Clippers’ James Harden Asked Ivica Zubac to Stay Late to Practice Pick-and-Rolls

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It hasn’t been pretty for the Los Angeles Clippers since acquiring James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team is 0-3 since the trade, with Harden averaging just 14.3 points and 4.7 assists per game as he learns to coexist with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

It’s been clunky enough that while head coach Tyronn Lue “doesn’t believe lineups without a center fit Harden’s ability as a pick-and-roll savant,” per Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, the veteran point guard resorted to asking “starting center Ivica Zubac to stay later after the team’s morning shoot-around Friday to work on pick-and-rolls.”

The adjustment period is obvious. Per that report: “Before the trade, Westbrook averaged 72 touches per game, George 59 and Leonard 54, according to NBA data. In three games together since the trade, with Harden averaging 56 touches, George has averaged seven fewer, Leonard 14 fewer and Westbrook 32 fewer per game.”

Without Harden, meanwhile, the Sixers have gone 7-1 on the season and have won five straight games since the trade.

Harden has a very specific way of playing the game, thriving in isolation with multiple shooters spacing the floor, or in pick-and-roll actions. So far, it would seem that his style of play isn’t complementing a trio of stars in George, Leonard and Westbrook who have also traditionally served as the focal points of a team’s offense.