Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nets rookie James Harden are all used to leading their teams, scoring points and setting records. How are they going to share, stop being heads of hierarchy and start playing good soldiers?
“Chemistry. Sacrifice,” said Harden on Friday. “We are all elite, so depending on the game and what is going on throughout the game, this will determine who gets the ball and who makes the moves.
“We are all altruistic, we are all willing passersby and we play basketball the right way.”
Harden is questionable to debut on Saturday against Magic at the Barclays Center. He and coach Steve Nash continued to use the word “sacrifice” on Friday, as general manager Sean Marks had done the day before. Harden knows he cannot play the same way he did in the past and hopes to raise the final prize.
“We have two elite scorers that the world already knows,” said Harden. “My job is to go out and obviously score the ball when necessary, but my playing ability – when it comes to hitting our pitchers and our big shots around the rim and making the whole team better – that’s one aspect of my game that will stand out in this offense.
“As long as my teammates are improving, it doesn’t matter the points. Everyone knows that I can score the ball with a high blow, and that’s where the sacrifice comes in. “
Harden won the last three scoring titles playing in Houston, taking isolated basketball to extremes never seen before. The Nets will clearly be iso-heavy with this Big 3, but Harden will have to dribble less and pass more.
“Yes, it will be a fit for him,” said Nash. “He has played the same role for many years, in the same way, in the same style. So, he will be able to emulate it in some ways, but in other ways he will have to adapt to playing with other guys, like Kevin and Ky. “
Why would anyone think Harden will change his game?
Harden’s isolations dropped from 14.1 possessions to just six, and his proportion of assists (30 per 100 possessions) and proportion of assists for turnover (2.44) are career highlights.
But the most telling thing was to reject a two-year, $ 100 million extension to leave Houston and go to Brooklyn. After chasing money early in his career, Harden now says he is chasing his first ring.
“[When I was] younger, giving me a chance, but wanting to be paid and looking after my family was very, very important to me, ”said Harden. “Now, at this stage in my career, I am giving myself the chance to do something that I have not yet achieved in this championship. This is very important to me now and this is the situation I am in, which is why I am here in Brooklyn. “
Harden is not the only one who will have to adapt.
Over the past 10 seasons, Irving’s use rate of 42.5 in clutch times has been the highest in the NBA. Durant and Harden were tied for third with 39.7.
“They are not going to have the same volume they are used to,” said Nash. “But they are all excited about the opportunity to play with other great players.”
Durant was twice the Finals MVP, while Irving was the most iconic winner of Game 7 of the Finals of the past decade. If Harden wants his own ring, he will have to make other changes. Over the years, his defense has been questioned, and this season he went out of form.
When asked how his conditioning was doing, Harden replied, “Great!” with a half smile, half smile. But he said that external doubt cannot motivate him more than he does.
“I am as motivated as they come. I don’t pay attention to defense and conditioning [talk] because everyone is starting the same way on the training ground, so it doesn’t matter to me, ”said Harden. “I don’t really pay attention to that. I know that I am one of the best basketball players we have in this league. My job is to go out and focus on what we should be doing every night. “