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LA Clippers: Self-defense out of desperation
In the depths of winter you could hear a completely different tone from the team; the Clippers won 26 of their 31 games from December to February 6th and at the end of this phase were even greeted by the top of the Western Conference. Since then, the Clippers have only been able to win about half of their games and have clearly lacked consistency. Two good games were rarely followed by a third.
Things got particularly strange against the Blazers almost ten days ago, who they were able to beat twice, but a lot was missing in terms of body language, attention to detail and, above all, fun. The team was also aware of that. So Harden made an interesting decision in the third quarter with an 81:60 lead against the tanking Blazers’ core team. After a pass to the free Leonard in the corner he ran to his teammate and pulled off the closeout, as you would otherwise do as a defender. Why?
“We needed this,” guard Xavier Moon explained afterwards and, when asked by a reporter, made it clear that he also meant what he said. “Really, this is what we needed. It was about time.” Harden confirmed this: “I just wanted to bring some fun to the team. The last few weeks have been like a fog for us. I think every team experiences that. I just want to bring good energy and good vibes to this team.”
“Maybe it would have been better for us if he had hit the throw. But that gave us something to laugh about, some joy,” Harden said. “At this point we just have to make sure everyone is having fun and being happy. And everyone has to want to see their teammate succeed on the field. That’s the only way this team can function.”
2024-04-02 07:32:00
#fun #missing #Clippers #fog #time #playoffs
