It’s safe to say that James Harden is finally in a comfortable position with the Brooklyn Nets. After nine seasons carrying the Houston Rockets, Harden was destined to place himself in a winning position elsewhere. Since Harden’s transition to Brooklyn, the Nets are favorites to win the NBA Championship this season.
In an interview with Rachel Nichols, Harden explained that scoring 40 points every night in Houston was “draining”. Although throughout the year's Harden played alongside perennial all-stars, it was never enough to get Houston to the Finals.
Harden has shown that at this stage of his career, the only accolade that matters to him is a championship. Since being traded to Brooklyn, he has shown to make the right sacrifice for the better of his team.
Over the last three seasons, Harden has averaged over 30 points per game each year. Now that he is playing alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, his scoring average has dwindled to 23.6 points per game.
With James Harden’s versatility as an offensive mind, he can transition from an elite scorer to a playmaker. He has done a fantastic job orchestrating the offense, putting his teammates in a comfortable position to score. Harden’s assist numbers continue to be phenomenal game in and game out, and a reason why the offense is flowing.
The player that has shown his appreciation for Harden’s playmaking is Kyrie Irving. Irving, who is a point guard himself, has played very comfortably off the ball. Since Harden’s emergence, Irving has played phenomenal being a primary scorer for Brooklyn.
He continues to shoot the ball very well and remains in attack mode from start to finish. After the Nets’ victory over Golden State Saturday night, Irving told Harden that he is “the point guard, and I’m the shooting guard.”
Despite Brooklyn’s defensive struggles throughout the season, the team seems to have no problems offensively. The three stars in Harden, Irving, and Durant continue to play at a high level. Also, the role players have stepped up as well.
It will be important for the team to continue to strive forward to become better as the season progresses. Anything short of an NBA Finals appearance will be a failure for a team like Brooklyn.
With Harden’s emergence as the playmaker, the Nets will continue to thrive on the offensive end.
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