On October 25, Beijing time, in the game between the Nets and the Hornets, James Harden scored only 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, and the Nets also lost to the Hornets 95-111, suffering the second loss of the opening season. Affected by the new blow-blowing rules implemented this season, Harden's ability to make fouls has been inhibited, and his personal offensive status has also been greatly reduced.
After the game, including Nets coach Nash, Kevin Durant and others expressed solidarity with Harden. Nash believes that Harden is a "typical figure" who is cared for by the new rules, and has been treated unfairly by the league's new rules on foul penalties, and the referee is very sensitive to the question of whether to foul or not.
Durant said: "I don't think James [Harden] can adjust the way he plays just because the referee doesn't give him a whistle. Honestly, the change in rules didn't affect anyone. Harden himself said in response to whether they were affected by the new rules: "I asked every referee if they saw a foul on the court, then they blew the penalty. Sometimes, I feel like I'm carrying a stigma in terms of creating fouls. However, I will ask the referee to blow the penalty according to the facts. ”
According to a tweet on social media by U.S. data media StatMuse, james Harden has averaged just 3.0 free throws per game this season, a new career low, affected by the new blow-off rules. Journalist Micah Adams tweeted on social media about how Harden's average number of free throws per game has changed over the past three seasons. Among them, the 2019-2020 season averaged 7.7 times per game, last season averaged 5.1 times per game, and this season averaged 3.3 times per game, and the data declined year by year.
It is worth mentioning that among the top ten players with an average number of free throws per game last season, Alphabet Brother, Butler, Beal and DeRozan still rank in the top ten, and Embiid and Trae Young are tied for 13th place in the league, and the above 6 players are not affected much. Lillard and Fox tied for 22nd place in the league, have a certain impact, excluding the fat tiger who is still in the recovery stage, Harden has indeed become the player with the biggest impact of the new blowing penalty rule. Do you think that, as Harden said, he bears the stigma of creating fouls and is "focused" by the referee?