The Clippers Fall to 0-5 Since James Harden Trade

The Clippers have played five games since the James Harden trade and so far its been a complete disaster. Here are some stats to demonstrate just how bad it's been.

The Clippers over the last five games rank:

-Last in PPG (105.0 PPG)

-Last in APG (22.2 APG)

-25th in FG% (44.7%)

-25th in 3pt% (32.9%)

-29th in NetRTG (-10.2)

James Harden's numbers don't jump out as a huge problem necessarily. He's averaging just 15.0 PPG but his shooting splits are solid at 47/37/100. The bigger issue is perhaps how his arrival has affected others.

Russell Westbrook was off to a nice start this season. Before Harden's arrival, Westbrook was averaging 15.2 PPG on an incredible 51.6%, along with 7.8 RPG and 7.0 APG. During those games he was also a +12.8.

Since Harden's arrival, Westbrook's numbers have dropped to 12.8 PPG on 41.8% shooting along with 6.2 RPG and 4.4 APG. His +/- has also dropped to a -5.4.

Among the many challenges that Ty Lue has with this team, finding a way for Russell Westbrook and James Harden to coexist effectively is easily at the top of the list. Do you stagger them? If so, who do you start? How do you close? It's far too early to make sweeping statements about the trade, but its hard to imagine a worse start for the Harden-era in Los Angeles.