Clippers head coach: Opponents will focus on Harden in every game, I think he performed well

In the previous NBA regular season, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers at home 130-116. After this game, the Nuggets' record, which has won six consecutive games, has improved to 9 wins and 2 losses, and their ranking has climbed to second place in the Western Conference; while the Clippers, who have suffered six consecutive losses, have dropped to 3 wins and 8 losses, continuing to rank 12th in the Western Conference. After the game, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue accepted an interview with reporters. In the interview, he also talked about the performance of the team's backcourt star James Harden in the game.

In this regard, Lu said: Almost every opponent we encounter this season is focusing on marking James Harden, with the purpose of compressing his space on the court. Harden did encounter a lot of trouble in this situation. In this case, what Harden needs to do is to continue to maintain enough trust and focus, continue to pass good balls to his teammates, and continue to make the right choices on the court. I think he did that today, he really kept his focus and made a lot of good passes to his teammates, and he also played his role.

Director Lu continued: There will be ups and downs in shooting percentage. This is normal. Playing well is the most important thing. You know, what you have to do is show trust in your teammates and avoid that negative emotion. Opponents will definitely double-team him because he is a very good pick-and-roll player and a one-on-one master. In this game, we just hope that he can play his own game, pass the ball with open opportunities, and make simple passes. I think he really worked hard to do this in this game.

In this game, Harden played 29 minutes and 46 seconds, shooting 6 of 15, 1 of 6 from beyond the three-point line, and 10 of 10 free throws. He scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. He also had 2 turnovers. His plus-minus value was as low as -24, the lowest in the game. Since the start of this season, Harden has played a total of 10 times in the first 11 games, averaging 34.4 minutes per game, averaging 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. He also has 4 turnovers and 1.7 fouls. He shot 45.2% from the field, 37.8% from the three-point range, and 92.3% from the free throw line. Harden's performance in this game was not bad, but the problem is that as the core of the team, Harden's performance was not enough when his opponent Nikola Jokic scored 55 points. If the core of the team can only perform like this, it is unrealistic to defeat a powerful opponent.