James Harden recently spoke with Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated and in that interview, he had a lot of positive things to say about his time with the Nets thus far.
There was much talk when the trade went down that Harden’s play style may not mesh well next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and he’d have to adjust his game. However, Harden seems to love his newfound role in Brooklyn.
“There really wasn’t any adjustment,” Harden said. “I still play how I play, but now I don’t have to shoot the ball so much. It’s really the best style for me, to be honest. Kevin and Kyrie can always go get a bucket, and, with me as a playmaker, I can think about how to get shooters involved, how to get bigs touches, how to create open shots. My main focus is trying to get everybody involved and have each guy make an impact on the game.”
Steve Nash was brought in as the new Nets head coach before the start of the 2020-21 season, as many believed Nash’s ability to relate with players would make him a great fit to coach a team constructed the way the Nets are. Harden backed that notion.
“Ultimate players’ coach,” Harden said. “He was a great point guard, and you really see that during situations in the game. There’s a real difference where with him he actually played the game and played it at an elite level, so he understands every game situation. Actually being in high-level moments so often over the years, that’s a big benefit for us.”
The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship and had to go through the Nets in the second round of the playoffs to get to the Finals. The Nets lost Irving due to an ankle sprain in Game 4 of that series, and Harden played through a Grade 2 right hamstring strain after missing the first four games of the series.
Assuming the Nets stay healthy next season, many people believe that next year’s Finals will be their’s to lose. Harden wasn’t shy to share his thoughts.
“At full strength, nobody can beat us,” Harden said. “I’m just going to leave it at that.”
More Nets Notes
- Nets first-round pick Cam Thomas wowed many during the NBA Summer League, as he came away with the Summer League co-MVP Award with Davion Mitchell. Thomas spoke about his love for Kobe Bryant and how it helped him develop his confidence in an interview with Tina Cervasio of Fox5 NY. “First time I watched him play, I just fell in love wanted to watch everything about him,” Thomas said. “Everything he did, I wanted to do. Every shot he took, I wanted to take it. Sometimes, I’d be out on the driveway, mimicking him, his post-ups, his jump shots, his fadeaways. I just gravitated towards him and I’m just glad I got to watch him play through his basketball career.”
-
Sean Marks was seemingly noncommital about DeAndre Jordan‘s future when he recently spoke to the media. “I think with all of our guys there’s always discussions,” Marks said when asked about Jordan. “And whether that’s reported or whether it’s not reported, I don’t want to use the old cliché but it’s a credit to our players that they come up in conversations or talks.” Jordan didn’t appear in a single playoff game for the Nets last season and was out of the rotation since the beginning of May.
-
For more on Thomas, the recent Durant-Draymond Green interview and the recent 2K ratings that were released, check out my podcast “The Scary Hours Podcast” co-hosted with Matt Drexler, as we welcomed in Matt Brooks of NetsDaily on our latest episode. The podcast links can be found here.
