James Harden returns to former self in dominating win over Clippers, and help is on the way
Published: December 27, 2021 US time
Publisher: the Athletic
Article author: Alex Schiffer
Article translated by de Gaulle
For the first time in his career, James began his new season with an injured body. It was also the first time in his career that he had to learn how to regain his form of play and the full strength of his body as the season progressed. In the process, he did not have Kerry Irving by his side, and the absence of such a teammate who could have helped him and Durant share the pressure was also the reason why Harden has been struggling to play in the first two months of the new season. In the process, Harden has been trying to find himself, both physically and mentally.
If you want to find a landmark time point for Harden to "return to normal", then the game with the Clippers on December 27, local time, may be the long-awaited answer for the Nets. In this game, the Nets not only won 124-108, Harden personally also handed over 39 points and 15 assists.
After the match, bearded man announced in a positive tone: "[The previous struggles] are over. ”
It's no longer enough to describe Harden's recent performances as brilliant, and his recent performances deserve the adjective "dominant." Especially in the game with the Clippers, Harden seems to have regained his MVP style, in addition to the beautiful data, his control of the situation in the game, the accuracy of the pass to his teammates, the entire Nets team is kneaded into an organic whole.
Earlier this season, Harden's biggest challenge on the court was that he seemed to have lost his impact on the basket. There was a reason for his physical injury, and the change in rules once made him seem confused. Under such circumstances, Harden's personal attack was once very sluggish, and the organizational offense was repeatedly wrong. But in a battle with the Clippers, he avoided all these problems.
Before two recent consecutive away games in Los Angeles, Harden had just been given more than a week off for triggering the league's health and safety provisions. When he was away from the team, Harden did not relax his training, and his physical condition remained very good. This can be clearly seen in his 36-point performance in the Christmas game against the Lakers.
"What you're looking forward to is that when the players come back on the court, they can immediately get back to the feeling of playing," Nets coach Nash said of Harden, "from the game against the Lakers to this game, his performance has been very calm." When he plays in this way, he is a great leader in our team and it makes it difficult for us to beat. ”
Since the beginning of the season, Nash has always mentioned one thing when talking about Harden, that is, he hopes that his love will continue to play his own attack mode on the court, because in Nash's view, this is the most threatening way harden plays on the court. But Nash also stressed that this attack mode is not to constantly cut high scores for Harden.
"I think he can put really strong pressure on the opponent's defence through his own offense," Nash said, "I don't think he has to get many points or how many assists he has to give to help the team, he can help the team as long as he keeps being aggressive." As long as he has the offensive posture to put pressure on the opponent's defense, he can contribute. Therefore, the key to this problem is to maintain the decisiveness of the mentality, or to always be able to make the right choice. In my opinion, he is now playing at his best. ”
Just ask the Clippers how well Harden is doing right now. Although the Clippers' current core, Paul George, is on a 3-4-week break due to an elbow injury, the Clippers still maintain the league's No. 4 defensive efficiency. But in front of harden-led Nets, the Clippers' defense suddenly became full of holes. In the first half alone, the Nets scored 71 points.
Of those 71 points, not only Harden's personal contributions are abundant, but also the shells he delivers to his teammates. It is worth mentioning clarkston on the inside, the big man who just clipped James in the previous game, and the Clippers played a game with the efficiency of 8 of 9 shots, and scored a career record of 18 points. And in his eight athletic goals, there are multiple aerial relays from Harden.
"He knows very well what we expect from him, and he needs to play like this every night," Harden said of Clarkston, "and every day I keep telling him that some people might play a good game, some people might play two, but what sets you apart from them is that you can play that every night." ”
Harden is encouraging his younger teammates, and his own cavalier is playing consistently and steadily. In December, Harden played seven games, averaging 25.3 points, 11.3 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game, and his form and performance gradually returned to normal. Recently, facing the two teams in Los Angeles, Harden's two consecutive outstanding performances have made people see the style of the former MVP.
Although there was only one day of rest between two consecutive away games in Los Angeles, Harden returned to his alma mater in the suburbs of Los Angeles. In that familiar gymnasium, Harden witnessed the official retirement of his high school No. 13 jersey. This is undoubtedly another incentive for Harden.
"It was in high school that I learned how to train hard, and I learned how to stick to the stadium and keep my basketball skills up," Harden said, "I fell in love with basketball here, and I let different people know me, so that I can climb the peak of life and support my family." So for me, [going back to high school] was a really special time, and I enjoyed it. ”
After two away games in Los Angeles, the Nets and Harden are headed back to Brooklyn. In addition to enjoying the joy of coming home, there is good news waiting for them. According to head coach Nash, the team's absolute main players Durant and Aldridge are expected to end the new crown quarantine in the near future and return to the team's lineup. Meanwhile, Kerry Owen can also return to the team in the near future to participate in training, although not at home, but Irving can play away.
All of this is moving in a better direction. Harden, who is in a state of recovery, an increasingly complete lineup, the Nets show a very positive posture. "By the time all of us come back, I think the rest of the league will be in trouble," Clarkston said, "and I feel like no one can stop us when we're in a full lineup." So, it's going to be very interesting to wait until everyone comes back, and we're all looking forward to that day coming soon. ”