James Harden is a believer in the Los Angeles Clippers and their ability to turn the season around.
The Los Angeles Clippers have won five straight and occupy the final Play-In spot in the West. They are a half-game up on the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Clippers are 12-2 in their last 14 games, flipping their record from 6-21 on December 18 to 18-23.
Speaking to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Clippers star James Harden spoke on how the Clippers can continue to right the ship.
"Some teams, when it gets that bad, they just let the wheels fall off," Harden said. "I had interviews where people were asking me, 'How do you find confidence?' and I'm like, 'The confidence is there. The losses are frustrating, but the confidence is still there.'"
How The Clippers Turned It Around
Through the first 27 games, the Clippers had an offensive rating of 112.8, 23rd in the league, and a defensive rating of 118.9, 26th in the league. They also had a 16.4% turnover rating, which was at the top of the league.
Simply put, their offense wasn't good enough, their defense wasn't good enough, and they turned the ball over too often, leading to easy points for the opposition.
"I think finding little tweaks and being a lot better defensively is what really helped us out," said Harden.
In their last 14 games, they have an offensive rating of 121.6, third best in the league, a defensive rating of 112, sixth best in the league, and a 13.5% turnover rating.
The Clippers play at the slowest pace in the league, so maximizing shots and taking care of the basketball is imperative for them on both ends.
Can They Keep It Up?
"Now we got to take one game at a time, just like when we were in the hole. We can come all the way back, but we have to chip away, chip away and really build some momentum going into the All-Star break," said Harden.
The Clippers have a chance to continue to make up ground for a firmer playoff spot as they have the 24th-toughest schedule remaining, according to Tankathon.
Before the All-Star break, they have games against the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, and Sacramento Kings. However, they also have difficult matchups against the Houston Rockets (twice), Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets, all on the road.
They'll be away from the Intuit Dome for nine of their 13 games before the All-Star break. They are just 7-14 on the road this season, so if they want to keep this turnaround going in a positive direction before the break, it will start with being better on the road.