Since switching from the Thunder to the Rockets in 2012-2013, Harden has thoroughly cashed in on his talent. Unlike the sixth man who has been playing in the Thunder before, after coming to the Rockets to get full ball rights, Harden transformed into the top scorer in the league.
Since then, D'Antoni has tapped harden's assist potential, and Harden has become the league's hottest two-legged defender. In the 2017-2018 season, Harden won the first MVP of his career with an all-around statistic of averaging 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.
Despite all the personal accolades he received with the Rockets, Harden never touched the stage of the Finals, let alone chased the coveted O'Brien Cup. Last season, Harden was completely disappointed with the Rockets.
So, after a brief eight-game appearance for the Rockets, Harden left Houston, who played for seven years and made himself famous, and ushered in a new chapter in his career in Brooklyn.
After coming to the new team of the Nets, Harden can also be regarded as a seamless connection with the Nets. The combination of the big three formed with Irving and Durant also made the Nets' strength increase in an instant, and once became the biggest favorite to win the championship.
However, it is very regrettable that because these three cores have been plagued by injuries one after another, the Nets have not entered the finals stage as they wished. In last season's playoffs, in the semifinals against the Bucks, the Nets were sadly out of the game in a steal.
Although his first season with the Nets wasn't perfect, Harden could still deliver the top stats of 24.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 10.9 assists. There was some decline in scoring, but there was no decline in overall performance.
This season, in the case of Irving's reluctance to get vaccinated, it should have been the time for Harden to continue to come forward, but as it stands, Harden has indeed suffered the biggest downturn in his career so far.
First, Harden's threat to free throws is waning. The league revised the relevant blow-off rules for the new season, which more or less affected Harden. Currently, he hits 146 free throws, ranking second in the league and averaging 7.2 free throws per game, fifth in the league.
These data are far inferior to Harden's data during the Rockets period. However, the main reason why Harden really can't play the competitiveness of the Rockets is that he no longer has an absolute advantage in the confrontation with the defenders.
At the same time, Harden also has a negative effect on his mentality. Harden's previous tricks have not been applied this season, but if the referee whistle does not take care of him, then he will inevitably be in poor shape.
Second, Harden's turnovers are slightly more frequent. As the absolute backcourt commander of the current Nets, because of the need to launch team attacks many times and find the scoring space of teammates, it is inevitable that there will be mistakes in the game.
It's just that Harden has averaged 4.8 turnovers per game this season, ranking first in the league, and is competing with his good brother Westbrook for the league's turnover king this season. In the case of assists reaching a certain level, excessive mistakes are also the "top level" of the league.
In addition to the mistakes in passing, harden will also have a lack of concentration during the game, resulting in a series of unnecessary mistakes. We can see this in the recent game against the weak brigade Pistons.
In that game, when Harden was attacking with the ball, Harden was snatched by the opponent and hit the fast attack because he did not notice the Pistons defenders attacking from behind. Harden's lack of focus and careless handling also caused the Nets to lose unnecessary points.
Finally, Harden's shooting percentage also fell into a low ebb. Currently, Harden's shooting percentage is only 40.3%, equaling the lowest point of the rookie season. With an effective shooting percentage of 49% and a true shooting rate of 58.1%, it is also his worst performance since leaving the Thunder.
The reason for this includes a hamstring injury in last season's playoffs. After Harden's return from injury, there will be some impact, which also makes him more aggressive in breaking through the box, which is greatly weakened.
However, Harden still has a place to feel terrible, even if the aggression is not at the peak level, but he combined with the dribbling skills, he can still confuse the rhythm of defenders, successfully throw them away, and create a mid-range jumper opportunity.
However, it is a pity that the current Harden is still focused on shooting and breaking through on the outside. At the same time, Nash has not yet devised a tactic that will allow Harden to play effectively. Therefore, Harden's current situation is also forced to a certain extent.
Fortunately, Harden can still hit 2.5 three-pointers per game this season, even if the 34.7% three-point shooting rate is still slightly lower than the previous seasons, but there is no high gap, which is acceptable.
At the same time, Harden also retains the classic retreat skill pack, but the last two three-pointers are very poor, a total of 10 in 10. If Harden's feel continues to be depressed, it will definitely sound the alarm for the Nets and himself.
So, is Harden's low now shallow or deep? According to the above, Harden's lows are not deep enough, after all, he can still contribute 20.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
Organizationally, in addition to having to control the number of turnovers, he is also a very important offensive launcher for the Nets. At present, the Nets can rank fifth in the league with an average of 25.5 assists per game, thanks in large part to Harden's planning.
However, at this stage, Irving is absent, Harris is temporarily injured, and if Harden wants the Nets to continue to maintain the aggressiveness of last season, then he must return to the state he was in when he joined the Nets last season.
This season, Harden has delivered 233 assists, second only to Paul, ranking second in the league. In terms of assists, he has the ability to improve the attack of his teammates. It is just that the mistakes mentioned above should be reduced, otherwise the advantages will be accompanied by the dilemma of disadvantages.
Since the start of the tournament, Harden's overall victory contribution value is 2.7, ranking 20th in the league. Although the victory value on the offensive end did not enter the top 20, it was 1.3 in the defensive victory contribution value, ranking sixth in the league and the first of the team. In addition, defensive efficiency 106 is the best in the past seven years.
Perhaps Harden is still looking for form on the offensive end, but in the most criticized defensive end, Harden has made great progress. After all these years, he finally realized the importance of defense. Joining the Nets to repent is indeed commendable.
Harden still has his value, and it takes some time on the offensive end to find the old feel. The challenges this time also include adjustment after hamstring injuries, changes in league rules, psychological factors, and so on.
It is really unlikely that you want to transform yourself in a short period of time. All in all, for Harden, who is already 32 years old, the peak period is not much. If he really wants to go after that championship, then he must also overcome these objective factors.