James Harden continues to look like a shell of his old, superstar self, finishing Wednesday night's loss to the Heat with just 14 points while shooting 4-for-12 from the field, his worst shooting night of the season so far in terms of field goal percentage.
Harden also attempted just three free throws, and has taken only 15 foul shots through the first five games of the season, marking the first time he has tried less than five free throws in five straight games since the end of the 2011 season with the Thunder.
So, as Harden continues to struggle to find his way back to his scoring champion form, the question remains: is his slow start a direct link to the NBA's new foul call initiative, which discourages unnatural movements to create the illusion of contact, or is Harden simply working his way back from a nagging hamstring injury that hampered him for much of last season?
Harden insists it's the latter.
"It's getting better every single game," Harden said after Wednesday's loss. "As much as I want to just get back to 30-40 points, I can't do that. I obviously would love to. I had no opportunities to play pickup or anything this summer. Everything was rehab for three months from a grade two injury that happened three times in one season."
Harden's 16.6 points per game so far this season would be his lowest total since he averaged 12.2 points per game with Oklahoma City in the 2010-11 season, when he was just 21 years old. If he continues on this current pace, his run of nine straight All-Star seasons will likely come to an end, but he and the Nets believe it's only a matter of time before Harden is back to his star form.
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"I think James is showing signs of getting his rhythm back," head coach Steve Nash said. "Like I keep saying, it's not an easy process. It's gonna take him some time and we have to be patient with him, but he definitely had some incredible stretches [Wednesday] to build on."
Harden tried to play through his hamstring injury in last year's playoffs, but it was clearly holding him back. Now, the argument is whether his struggles are still linked to getting back to 100 percent, or getting acclimated with the new climate of the NBA, which has made his quest to get to the free throw line a lot more difficult. He attempted at least 10 free throws per game for six straight seasons with the Rockets, and took 7.3 foul shots per game last year. Through five games this season, that number is down to three.
From 2013 to the end of last season, nearly a third of Harden's scoring came from the free throw line. He hasn't been able to draw fouls at nearly the same rate as before, and it is costing him in the scoring department. At least in others' eyes. If you ask Harden his struggles are purely rhythm related, which he thinks will fix itself once he gets back into a groove and his injury is further in the rearview.
"This is my fifth, sixth game of trying to just play with competition and play against somebody else," Harden said. "As much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing…this is also going to make me stronger at the end of the season. I just embrace moments like this and keep pushing through it."
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