James Harden had another pedestrian showing in the Brooklyn Nets' latest loss to the Miami Heat, but he wants everyone to understand why.
In the Nets' 106-93 defeat to the Heat on Wednesday, Harden failed to make his presence felt and finished with just 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He shot four of 12 from the field, with majority of his attempts coming from outside the arc (3-of-8).
It's certainly not the usual Harden, who often treats fans with massive scoring exploits. Simply put, he's not the Harden that made it to the NBA Top 75 list–the offensive juggernaut mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan when it comes to scoring greatness.
While Harden understands the frustrations about his play, though, he admitted that he is not yet at that physical conditioning to return to where he was before. Per Matt Brooks of Nets Daily, The Beard said he is still building his way back after spending the entire offseason rehabbing his hamstring injury from last season's playoffs.
“As much as I want to get back to 30s and 40s points, I can't do that. As much as I want to, as much as I would love to, I didn't have any opportunities to play pickup. It was all rehab,” Harden said.
Much has been said about James Harden being affected by the new NBA rule that prevents foul-baiting moves. And the stats support those arguments, with the Nets guard barely going to the line this season compared to previous years.
However, it is also true that Harden's activity has lessened, as he's no longer attacking the rim like he used to–perhaps because of his conditioning like he mentioned.
Nets fans will surely need to be patient with Harden if he's still not feeling 100 percent about his body. For what it's worth, head coach Steve Nash did mention that he sees the one-time NBA MVP returning to peak form sooner rather than later.
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