most) at a 38.7% clip (fifth-worst). Rebounding, turnovers, and creating turnovers have also been issues for the Clippers.
The Clippers have lost the fourth-most player games in the league to injury, with 58. Leonard and Bradley Beal, who is out for the season, have missed 10. Jordan Miller has sat out 13, and Bogdan Bogdanovic seven. Meanwhile, Derrick Jones Jr. has missed just three, but he is slated to be out at least until the beginning of January.
Miller will miss his 14th game of the season after being declared out against Cleveland. Meanwhile, Bogdanovic’s (hip) status for the game is questionable, according to Law Murphy of The Athletic. If the 33-year-old is not able to go, it would be the second consecutive game he has missed.
Murphy added that the Clippers are now calling Bogdanovic’s hip injury a contusion. It is the fourth different injury that the 33-year-old has dealt with.
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