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The Los Angeles Clippers are just 6-8 since trading for former NBA MVP James Harden.
Along with Harden, the Clippers acquired NBA veteran PJ Tucker in the deal.
And Tucker didn’t hold back when asked why the team has struggled so much since he and Harden arrived.
“There’s not enough basketballs on the planet for this team, really,” Tucker said according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Now, you can take that a number of ways. But the Clippers offense is center around four superstars: Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
All four are over the age of 30 and all four appeared to be on the downside of their respective NBA careers, with George looking the most like the player many have come to expect.
Each of the four has been a No. 1 scoring option on teams during their careers and each are used to have a usage rate over 30 percent.
That becomes a problem when you put them all on the court together.
Westbrook recently tried to alleviate that problem by volunteering to come off the bench for coach Tyronn Lue. The Clippers are 6-3 since that move on Nov. 17. But Harden still appears to be struggling to acclimate to his new home.
“I’m not a system player, I’m a system,” Harden said at his introductory press conference with the twam. “If I have someone who can have a dialogue with me, make adjustments on the fly throughout the course of the game, that’s all I really care about. It’s not about having the basketball, or scoring 30, 40 points a night. I’ve done that already.”
There’s just one big problem.
Westbrook is a system. Leonard is a system. And, to a lesser extent, George is a system.
The Clippers have plenty of time to figure things out before the playoffs. But Tucker isn’t shy about the issue, and his teammates may not appreciate him saying as much.