James Harden Out vs. Thunder with Calf Injury, Clippers Face More Offensive Uncertainty
The LA Clippers will be without James Harden on Thursday night when they take on the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden is dealing with a left calf contusion, and his status for Saturday’s matchup against the Lakers remains up in the air.
This injury stems from last Thursday’s narrow 115-113 loss to the Houston Rockets, where Harden first tweaked the calf. He was back on the practice court Sunday, wearing a sleeve on his left leg, but that session came a day after the Clippers canceled practice altogether due to a shortage of healthy bodies.
Head coach Tyronn Lue didn’t mention Harden’s injury over the weekend, but the veteran guard suited up Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies despite being listed as a game-time decision. It turned out to be one of his roughest outings of the year. In 31 minutes, Harden scored just 13 points on 10 shots, missed all of his attempts inside the arc, and showed signs of being physically compromised-failing to get back in transition and missing box-outs on key possessions.
After the 121-103 home loss, Lue made it clear: Harden probably shouldn’t have played, but his desire to be on the floor outweighed his physical limitations.
“James wants to play every night,” Lue said. “Just having the mindset to try to gut it out for us was huge.
And you could tell he wasn’t himself throughout the whole course of the game. We just kept checking on him, kept trying to monitor it.
And you know, just give him respect for just trying to get out there.”
That loss dropped the Clippers to 6-20, and it added another layer to what’s been a frustrating season for a team that continues to search for rhythm-and reliable health.
Harden has been the engine of LA’s offense this season, leading the team in both scoring (26.0 points per game) and assists (8.1). Without him, the Clippers’ offensive output falls off a cliff.
They’re scoring just 102.3 points per 100 possessions when Harden’s off the floor-a staggering 14.8-point drop from when he’s on. For perspective, the Indiana Pacers, who rank dead last in offensive efficiency this season, still manage 108.2 points per 100 possessions.
This will be just the second game Harden has missed all season. The first came on November 6 in Phoenix, a game Kawhi Leonard also sat out due to foot and ankle sprains.
The Clippers lost that one 115-102, and it was a game that featured the last full appearance from Bradley Beal before his season-ending hip injury, as well as Chris Paul’s final half of action before being pulled from the rotation. Paul remains inactive as the team looks for a trade partner.
With Harden sidelined, LA will lean on a mix of Kris Dunn, Bogdan Bogdanović, and two-way guards Kobe Sanders and RayJ Dennis to handle backcourt duties. It’s a patchwork group without much shot creation, making Leonard’s presence even more vital-and putting a spotlight on whether the Clippers can find any offensive stability in Harden’s absence.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City enters Thursday’s contest coming off a four-day break after falling to the Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals. The Thunder were originally scheduled to host the Clippers on Wednesday, but the league pushed the game to Thursday to avoid a back-to-back for OKC. Instead of prepping for a Cup championship, the 24-2 Thunder now get a well-rested shot at a shorthanded Clippers squad.
For LA, the timing couldn’t be tougher. Harden’s injury not only takes away their primary playmaker, but it also strips them of the one player who’s consistently generated offense when the rest of the roster has struggled to find its footing. Until he’s back-and back at full strength-the Clippers will be fighting an uphill battle on both ends of the floor.