Comments on: 2026 Clippers Player Preview: James Harden

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:45:25 +0000

James and Zu were the foundation of those 50 wins last season and we've proven we can win a lot of games even without Kawhi. With CP and Brook we can probably stay competitive for short stretches even without James and Zu. Seems like the only time we would really be in trouble is if all four of these guys were out. But that seems incredibly unlikely, and Beal, Bogi, KD, DJ, with Nico and JC at small ball center we would probably still be fairly competitive. Can't predict how far we can go in the playoffs but it's difficult to imagine us not having a much better record than last year and real shot at the 3 seed.

By: zhiv

zhiv — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 22:56:40 +0000

I think there are two reasons. The first is that they’ve been to the Conference Finals two years in a row. Last year that was a seeding issue, as far as a comp with the Clippers goes–the Clips lost in 7 to the team that lost in 7 to the champs, while MIN played a weak Laker team and then got past GSW after Steph went down. I think the other reason is that they have a young star on the rise. Ant is a true talent and he will improve again this year.

But the Clippers are better. It’s hard to say what the determining factors are going to be separating the teams at the top of the West. The competition seems more intense than I can ever remember, and that’s saying something.

By: JCplusULTRA

JCplusULTRA — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:55:07 +0000

Conley? Roster consistency and another year of experience for AE are why they’re ranked high.

By: JCplusULTRA

JCplusULTRA — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:53:42 +0000

Harden had the highest DWS of his career last season. He’s bought-in. I hope his leadership gets Beal and Collins to buy-in on defense as well.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:26:08 +0000

Trying to understand why Minnesota is above LAC in various pre-season rankings. Their rotation really hasn’t changed much. Conley is older and washed. They overachieved last season. I do like some of their young talent but they’re not really committed to playing them. LAC’s backup PG is better than their starter. LAC has size to compete this year.

From a pre-season ranking standpoint, LAC looks to be top 4 to me, and probably at #2 or #3.