Knicks ready for James Harden’s Clippers debut: ‘Lot of firepower’

However long James Harden’s latest whim lasts, it will have started at Madison Square Garden. 

The capricious Bearded One, a first ballot Hall of Famer in both basketball and executing trade demands, will make his Clippers (3-2) debut Monday night against the Knicks (2-4).

He’ll join a rotation with three other future Hall of Famers — Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook — providing the Clippers a past-its-prime Super Team vibe. 

The Knicks counter with a rotation of only one former All-Star and zero players above 28 years old.

It’s their youth and continuity versus Los Angeles’ star power and experience. 

“[Harden is] another weapon for them,” Jalen Brunson said. “They have a lot of great players over there. Really impressive résumés and all that stuff, and their careers have been nothing short of spectacular. So, it’s a lot of firepower. We’ve just gotta be ready to go.” 

Harden, who was traded from the Sixers on Tuesday, went through his first Sunday involving the Clippers’ three other stars.

He arrives with questions about conditioning and rust after sitting out training camp, preseason and the regular season’s opening week to put the heat on Sixers president Daryl Morey. 

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged there will “probably” be a minutes restriction for the newcomer. 

“We don’t want to just jump right into it and play him crazy minutes, so we’ll just talk to the medical staff and just see what’s best,” Lue told reporters. 

Although Harden’s game and quickness have diminished since his peak with the Rockets, he still demonstrated All-Star caliber offense last season while leading the NBA in assists per game. 

Interestingly, Lue said he plans to play Harden off the ball next to Westbrook, who’ll be more of a point guard. 

“They were a great team before the trade,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Obviously, add another great player to the group, so that’s the challenge that you face every night. We know how good he is, he’s proven that throughout his career. But they’re a lot more than one guy, obviously. We’re going to have to be great for 48 minutes.” 

Josh Hart, who will have to guard one or all of the Clippers’ Big 4 at some point Monday, isn’t ready to predict the potential of the new-look opponent. 

“We’ll see. Obviously [Harden’s] a good player,” he said. “Don’t put expectations on stuff. See how it goes.” 

Harden also brings his 61-point record into MSG, which he scored in 2019 to tie Kobe Bryant for the highest total for an opponent at James Dolan’s home.

It remains Harden’s career high.

He also scored a 53-point triple-double at MSG in 2016. 

At his latest spot — which followed three forced trades over three years (out of Houston, Brooklyn and Philly) — Harden insists he’s more interested in the trophy than scoring.

“I’m not a system player, I’m a system,” Harden said after the trade. “If I have someone who can have a dialogue with me, make adjustments on the fly throughout the course of the game, that’s all I really care about. It’s not about having the basketball, or scoring 30, 40 points a night. I’ve done that already.” 

A challenge for the Knicks is preparing for the unknown.

There’s no tape on Harden with the Clippers, but Thibodeau has to devise a game plan. 

“The thing is you know those guys because you’ve dealt with them, they’ve been around a long time,” the Knicks coach said. “You already have a pretty good idea of the things Harden will do because of the way he’s been used in the past, the way they play, so that’ll be a pretty easy transition for them.”