PLAYA VISTA — James Harden is a talker. Before games, after games and in practice, the veteran point guard chats up his teammates and confers with coaches about how the Clippers can continue to improve.
Constant communication, Harden said recently, is key to not getting bored and losing sight of their goals, namely an extended playoff run.
“You see after practice James is grabbing six guys every day and just going through pick-and-roll drills, how he wants the bigs to screen it,” Coach Tyronn Lue said.
While Bones Hyland, Kobe Brown and Brandon Miller are among those Harden pulls aside to explain the intricacies of the pick-and-roll, center Ivica Zubac gets the most of Harden’s attention. Zubac and Harden have developed a solid chemistry in pick-and-rolls that has led to more points and rebounds for the tandem. Harden even asked the 7-foot center to stay after practice last month to discuss ways to improve.
Harden knows what he is talking about. At 34, the three-time league scoring champion continues to be an effective pick-and-roll scorer and an elite passer who has prospered with centers who get to the rim quickly and can pass the ball on their way to the rim. Zubac is that kind of rim-runner.
“I don’t think there was one point where it clicked,” Zubac said. “It was repetition, just kind of getting the experience of playing together and kind of understanding what he likes, what I like and that’s it.
“We do it a lot at the facility and we do it a lot in the games and all that repetition game after game helps and we’re still not there yet. He still gets mad at me sometimes when I slip out or if I don’t flip a pick. I still sometimes don’t know what he wants so there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but with repetition and with games it’s going to get better.”
Lue said Harden is good for the team, not just because of his off-court leadership skills, conversations or his 17.7 points per game, but all the other things the 10-time All-Star does.
“James keeps our team happy because he’s going to get Zu a couple dunks, going to get (Paul George) a couple spot-up 3’s, him and (Kawhi Leonard), going to get Norm (Powell) some shots, but also (he is) able to score on his own,” Lue said. “He’s been great. His size (6-foot-5) is really good because he can see over a lot of the defenses and make plays.”
Harden isn’t the only one sharing in the locker room. Lue said Leonard, George and Russell Westbrook often spend time talking to the younger players. The constant chatter and communication will help the team not get bored with the process of playing hard, Lue added.
“We’ve been scoring at a high rate, but that doesn’t mean that we got to stop defending and being good defensively, and so that’s got to be our mindset,” Lue said.
Harden’s high level of play is even more important if Leonard misses any more games. The two-time NBA Finals MVP has not played in the Clippers’ past three games – two losses and a close call against the short-handed Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday – because of a bruised hip but was able to practice Thursday “a little bit,” according to Lue.
Leonard was averaging 24.4 points before getting hip-checked by Grant Williams in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
GRIZZLIES AT CLIPPERS
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: Bally Sports SoCal, 570 AM
