The Los Angeles Clippers made a splash earlier this week, finally pulling the trigger on a trade that brings in former MVP James Harden to add to their core of players. Harden is teammates with Russell Westbrook for the third time in his career, and will join forces with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in an effort to chase his first NBA championship.
Are The Lakers The Best NBA Team In Los Angeles?
“The Clippers have essentially owned the Lakers over the last several years.”
Stephen A. Smith says the Clippers are the best team in Los Angeles 👀
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/yKF3zRCs3H
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 1, 2023
His skill level and ability to contribute aren’t exactly what they used to be, as Harden was one of the most feared offensive threats in league history. He is aging and has seen his numbers take a dip as the years go by, but his 21 points per game in 2022-23 was enough to (barely) maintain his status as “star player”, and he did lead the league in assists last year with 10.7 per game.
But does he move the needle enough for the Clippers to be considered NBA Finals favorites? Their odds went down at sportsbooks across America, but there are still a handful of Western Conference teams that have better odds, as well as the Bucks and Celtics out of the East.
Clippers Have Won 11 In A Row Against Lakers
Welcome to #ClipperNation, James Harden! pic.twitter.com/ff6fut11yW
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 1, 2023
There are some who believe that Harden’s new team has what it takes to challenge some of the top teams in the West. On ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, Smith laid out how he believes that the Clippers are the team to beat in Los Angeles, and not the Lakers:
The Clippers have essentially owned the Los Angeles Lakers over the last several years…Until the Lakers find a way to beat them, I’m going to maintain that position.
The Lakers of course have a championship to their names that they won back in 2020, but there is no denying the results when the two meet head-to-head. The Clippers are currently on an 11-game win streak between the two, with their last loss to the Lakers coming on July 30th, 2020 (during the COVID year). In fact, if you go all the way back to January 2010, the Clippers have won 40 of the last 53 matchups with the Lakers.
The Lakers are currently listed at +1000 to win the NBA championship, but the Clippers are not far behind at +1200.
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