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During the first week of the season, the LA Clippers took a big swing and traded for James Harden. Putting all these stars together has made them the most challenging team in the league to predict.
After suffering a six-game losing streak upon Harden's debut, the Clippers have managed to bounce back some. They sit in tenth place in the Western Conference with a record of 8-9.
Many thought that adding Harden to a core of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook would lead to a superteam, but that has yet to happen. Here are some reasons why the Clippers have been such a tough team to figure out.
Reasons why LA Clippers are hardest team to predict in the NBA
1) Growing pains
The biggest reason why the Clippers are such a hard team to predict is because of growing pains. At the moment, all of the stars are still figuring out how to co-exist with one another.
Blending star talent is hard enough in the NBA, let alone when it needs to be done on the fly. On top of that, James Harden had to ramp up from having a light training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It will take some time for the four All-Stars to figure out how to thrive with one another. Until then, their performances are going to be extremely unpredictable.
2) Still tweaking the lineup
Another factor that's led to the LA Clippers being unpredictable is that Ty Lue is still messing around with his lineup. In the beginning, Harden and Russell Westbrook were starting in the backcourt. After a few weeks, Lue made the decision to bring Westbrook off the bench.
With Terrance Mann in the starting lineup, the Clippers have a connector piece along Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Still, in the season's early stages, there is no telling if Lue will stick with this group as his starting five long-term.
Aside from the stars, the team won't start clicking on all fronts until the lineups and rotations are set in stone.
3) James Harden
Above all, one of the key reasons why the LA Clippers are such a hard team to predict is because of their most recent addition. Harden has adapted his game on the back end of his prime, but he's been the most unpredictable player for the LA Clippers this season.
Fresh off multiple seasons of averaging 10+ assists, Harden has embraced being one of the NBA's top facilitators. However, there are still some nights where he can turn back the clock and look like the scorer he was for the Houston Rockets.
Harden's last two outings clearly indicate how unpredictable he's become. Against the Denver Nuggets earlier this week, he finished with just 11 points and four assists. Two nights later, he erupted for 26 points, six assists and five steals in a win over the Sacramento Kings.
Until the LA Clippers can get a reasonable level of production from Harden on a nightly basis, they will be impossible to predict moving forward.
