The Los Angeles Clippers are poised to be a captivating team to watch for the remainder of the 2023/24 NBA season. After numerous unsuccessful negotiations, they secured superstar James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in a favorable trade, while retaining the core of Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
However, the major challenge for the Clippers at present is integrating all four stars into a cohesive playing system. Particularly, defining the ball-handling roles between James Harden and Russell Westbrook poses a significant dilemma.
The duo has previously experienced success playing together, notably during their time with the Houston Rockets in the 2019/20 season and earlier in their careers with the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, circumstances have changed. Harden, now 34, and Westbrook, approaching 35, aren’t the primary offensive focal points they once were, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George assuming those roles for the Clippers in recent years.
Moreover, all four players excel when possessing the ball, especially James Harden and Russell Westbrook. In this article, experts from The Sporting News will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of having both players on the court simultaneously.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Combining James Harden and Russell Westbrook
For James Harden, despite being listed as a shooting guard (SG), he has often taken on the role of a point guard (PG) since joining the Houston Rockets in 2012. On the other hand, Russell Westbrook has consistently been one of the premier PGs in the NBA during his peak years. In theory, there are both advantages and disadvantages to pairing two players with overlapping playing positions on the court.
Advantages
In practice, although both classified as PGs, the playing styles of Harden and Westbrook differ significantly. To effectively combine the two players on the court, utilizing Russell Westbrook as the primary ball-handler and allowing James Harden to return to his pure scoring role appears to be the most favorable scenario.
Firstly, Russell Westbrook performs suboptimally when playing without the ball, as evident from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James. Statistical data supports this observation, with Westbrook converting only 23 out of 69 attempted three-pointers in catch-and-shoot situations during the 2022/23 season. This low conversion rate allows opponents to sag off Westbrook defensively and focus on more threatening players like Paul George or Kawhi Leonard.
In contrast, James Harden has demonstrated consistent prowess in off-ball play. In the previous season, Harden converted 41.5% of his three-point attempts in catch-and-shoot situations, albeit averaging only 1.8 such attempts per game with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden’s high conversion rate demands defensive attention and provides spacing for the team.
Therefore, the Clippers can optimize their usage of both players by assigning Russell Westbrook the primary ball-handling role and tasking James Harden with scoring duties. The flexibility for them to interchange these roles during a game, as witnessed during their time together with the Houston Rockets in the 2019/20 season, could be beneficial.
Disadvantages
However, the theoretical alignment of Russell Westbrook and James Harden may not seamlessly translate into practice. Placing Harden back into a pure scoring role is a viable option, but the 34-year-old thrives most when in possession of the ball. Playing alongside Westbrook could unintentionally diminish Harden’s effectiveness on the court.
Furthermore, the Clippers differ from the Houston Rockets of four years ago. In Houston, both Harden and Westbrook were the primary stars, receiving the bulk of ball-handling responsibilities and benefiting from a system tailored to their strengths. In contrast, at the Clippers, these roles have been held by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for several years.
Moreover, both Leonard and George are players who thrive with the ball in their hands. According to NBA Stats, Paul George had a ball-control rate of 29.4%, while Kawhi Leonard had 26.7% during the previous season. The ball-control rates for both Harden and Westbrook were 24.7% and 24.2%, respectively. With these dynamics, distributing ball-handling duties among the four stars will necessitate adjustments, potentially impacting the performance of all players involved.
In their debut game together, the Los Angeles Clippers suffered a 97-111 loss to the New York Knicks. James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard all underperformed, displaying a somewhat disjointed connection throughout the match.
Nevertheless, this was only their first game, and the Clippers have five months to integrate all components into a cohesive system before the commencement of playoff matchups.