The James Harden haters were getting a little too comfy recently. One of the biggest storylines during the early portion of the 2021-22 NBA season has been league officials cracking down on “non-basketball” moves. The Brooklyn Nets superstar, who holds the reputation as a player with all of the tricks of the trade in his bag, became a bit of a “poster boy” for the shift towards more physicality being allowed. At least if you ask his head coach, Steve Nash.
Harden's at-the-rim numbers are down, as are his free throw attempts. Coming into Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers, he had only taken 15 total free throws in five games for an average of 3.0 free-throw attempts per contest–contrast that with his last full season in Houston when he averaged 11.8 FTA per game.
But safe to say he had the Pacers flailing in this one. The Beard eclipsed his season total and more to finish 16-19 from the stripe. He wound up with 29 points on just 11 field goal attempts, eight boards and eight dimes for the Nets.
Yes, the new rules were still a thing….
open season on mauling James Harden right now. https://t.co/CEJphfgNa2
— 🚁Sky Wob🚁 (@WorldWideWob) October 30, 2021
But James Harden powered through and kept attacking.
It wasn't hard to tell he was in his bag, enjoying a breakout game for the Nets on Friday at The Clays.
21 points in the first half for @JHarden13.
What else does The Beard have in store? pic.twitter.com/SNfnRkZgwn
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 30, 2021
Asked about his star's recent troubles getting to the line, Steve Nash talked about that double-edged sword of new rule changes, as well as James' having had to deal with his hamstring injury over the summer.
“I think a little bit of both,” Nash said several days ago. “I think it’s an adjustment to the officiating, they’ve drawn a new line. So getting accustomed to that is one part of it and the other part of it is he's just played such little basketball the last 6 months.”
After the Nets' 105-98 win against the Pacers, Harden was asked about the difference he experienced in the game from prior bouts where he just couldn't buy a whistle.
“It's just me being aggressive,” Harden said. “First couple games I wasn’t aggressive. I was aggressive in spurts but just trying to be aggressive for four quarters. And I had that burst, that speed of just getting to my spots whether its getting to the basket or shooting my shot. You know, I felt pretty good out there for an entire game.”
The Nets had become a bit one-dimensional recently. At 3-3 now, this type of sustained level of play from their point guard could certainly vault them up to the next level.
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