James Harden 2024 NBA Playoffs Scouting Report: Dissecting LA Clippers point guard's impact and minutes

James Harden and the LA Clippers will face the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Clippers lost 116-105 in the final game of the regular season but were able to hold on to the fourth place in the standings. The first-round series begins Saturday.

When Harden joined the team in the beginning of the season, the team got off to a horrid start, losing six consecutive games at one point, as coach Ty Lue tried to find the perfect balance between his stars. Once the team found its groove, it became nearly unstoppable from December until mid-February.

Russell Westbrook moved to the bench, as Harden combined with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to form one of the best starting trios in the league.

James Harden regular-season stats

The 10-time All-Star played in 72 games in his first season with the Clippers. As has been the case throughout his career, Harden improved the team with his scoring and playmaking abilities. Here are his regular-season stats:

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG%	3-PT% FG	FT%
James Harden	17.4	5.4	8.9	1.1	0.8	2.7	42.8	38.1	87.8

James Harden playoff stats

Before joining the LA Clippers, James Harden played for four teams: the OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. Harden has never missed the playoffs in his career. He has appeared in 160 playoff games so far. Here's a look at his playoff stats:

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG%	3-PT FG%	FT%
James Harden	22.7	5.5	6.3	1.7	0.5	3.5	42.4	33.8	87.3

Strengths and weaknesses

It doesn't need a basketball genius to figure out that there's a clear drop in James Harden's performance in the playoffs in comparison to the regular season. There is almost a drop in all his averages, with the biggest being in his 3-point shooting from 36.4% to 33.8%.

Harden needs to improve his efficiency if he is to lead the LA Clippers to a long run in the NBA Playoffs.

While his playoff performance has always been held against him, for most of his career, Harden was the lone star in the teams he played for. That is no more the case, as opposing defenses will be focused on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

While James Harden is expected to get more clean shots because of his teammates, he might be in the not-so enviable position of guarding Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the first round.

Doncic, who seems to have perfected the stepback 3-pointer that was popularized by Harden, needs to be neutralized at all costs or it could be yet another early playoff exit for the Clippers.

Impact, role and projected playoff minutes

James Harden averaged 34.3 minutes for the season. Ty Lue is expected to play Harden a similar amount of time in the playoffs. While Harden's production dropped this year, he could take more shots as defenses converge on Leonard and George.

"The Beard" also needs to decrease his turnovers and find open shots for his teammates. Harden and Ivica Zubac could form a fearsome pick-and-roll tandem to expose the Mavericks at the rim.

The LA Clippers' experiment with Leonard and George has been ongoing for five years now. They reached the Conference Finals in 2020-21 but have never been to the NBA Finals. Will James Harden's addition finally lead the team to the promised land? We will find out soon enough.