It's been a disaster season for the Los Angeles Clippers, who were riding high after their four offseason additions of Brook Lopez, John Collins, Chris Paul, and Bradley Beal. Then, everything went downhill, as the NBA began an investigation into the Clippers regarding a former team sponsor, and then they lost in their season-opener to the Utah Jazz.

However, the team is starting to trend in the right direction, even though they have a lot more digging to do before looking like a potential playoff team. They've defeated the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets in the past two games, and will have a chance to extend it to a three-game winning streak on Friday night in Portland.

One of the few consistent players for the Clippers this season has been James Harden, who is averaging 26.0 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game across 27 contests. Recently, Harden spoke out about the team, saying the record doesn't reflect what the team truly is.

"Because we are," Harden said, highlighting that the team is better than its record indicates. "I don’t know what it feels like to be in this position with this record. So I always feel like we’re better than the record shows. So we got an opportunity these home games coming up to take advantage of it and rack up some wins.”

Harden has made the playoffs in every season of his career so far, and now there's a chance his 16-straight appearances could come to an end. He may not be viewed as one of the best playoff players in NBA history due to his performances in big moments, but helping lead a team to the postseason that many times is impressive nonetheless.

Looking at where the Clippers rank in team stats, they are third-worst in the NBA in points per game at 111.2, only ranking ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers. Defensively, an area that was their calling card last season, the Clippers rank 14th-best in the league at 115.7 points allowed, which is above teams like the Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Even though Harden believes the team is better than its record, they still have to deal with the constant injuries that have popped up this season. Ivica Zubac is the latest, as he's been ruled out for the next several games and is the team's third-leading scorer, putting Brook Lopez into a more prominent role.

However, if the team can rattle off some wins without Zubac, it could do wonders for their confidence as they near the second half of the season.