Clippers Considering Starting James Harden Off the Bench?

The Los Angeles Clippers traded for James Harden with hopes of winning an NBA championship this season. However, since his arrival, the Clippers have yet to secure a victory and are currently in the midst of a 4-game losing streak.

Many are attributing the team's struggles to Harden, given the positive form they were in before the trade. Now, it's time to consider possible solutions to the Clippers' difficulties and whether or not Harden should come off the bench.

Clippers Pressure

The Clippers are facing a lot of pressure to succeed this season. Ever since Kawhi's arrival in LA, claiming to be the new "king" in town, there have been championship expectations. Now, with Harden and Westbrook joining the team, these expectations have only increased, as both are former MVPs and have a reputation for struggling to play team basketball.



They have both carried teams as sole superstars, but that can only take you so far in today's NBA. Therefore, they need to be willing to make sacrifices for this Clippers squad to achieve their goals.

4 Dominant Ball Handlers

With Harden, the Clippers now feature a starting lineup of four ball-dominant players. Westbrook, George, Leonard, and Harden are all superstars in this league who require the ball in their hands the majority of the time. With only one ball to share and limited possessions, it's challenging for any one of them to find their groove properly. Therefore, the best solution would be to move one player to the bench.

Clippers before/after the Harden trade:

Before — After —
5th in ORTG 25th in ORTG
4th in DRTG 28th in DRTG
3rd in NETRTG 27th in NETRTG pic.twitter.com/zFMg2EXudM— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 11, 2023

This isn't necessarily a bad thing for any of the players, as they can still play around 30 minutes a game coming off the bench. In fact, it would give them more opportunities as a ball handler to showcase their talents. It comes down to ego, which has historically been a challenge for many players, as seen with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.

This move would be extremely beneficial to a player like Harden, as demonstrated by Chris Paul's willingness to come off the bench for Golden State, which has significantly improved their team's performance.

Why Harden should Come Off The Bench

Harden made some bold claims when he first joined the Clippers. He publicly stated that he was not a system player and that he himself was the system. Along with rumors of his intentions to return to Houston and lead the team, as he did for the latter part of the 2010s, Harden is showing that he wants to be the main superstar of a team.


While he may not have full control in Los Angeles, being in the second unit could allow him to have a significant influence on the style of play when he's on the court, different from what the starters play.

He likely won't be averaging over 30 points per game like he used to, but taking charge of the bench could certainly help improve his underwhelming start as a Clipper, where he has only averaged 14.3 points in 32 minutes per game.

Additionally, we know that the 3-man core of Westbrook, Leonard, and George can work, as they had a 3-1 record before the Harden trade. So, it makes sense to move Harden to the reserve unit instead of wasting time experimenting with different lineups, especially with the in-season tournament underway and a very limited window of opportunity to progress through the group stage.