(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Although they traded for James Harden, the Los Angeles Clippers still find themselves struggling to rack up wins.
The Clippers have lost three consecutive games, though their most recent loss was the worst one as they were blown out by the Dallas Mavericks.
Although Los Angeles led after the first quarter, it was all downhill from there as they were outscored by Dallas 47 to 18 in the second quarter and never recovered.
Luka Doncic has historically dominated the Clippers and he did it again as he scored 44 points in just 32 minutes of action.
The Clippers star-studded starting lineup hasn’t produced results yet, and the media and fans are starting to wonder whether or not the Harden trade was worth it.
Harden makes for an easy scapegoat, but Skip Bayless had some thoughts on the game and pinned the loss on Russell Westbrook via his Twitter account.
Clippers got off to a hot start at Dallas, led by 12 – now trail by 26 at half. 26! They keep giving up huge runs because they play little to no defense. JHarden was very good on offense. But Russ just gets in the way.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 11, 2023
Westbrook is no stranger to criticism as he, like Harden, is usually the first player people blame for their team’s struggles.
To Bayless’ point, Westbrook struggled defensively against the Mavericks who hunted him and got good shots when targeting him.
The point guard’s still one of the most athletic and explosive players in the league, but his defensive awareness has hurt Los Angeles on multiple occasions this season.
It’s early, so head coach Tyronn Lue has time to figure things out on both sides of the ball though he definitely has his work cut out for him.
The Westbrook-Harden pairing may have worked in the past, but now the two must find a way to complement each other better on the floor.
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