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The Brooklyn Nets aren’t off to the start they hoped for to start the season, and a big part of that might come down to how their star player is performing.
Kevin Durant is looking as strong as he’s ever looked, but James Harden is struggling a bit through three games. Coming off a blowout loss against the Charlotte Hornets, who are perfect on the season so far, Harden has a lot of eyeballs on him.
When the NBA made the rule change to foul calls that cut down on the strange motions players make after they shoot to draw a call, Harden was one of the players fans were worried about.
Through three games, Harden is shooting under 40 percent from the field and from beyond the arc, while only chipping in 18 points per game, but he says the rule change isn’t the reason.
Harden Responds
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Not getting the foul calls may force him to change up his playstyle, but that obviously doesn’t paint the full picture for his struggles through three games.
“Yeah, sure [I’m the poster boy], but I’m not the type to complain about it,” he said via the New York Post. “I ask every official, if they see a foul, just call a foul. Sometimes I feel like coming into a game, it’s already predetermined or I have a stigma getting foul calls. But I just ask for the officials to just call what they see. I can’t stop playing basketball. I mean, a foul is a foul no matter what league it is. But it’s bigger, I’ve got to play better obviously. That’s it.”
Instead of the rule changes, he instead has said it’s more about getting his confidence back and mentions how he spent a lot of time in the offseason nursing an injury rather than actually playing. There’s also the fact that’s he playing point guard to start the season.
“I’m just getting my confidence back,” Harden said. “I’m a little hesitant. You guys can see it. Just going through a lot of ups and downs last year and then coming into training camp healthy and making sure my conditioning is where it needed to be. Just making sure my confidence continues to build. That’s all that matters. We’re [at] game 3. My confidence will rise and will continue to get better as games go on and I feel more confident and get that burst of speed like I’m normally used to. No worries at all.”
The Nets Are Fine
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The Nets are back in action Monday night against the Washington Wizards, leaving them with a perfect opportunity to tie up their record at 2-2.
This will be Spencer Dinwiddie’s return to Brooklyn after going to Washington in the offseason. With Kyrie Irving sitting out this season due to his vaccine hesitancy, the Nets are certainly missing the talents of Dinwiddie.
Perhaps this could be the game that gets Harden back on track and sends the Nets trending up instead of down.
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