Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nets debutant James Harden are used to leading their teams, scoring points and setting records. How will they share, take a step back from being heads of hierarchs to playing good soldiers?
“Chemistry. The sacrifice,” Harden said Friday. “We’re all elite, so depending on the game and what’s going on during the game, that will determine who gets the ball and who plays.
“We are all disinterested, we are all willing passers-by and we play basketball the right way.”
Harden is debatable to debut Saturday versus Magic at Barclays Center. He and coach Steve Nash continued to use the word “sacrifice” on Friday, as did general manager Sean Marks the day before. Harden knows he can’t play like he did in the past and expects to pick up the final prize.
“We have two elite scorers that the world already knows,” Harden said. “My job is to go out and obviously score the ball when needed, but my ability to play – in terms of getting shots and our big ones end around the rim and improving the whole team – that’s one thing. of my game that will excel in this offense.
“As long as I make my colleagues better, the points don’t matter. Everyone knows I can score the ball in a high clip and that’s where the sacrifice comes from. ”
Harden has won the last three major titles playing in Houston, taking isolation basketball to unprecedented extremes. The nets will be clearly iso-heavy with this Big 3, but Harden will have to dribble less and pass more.
“Yes, it will be an adjustment for him,” Nash said. “He played the same role for many years, in the same way, in the same style. So he will be able to imitate this in a way, but in other ways he will have to adapt to playing with other guys, namely Kevin and Ky. ”
Why would anyone think Harden would change his game?
Harden’s isolation dropped from 14.1 possessions to just six, and his attendance ratio (30 to 100 possessions) and turnover assist ratio (2.44) are high in his career.
But the most telling was the rejection of a two-year, $ 100 million extension to leave Houston for Brooklyn. After pursuing his money earlier in his career, Harden now says he’s pursuing his first ring.
“[When I was] being younger, giving me a chance, but wanting to be paid and wanting to take care of my family was very, very important to me, ”Harden said. “Now, at this stage of my career, I give myself the chance to do something I have not yet achieved in this league. That’s very important to me now, and that’s the situation I’m in, and that’s why I’m here in Brooklyn. ”
Harden is not the only one who will have to adapt.
For the past 10 seasons, Irving’s use rate of 42.5 during the clutch has been top in the NBA. Durant and Harden were tied for third place at 39.7.
“They won’t have the same volume they were used to,” Nash said. “But everyone is excited about the opportunity to play with other great players.”
Durant is a MVP twice in the final, while Irving has beaten the most iconic Game 7 winner of the last 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 has entered the camp in shape.
When asked how his conditioning was, Harden replied, “Great!” with a half-smiling, half-smiling smile. But he said that external doubts could not motivate him more than he is.
“I am just as motivated as they are. I’m not paying attention to defense and conditioning [talk] because everyone starts the same way when it comes to training camp, so it doesn’t matter to me, ”Harden said. “I do not pay much attention to him. I know I’m 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. ”