The Nets head home for a decisive game seven on Saturday after falling in game six, and will be searching for an offensive spark to keep their season alive.
After being held below 90 points for the second time in the last four games, the shorthanded Nets need a boost back home, but who will provide it? Kevin Durant, while more than capable, can’t be expected to carry the team with another 50-point triple-double. James Harden, while showing more encouraging signs on the offensive end in game six, is still limited in his mobility due to a hamstring injury. Kyrie Irving likely won’t be able to play due to an ankle sprain.
Could Joe Harris be the spark that sends Brooklyn to the conference finals? The Nets could certainly use more from him.
After leading the league with a 3-point percentage of 47.5 in the regular season, Harris has gone cold this series against the Bucks’ perimeter defense. The sharpshooter was money in game one, drilling five of his nine 3-point attempts to finish with 19 points in a blowout win, and was a respectable 3-for-7 from beyond the arc in a game two win, but it has been downhill ever since. In the last four games, Harris has made just 10 of his 39 3-point attempts, a 20.8 percent clip, and continued to struggle from downtown in Brooklyn’s game six loss in Milwaukee.
“I go through worse stretches in the regular season, it just happens to be big games and big moments, but you have to continue to stay aggressive,” Harris said. “Continue to play with pace and shoot the ball with confidence whenever you have room and rhythm looks.”
Harris went just 1-for-4 from 3-point range on Thursday night, his lone connection coming on a big three early in the fourth quarter to pull the Nets within five. But he was a non-factor on offense the rest of the way, as the Bucks have clearly made an adjustment after the first two games, aided by injuries to Harden and Irving.
“It’s probably a mix of both,” Harris said when asked if his cold stretch is due to the Bucks’ defensive scheme or an untimely shooting slump. “They’re definitely a very good defensive team and keyed in on personnel. I’m not really the type of player where I’m gonna facilitate my own shots. So they’ve done a good job taking stuff away.”
Without Irving on the floor to facilitate and kick out to open shooters, and with Harden nowhere near 100 percent, it has become an easier task for the Bucks to keep a body on Harris on the perimeter, and it’s showed in his shooting stats. Harris has shown an ability to be an offensive x-factor in the playoffs already, like in game two of Brooklyn’s first round series against the Celtics when he nailed seven of 10 3-pointers, and shot 51.5 percent from downtown in the series. That percentage has dropped nearly 20 percent in this series.
“For the most part, just overall defensively, they’re very keyed in and don’t make a lot of mistakes,” Harris said.
Most eyes will be on Harden and Durant in game seven, but a difference maker could be Harris if he is able to shoot himself out of his current funk, or if the Nets could find him some more open looks.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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