The NBA season is already halfway through, and recently ESPN journalists have commented on the most impressive players in the first half of the season, listing eight players. Most of them are young people under 30 years old. Harden is the only player over 30 among them; he is currently 35 years old and tops the league, with no veteran able to match his influence in the first half of the season. The other seven are Towns, CC Cunningham, Wembanyama, Daniels, Ball, the Nets' Johnson, and the Clippers' Powell.
Powell also shines brightly in Harden's system. Because Harden can attract defensive resources to swarm around Powell, Powell has played the most efficient and outstanding game of his career this season. According to statistics, when Harden is unable to play, Powell's data and shooting percentage experience a cliff-like decline. Many people say that Harden is not the core of the Clippers because of his low shooting percentage and the fact that Powell and Zubac have thick legs, but the fact is that Harden is the leader.
When ESPN praised Harden as the most impressive player in the first half of the season, renowned journalist Tim Bontemps also evaluated him. Bontemps believes that Harden's performance in the first half of this year is the reason why the Clippers can rank fifth in the West. Bontemps also compares Philadelphia and the Clippers. George, who earns 50millionayear,lefttheClippers,whileHardenrenewedhiscontractfor70 million over two years. However, the results of the two teams are different; Philadelphia's record is at the bottom of the East, while the Clippers are fifth in the West.
Similarly, both the Clippers and Philadelphia lost their main players; the Clippers lost Leonard, and Philadelphia lost Embiid. However, so far this season, Embiid has played well in 13 games, actually playing more times than Leonard. This clearly indicates that the Clippers' success comes from Harden. In terms of configuration, isn't Philadelphia's setup for George better than the Clippers'? George has Maxey, an interior with Drummond and Okafor, as well as Gordon, Oubre, Jones, Martin, and Lowry, all of whom are tough players.
Tim Bontemps said: "The Clippers lost Paul George, and Leonard also missed the first half due to injury. He still has time restrictions. Let's deduct Leonard's return games first. Only counting Harden's solo leadership record, he still has 20 wins and 17 losses. Obviously, Harden plays a key role. Harden averages 21.4 points and 8 assists. He helps Powell become better, and they both perform outstandingly in the backcourt. Although Harden's shooting percentage has dropped, he keeps the Clippers competitive, which deserves praise. The Clippers this season are much better than expected [12th in the West], and Harden is the reason."
It is worth noting that a scout said that Harden has been criticized for a sharp decline in recent years, but through his performance in the first half of this year, Harden's reputation has been reversed, and the outside world thinks he still has fuel. Additionally, the Clippers' defensive efficiency this season ranks second only to the Rockets, slowly entering fourth from being the fifth-best defensive team in the league. With Leonard's return, the Clippers may welcome stronger firepower on the offensive end, and if Leonard stays healthy in the second half of the season, the Clippers do have the ability to compete for the championship on both ends of the court.
Considering Leonard and Embiid's situations, Leonard keeping Harden indeed made a big profit because he is the biggest beneficiary. If the Clippers hadn't kept Harden, and Leonard didn't play again, the Clippers would be heading straight for the lottery, which would be a disaster. After all, Leonard is a top-paid player, and the team traded draft picks and Alexander for George because of him. It was Harden who helped Leonard through this difficult period. Last offseason, the outside world predicted that Harden would lead the West to 12th place alone, and this offseason, the Clippers should give Harden a raise.