James Harden has just finished his debut in Brooklyn. Harden’s Nets debut filled the stat sheet with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists in a win against the Orlando Magic. With this game, we were able to get a glimpse at what the Nets look like without Kyrie Irving. These games without Irving should serve as a nice buffer to bring Harden into the organization smoothly. As with every trade involving a star player, there will be a transition period before Harden is fully optimized, but based on tonight, that won’t take too long.
Takeaways From Harden’s Nets Debut:
Harden Will Acclimate Quickly
At the beginning of the game, Harden seemed passive. He deferred to Kevin Durant and Joe Harris’s hot start. As the game went on, he would look to push the ball more in transition, linking up with former teammate Jeff Green on a few full-court passes before tossing dimes to the rest of his teammates. He began to shift his play in the third quarter, where he hit his first three and looked for his own shot more.
This early game passivity may indicate that Harden will primarily play point guard once Irving returns. Once the fourth quarter began, it seemed that Durant and Harden picked up right where they left off in Oklahoma City. They took turns torturing the defense, opening up a 10 point lead before the Magic were able to do some window-dressing with the final score. If Irving is willing to take the role as the third option, the Nets may gel much easier than anticipated.
New Team New Harden?
In the second quarter, Harden took a midrange jumper. It looked routine, simply a pullup on Cole Anthony out of isolation, but we haven’t seen Harden casually take a midrange jumper in years. This jumper, along with the passivity the game began with, could mean that Harden is looking to change. The Houston Rockets’ rigid system was hellbent on producing either three-pointers or dunks. Maybe we’ll see a new version of Harden with the Brooklyn Nets.
There is More to Come
As pointed out by Houston media, Harden’s conditioning wasn’t to start the season. At the start of the game, Harden was active on defense, looking to help and calling out instructions to his teammates, which is a good sign of chemistry moving forward. As the game dragged on, he started taking possessions off and helping less. Once he gets his conditioning in order, he should be more consistent on defense.
On the offensive end, without the ball in his hand, Harden was pretty stationary, standing in the corner or at the hash. This is likely a by-product of being the first option in Houston for so long. As his conditioning improves, and once Irving returns, Harden will need to be more active off-ball. Moving off the ball will keep defenses glued to him, and create more space for his trio partners, likely increasing their efficiency. This should be easy to implement with Mike D’Antoni on the coaching staff, as some of the off-ball actions from their time shared in Houston will carry over.
Irving’s Return
With Harden’s Nets debut strong, it feels that Irving should become the third option. This may be overthinking it as the dynamic of this team shouldn’t be too complicated. Realistically, the trio will only be on the court together at the beginning and end of games. At these times, the first option will be the hot hand, with isolations and off-ball actions for the others sprinkled in. The rest of the game will be a schedule of staggered minutes. Add in the fact that since Harden, Durant, and Irving are all friends already, chemistry should come easy for this squad. Hopefully, once Irving returns, the Brooklyn Nets live up to the hype that their name recognition brings.
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