No one was sure how the Brooklyn Nets would look without starting point guard Kyrie Irving to begin the NBA season. Irving was not eligible to be a full-time player because he has not received his COVID-19 vaccine, so until he does, the Nets will not be using him in their lineups.
Not having someone as important as Kyrie Irving in the lineup every night is a big adjustment. Thus far, the Nets have struggled to consistently find their footing.
They are currently 2-3 on the season, one Philadelphia 76ers collapse away from being 1-4. All of their losses have been of the blowout variety, as 13 points are the least amount of points they have lost a game by thus far this season.
They are averaging a paltry 102 points per game and sit 29th in the league in offensive rating. Even without Kyrie Irving, that is a shocking thing to see.
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The team still has Kevin Durant and James Harden to lead the way, but it has pretty much been a one-man show led by Durant.
Kevin Durant is averaging 29.8 points per game, while Harden is only at 16.6. Harden has struggled from the field, making 35.9 percent of his attempts thus far and only 33.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
A lot of people will point to the rule changes the NBA made impacting Harden’s offensive performance. He has lived at the foul line in recent years, but the emphasis referees are now putting on not rewarding unnatural basketball plays is impacting players such as James Harden.
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But, there may be more to it than just the free throws. Harden made some comments following the Brooklyn Nets’ loss to the Miami Heat about his injury that will raise some eyebrows.
“I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer,” Harden said. “Everything was rehab for three months, from a Grade 2 injury that happened three times in one season. So this is my fifth game of trying to just play with competition against somebody else. And as much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing, [have to] take your time.”
Harden suffered a hamstring injury in the NBA Playoffs and missed multiple games. He eventually returned but was visibility hampered. To learn that he still isn’t fully recovered from the ailment multiple months later is concerning.
Brooklyn will assuredly take things slowly with him, as they have a big picture view of the regular season. Harden is chomping at the bit to get back out there and perform like he knows he is capable of.
“Just getting more confident, being aggressive,” Harden said after shooting 4-for-12. “And it’s getting better every single game. As much as I want to get back to just, you know, [scoring] 30’s and 40 points, I can’t do that [right now]. As much as I want to, obviously, I would love to.”
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The Brooklyn Nets could certainly use some 30 and 40 point performances from James Harden, but he is still hampered by the hamstring injuries. The sooner he can shake off the rust and get going the better because Kevin Durant cannot do this on his own for the entire regular season.
