Clippers Are Failing to Manage James Harden's Minutes Once Again

James Harden is carrying a massive workload, but that is not a sustainable approach for the Clippers.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers have been in desperation mode after starting the season 6-21. They have righted the ship since then are now 19-23 after their sixth straight win on Monday night against the Wizards. While it was understandable for them to play James Harden and Kawhi Leonard as many minutes as they can handle out of desperation, the Clippers have to be more careful and deploy a longer-term approach now that they are out of the woods.

In recent weeks, Harden's minutes and workload have gotten out of control, an issue that has previously plagued the Clippers. Leonard was limited to 30 minutes since spraining his ankle in New York two weeks ago, before missing the last two games. This has forced Ty Lue to play Harden for more extended minutes, playing under 36 minutes only once in the last seven games. After playing 42 minutes in the overtime win against Toronto on Friday, Harden was on the court for 37 minutes against Washington on Monday.

The Clippers are winning, but are risking running Harden into the ground. The 36-year-old is not only averaging 35.7 minutes per game, his most since the 2022-23 season, but he also has the highest usage rate since his Rockets days with 31.1%.

Clippers Have to Reduce James Harden's Minutes

While Harden's ability to shoulder this type of workload at this stage of his career is admirable, it doesn't do the Clippers any favors in the long run.

Before the season, Ty Lue had said that the team didn't want to put as much as they did last season on Harden. Lawrence Frank had also said that the Clippers prioritized adding more ball-handling in the offseason, aka signing Chris Paul, because they had "a responsibility to take care of Harden." Not only are the Clippers not protecting Harden, but they are also putting even more on him this season.

While the Clippers' turnaround has been impressive, they have postseason goals. This team wasn't assembled to be .500 and chase a play-in spot. If the Clippers have to run Harden into the ground just to make the play-in, then that is not a goal worth chasing. They need Harden to have plenty of gas left in the tank so that they can make a deep postseason run.

Finding the right balance between winning right now and keeping the future in mind is difficult when you are 6-21. Now that they are in a better place, however, the Clippers have to start prioritizing the postseason. This means reducing the workload on Harden, even if it results in the offense taking a step back, and the Clippers not winning at the rate they have been in recent weeks. Simply making the playoffs and being a first-round exit with Harden running out of steam shouldn't be the goal for this franchise.