Brooklyn Nets superstar James Harden was unusually gun-shy in the first quarter of the Brooklyn Nets' hosting of the Miami Heat at Barclays Center. The usually trigger-happy guard did not even attempt a single field goal up until the closing seconds of the opening canto. If not for an awful foul by the Heat on Harden's desperation 3-point heave, he would have gone scoreless in 12 minutes. The one-time NBA MVP did convert on all his three charity stripe attempts.
More surprisingly, Brooklyn still put up 36 points in the first quarter despite The Beard's rather timid start.
James Harden officially with 0 FG attempts in the first quarter and the Nets still scored 36 points. Heat with an awful foul on his 3-point attempt with 0.7 seconds left.
— Brian Mahoney (@briancmahoney) January 24, 2021
This is actually not the first time James Harden has not shot the ball in a quarter while playing for the Nets. The 31-year-old megastar also did the same in a previous match. In his eight seasons with the Houston Rockets, Harden only committed this twice, even during the postseason.
James Harden did not take an official shot in the first quarter tonight.
That is the 2nd time Harden has attempted 0 shots in the first quarter with the Nets.
He did that only twice during his entire tenure with the Rockets, including the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/ORfYL5PEuk
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 24, 2021
James Harden has led the league in points per game for the last three seasons, making this feat highly unusual for him. Prior to Saturday's match versus the Heat, Harden is averaging 26.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 12.2 assists, and 1.5 steals. It;s not like he is figuring in a cold-shooting slump either since he is draining 46.5 percent of his attempts from the floor and 37.1 percent of his triples.
To be fair, he is now playing alongside two fellow superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and maybe he is still trying to find his groove with his new team. It's also quite evident that he has taken more of a facilitator role for the Nets this season, upping his assist numbers since that blockbuster trade went down.
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