{"id":181117,"date":"2021-02-18T03:23:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T00:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nets-playmaker-james-harden-making-nba-mvp-case\/"},"modified":"2021-02-18T03:23:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T00:23:07","slug":"nets-playmaker-james-harden-making-nba-mvp-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nets-playmaker-james-harden-making-nba-mvp-case\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nets playmaker James Harden making NBA MVP case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Nets playmaker James Harden making NBA MVP case<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>These MVP-level performances are why the Nets went all-in to get James Harden.<\/p>\n<p>The tantalizing championship-level potential they\u2019re starting to reach is why Harden forced his way to Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<p>It was on display Tuesday in Phoenix when \u2014 with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out \u2014 Harden led the Nets to the biggest halftime comeback in team history. It\u2019s what had Harden so fired-up as they take a four-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> winning streak into Thursday\u2019s marquee matchup with LeBron James and the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way we\u2019re playing and the potential we have as a team is what I\u2019m excited about,\u201d Harden said. \u201cComing into Phoenix and they\u2019d won six in a row, we\u2019re down two of our best players and we come in and win after being down [21] at half? That\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe could\u2019ve easily gave up \u2026 but we didn\u2019t give up, and we won. So that\u2019s exciting. Now we\u2019ve just got to continue to build. Hopefully we get KD and Ky back next game, and just keep this train rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-megaphone\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"no\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=ADL6050379164&amp;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Even as he\u2019s still rounding into shape, Harden already has become the conductor of that train. The Nets are hoping the last stop is the NBA Finals, and they look like odds-on favorites to meet the Lakers there, with Harden\u2019s arrival the biggest catalyst in them leveling up from contenders to potential superteam.<\/p>\n<p>The Nets are a middling 7-7 without Harden, but 11-5 when he starts, and a gaudy 5-1 when he\u2019s in the lineup with Durant and Irving. It raises the question of whether he should be in the MVP conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s out there creating for everybody,\u201d Durant said, \u201cknocking down shots, being a shot-maker.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"670\" alt=\"James Harden\" class=\"wp-image-17349398 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>James Harden<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Harden had 38 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to beat the Suns, hitting the dagger 3-pointer with a half-minute left to cap the comeback. But it\u2019s been his ability to make everybody else better \u2014 yes, even the Big 3 \u2014 that has elevated the Nets.<\/p>\n<p>When Jeff Green starts, the Nets\u2019 entire lineup is shooting better than 50 percent overall and 40 percent from deep. All are hitting at career-high clips from 3-pointt range, and Harden\u2019s playmaking is a huge reason why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the brilliance of James, to be able to distort and manipulate the defense, and set his teammates up for opportunities. That\u2019s a huge addition to our team is his playmaking and vision,\u201d coach Steve Nash said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClearly, he\u2019s an elite playmaker. He brought that to our team, to our profile. \u2026 His playmaking is what makes our team improve more so than his scoring. Now, we want him to be aggressive and score and shoot, but the special part of what he brings to our team is his playmaking, and [that] does allow it to all fit together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though Harden had joined Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only men to average more than 34 points more than once \u2014 claiming the past three scoring titles \u2014 he has adjusted since coming to Brooklyn. He has acquiesced to passing on shots and been less prolific, but more complete \u2014 averaging an NBA-high 11.8 assists and 8.4 rebounds, both career-bests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just try to make the right play and play the game the right way. I don\u2019t really pay attention to stats or whatnot,\u201d Harden said. \u201cI just knew coming in from the trade that defensively and rebounding, we weren\u2019t the best at. So my mindset was as a guard try to be a really good rebounder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking plays is something I\u2019ve always naturally done. So it\u2019s just a mindset, being in the right places and trying to communicate and just be engaged as much as possible every possession. The numbers and stats don\u2019t really mean anything to me if we don\u2019t win. That\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That desire to win prompted Harden to force a trade from Houston in a manner that has come under scrutiny. Even Draymond Green said, \u201cI don\u2019t think no one\u2019s gonna fight that James was dogging it his last days in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But James understood Harden\u2019s reason, a single-minded focus on a ring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants to win,\u201d James said. \u201cHe wants to win now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Harden looking like an MVP candidate, the Nets have a chance.\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/02\/17\/nets-playmaker-james-harden-making-nba-mvp-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Nets playmaker James Harden making NBA MVP case&#8221; These MVP-level performances are why the Nets went all-in to get James Harden. The tantalizing championship-level potential they\u2019re starting to reach is why Harden forced his way to Brooklyn. It was on display Tuesday in Phoenix when \u2014 with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out \u2014 Harden&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":181118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/James-Harden-6.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[93713,70487,64001,60955,32807],"class_list":["post-181117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2-17-21","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-james-harden","tag-kevin-durant","tag-kyrie-irving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}