NBA Exec Hypes James Harden's Fit with Clippers: 'Honestly Night and Day' Difference

One Eastern Conference scout sees a "night and day" difference with the Los Angeles Clippers now that they've had more time to work James Harden into their rotation.

"There's more rhyme and reason to what they're doing," the scout said to ESPN's Chris Herring. "They go one-on-one a lot still, but they have the ability to play quick, too, because they can space you out so much. With an A-1 passer like Harden, they can hurt you in more ways now than they could before."

The Clippers faced plenty of second-guessing after they lost their first five games with Harden in the lineup.

The general belief was that Los Angeles needed to do something big such as acquiring the 2017-18 MVP but the move wasn't without a lot or risk. As it related to Harden specifically, his value has been declining for multiple years, and it was unclear whether he or the team could make the accommodations necessary with another ball-dominant star joining Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

Since ending their losing skid, though, the Clippers are 14-5 and have the NBA's seventh-best net rating (5.3), per NBA.com. Harden is averaging 17.8 points on 46.7 percent shooting, including 44.2 percent on three-pointers, along with 8.6 assists per game.

The 34-year-old is both helping to facilitate the offense while having a less direct influence on the court. His 20.2 percent usage rate is on pace to be the second-lowest of his career, according to Basketball Reference.

This is where Harden's track record precedes him, though. For now, the Clippers have to be thrilled with the impact he's having. Whether this continues into the postseason is another matter.

The Philadelphia 76ers similarly thought they were finding a winning formula with Harden and Joel Embiid, only for the former to once again come up short in the playoffs and pass the buck in the aftermath.

The honeymoon period between Harden and the Clippers will recede quickly if Los Angeles is unable to make the kind of breakthrough that has proven elusive since adding Leonard and George in 2019.