Saturday night, against the Warriors, James Harden left the field after just four minutes. It wasn't because of an injury, or a foul problem. It's just that Tyronn Lue felt he didn't take the meeting the right way. In fact, the Clippers coach will put Harden back into play with three substitutes (Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell and Kobe Brown), and Ivica Zubac.
The goal is simple: to allow him to be more himself, and thus prevent him from being too passive alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
“I do whatever the team needs”, assures Harden. “Whether I play the whole first quarter or play six minutes and come back with the second unit, we're trying to understand the situation. We're trying to do what's necessary and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
The former MVP explains that he and the staff discuss it constantly. “We had a discussion on the subject. I was told, “All right, let’s do it.” If you like, you like. If you don’t like it, we won’t discuss it again, and we’ll continue to build from that.”
At the start of the 2nd half, Harden was obviously in the starting five, but Lue had chosen to place Powell next to him, and no longer Terance Mann. A winning formula since we will find an effective Harden, in the attack of the circle but also the distribution of the game.
Harden thinks he can bring more
“We are all used to scoring 30 points and putting up big stats”recalls Harden about his association with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. “I can only speak for myself, but I feel like I can contribute more to this team and I feel like if we can all contribute to this team in ways other than what we are used to, with which we are comfortable, we will be good.
Words shared by Tyronn Lue who simply asks these superstars to break away from their habits. “The guys are playing differently than they are used to. And it's hard to tell four All-Stars and four future Hall of Famers to play differently when they've been doing it for so long. This is the challenge that the staff will have to face throughout the year. It's quite difficult but I'm made for it. I like this team. I love our team, and it's up to me to find the solution, just like the other four players. »
