Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nets debutant James Harden are used to leading their teams, scoring points and setting records. How will they share, will they go from being heads of hierarchies to playing good soldiers?
“Chemistry. Sacrifice, “Harden said Friday.” We are all elites, so depending on the game and what happens throughout the game, that will determine who gets the ball and who makes the plays.
“We’re all disinterested, we all want to move on and play basketball the right way.”
Harden is questionable for his Saturday debut against the Magic at the Barclays Center. He and coach Steve Nash continued to use the word “sacrifice” on Friday, as general manager Sean Marks did the day before. Harden knows he can’t play the same way he did in the past and hopes to lift the final prize.
“We have two elite scorers the world already knows,” Harden said. “My job is to go out and obviously score the ball when needed, but my ability to play games, even to get shots at our shooters and our greats, ends up around the edge and improving everything. ‘team, is one of the aspects of my game that will excel in this offense.
“As long as my teammates are improving, the points don’t matter. Everyone knows I can score the ball with a high clip, and this is where the sacrifice comes in ”.
Harden won the last three scoring titles playing in Houston, leading to the isolation of basketball to unprecedented extremes. Clearly, the Nets will be iso-heavy with this Big 3, but Harden will have to dribble less and pass more.
“Yeah, it will be a fit for him,” Nash said. “For many years he has played the same role, in the same way, in the same style. Therefore, he will be able to imitate it in some way, but in other ways he will have to adapt to play with other boys, that is, Kevin and Ky ”.
Why would anyone think Harden would change his game?
Harden’s isolations have fallen from 14.1 possessions to just six, and his attendance ratio (30 per 100 possessions) and turnover attendance ratio (2.44) are professional highs.
But the most revealing thing was rejecting a two-year, $ 100 million extension to leave Houston for Brooklyn. After chasing money before his career, Harden now says he is chasing his first ring.
“[When I was] younger, giving me a chance, but wanting to charge and take care of my family was very, very important to me, ”Harden said. “Now, at this stage of my career, I give myself the opportunity to do something I have not yet achieved in this league. That’s very important to me right now and that’s the situation I’m in, and that’s why I’m here in Brooklyn. “
Harden isn’t the only one who will have to adapt.
Over the past ten seasons, Irving’s use percentage of 42.5 in clutch time was the NBA’s highest. Durant and Harden tied for third place with a 39.7.
“They won’t have the same volume they were used to,” Nash said. “But everyone is excited about the opportunity to play with other great players.”
Durant is a two-time MVP of the Finals, while Irving was the most iconic winner of the Final Game of the last decade. If Harden wants his own ring, he will have to make other changes. Over the years, his defense has been questioned and this season he entered the field out of shape.
When asked how his conditioning was, Harden replied, “Fantastic!” with a half smile, half smile. But he said external doubt cannot motivate him more than he does.
“I am just as motivated as they are. I don’t pay attention to defense and conditioning [talk] because everyone starts the same when it comes to the training ground, so I don’t care, “Harden said.” I really don’t care. I know I’m one of the best basketball players we have in this league. My my job is to go out and focus on what we’re supposed to do every night. ”