The arrival of James Harden has changed life for the LA Clippers forever. What was once a clear vision for the team and the picture of what they wanted to achieve has now been permanently altered.
Time will tell whether the trade for Harden ends up an abject disaster or not, but things are not trending upward at the moment. Having to adjust on the fly after adding a former MVP into your lineup is not quite as easy as it might seem.
Harden’s addition has forced Head Coach Tyronn Lue to make some changes to the rotation while the coaching staff figures out who belongs where. One of the most recent decisions made by Lue was essentially removing Bones Hyland from the playing rotation altogether, a decision that is unlikely to go over well with Clippers fans.
Ty Lue said Bones Hyland will likely remain out of the rotation going forward while they take a longer look at the rotation they used today.
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 12, 2023
Lue said it’s unfortunate because Bones had been playing well, but they wanted to stay away from that extra small bench group.
Taking Bones Hyland out of the rotation will surely upset Clippers fans
While there initially was some disagreement over how good of a fit Bones Hyland was with this team, he had silenced some of that conversation with his improved play to begin this season. He had shot 50% from the floor or better in five of the eight games he appeared in to start 2023-24.
The justification Ty Lue gave for taking Bones out of the rotation was that they wanted to experiment with the group they used on Sunday against the Grizzlies. In doing so, they would avoid utilizing an extra small lineup of players from the bench.
Regardless of the reason, fans have every right to be disappointed with this decision. Bones Hyland’s newfound efficiency was a pleasant surprise, and taking him out of the rotation will be a detriment to not only his consistency, but his confidence as well.
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