GT: Heat @ Nets, 1/23/21, 8pm EST

[Paradise]

So Harden going full Chris Bosh type of role this season?

Was thinking he will still want to be his superstar self. He looked himself fully in the first 2 games with Durant vs Magic and Bucks. But since then, he has been weirdly passive. And the Kyrie excuse isn't valid in the last game because Kyrie played smart all game and actually moved the ball well and still got great stats. On the other hand, I saw Harden overpassing to inferior bench players all game and it was beyond frustrating to be frank. My point is, there is no good reason Harden is playing this passively even with Kyrie out there.

Nets traded a lot of their future and sacrificed their defense for an all-time great player so having him reduce his aggressiveness/role this much is such a waste. I don't quite see Nets winning a title if Harden wants to be just a good unselfish role player. He needs to be at least close to superstar level if not superstar level. There is no good reason to be this passive imo (since Nash is staggering their minutes and started instructing his players to move the ball more).

That said, Nets' defensive issues are certainly bigger than this issue but still this annoys me a lot.

He’s the only one without a ring and he spent 8 seasons in Houston being the man. He’s going into his Thunder years type of play with better IQ for the game.

The Thunder used to run lineups of Harden at PG, Westbrook at SG and KD at SF in the playoffs and the fact, Scott Brooks never started all three is why he never made the most of out of that team. Kyrie is MUCH more efficient than Westbrook.

Harden is looking at this as his moment to sacrifice for a championship similar to KD to Golden State or LeBron to Miami. Last time I checked, LeBron deferred in the first year. Harden has been a Net for less than two weeks.

[Hello Brooklyn]

It might be healthy for this team if Kyrie doubled down on the defensive side of the ball.

He is every bit as capable of scoring as the other guys but that is not where we are weak.

Kyrie can be very dangerous on the defensive side of the ball if he puts his mind to it.

Harden simply isn't looking to score on offense though.

We desperately needed all those points from Kyrie to win that game.

Harden can be more of a facilitator but he needs to be super aggressive during the bench minutes. And still be a potent threat when Kyrie/KD are on the floor.

Right now hes not even trying to score.

If Harden comes in from day one and hogs the ball for 40-50 points every game chances are we never see Kyrie in a Nets uniform again.

As the team gels Harden should take more shots but with so few core players everyone should feel like they are included.

Harden helping everyone else look good is a really great way to introduce him to the team.

Right now KD, Joe Harris, and even Jeff Green are hitting their threes like a well oiled machine.

Kyrie could focus on defense and still pitch in 12-24 points per game.

Why is there no in between?

He doesn't need to score 40 or 50. Why not 20?

Why is he so passive that he refuses to shoot even with the bench units. Makes no sense.

Stop making excuses, hes been bad.

[drchaos]

Why is there no in between?

He doesn't need to score 40 or 50. Why not 20?

Why is he so passive that he refuses to shoot even with the bench units. Makes no sense.

Stop making excuses, hes been bad.

Not making excuses just sharing my two cents on why he has taken the roll of facilitator.

Clearly Harden and the team have problems but I will to see them play more games before I push the panic button.

The holes in the roster don't help.

I think we would all be less frustrated with Harden's non aggressive style if our bench wasn't playing so badly.

[NetsJets]

What is Harden giving us that Caris couldn’t have given us based on what we’ve seen so far? He’s supposed to be an upgrade over LeVert, start playing like it.

scoring, shooting, passing, rebunding, and defense.

all those things harden has done better then levert, even with harden having some down games and not clicking yet.

Caris wasnt scoring 30 in his sleep vs the bucks the way harden did

If he only played like he was better than Caris the last 3 games...

[NetsJets]

A passive, trying to fit-in and not in good shape Harden is still be able to average 23.6 pts, 12 ast and 8 reb with .611 TS% for the Nets.

He is an upgrade over LeVert already.

In these last 3 games he’s not been that good what are you watching? His first 2 games is what we brought him in to be.

Hadrens "not good" = levert at his apex

Hyperbole

[NetsJets]

Harden was passing up shots for TLC he needs to be aggressive when Kyrie and KD is off the court.

[StepBackCrack]

So Harden going full Chris Bosh type of role this season?

Was thinking he will still want to be his superstar self. He looked himself fully in the first 2 games with Durant vs Magic and Bucks. But since then, he has been weirdly passive. And the Kyrie excuse isn't valid in the last game because Kyrie played smart all game and actually moved the ball well and still got great stats. On the other hand, I saw Harden overpassing to inferior bench players all game and it was beyond frustrating to be frank. My point is, there is no good reason Harden is playing this passively even with Kyrie out there.

Nets traded a lot of their future and sacrificed their defense for an all-time great player so having him reduce his aggressiveness/role this much is such a waste. I don't quite see Nets winning a title if Harden wants to be just a good unselfish role player. He needs to be at least close to superstar level if not superstar level. There is no good reason to be this passive imo (since Nash is staggering their minutes and started instructing his players to move the ball more).

That said, Nets' defensive issues are certainly bigger than this issue but still this annoys me a lot.

He’s the only one without a ring and he spent 8 seasons in Houston being the man. He’s going into his Thunder years type of play with better IQ for the game.

The Thunder used to run lineups of Harden at PG, Westbrook at SG and KD at SF in the playoffs and the fact, Scott Brooks never started all three is why he never made the most of out of that team. Kyrie is MUCH more efficient than Westbrook.

Harden is looking at this as his moment to sacrifice for a championship similar to KD to Golden State or LeBron to Miami. Last time I checked, LeBron deferred in the first year. Harden has been a Net for less than two weeks.

I get all of this but LBJ and KD still put elite superstar production tho (even in their first years). I hope Harden will fix this soon. He really doesn't need to limit himself this much imo. Hope this gets addressed soon in their team meetings. When he plays with the bench especially, he needs to be aggressive.

[StepBackCrack]

Harden deserves blame for this no doubt. This isn't acceptable at all imo. Nets traded for a superstar. Not a glorified Rondo/Rubio.

[NetsJets]

Harden deserves blame for this no doubt. This isn't acceptable at all imo. Nets traded for a superstar. Not a glorified Rondo/Rubio.

Yup. We could’ve gotten 12 points on 2/8 shooting 7 assists and 11 rebounds from LeVert. We need more from him.

[drchaos]

What is Harden giving us that Caris couldn’t have given us based on what we’ve seen so far? He’s supposed to be an upgrade over LeVert, start playing like it.

scoring, shooting, passing, rebunding, and defense.

all those things harden has done better then levert, even with harden having some down games and not clicking yet.

Caris wasnt scoring 30 in his sleep vs the bucks the way harden did

If he only played like he was better than Caris the last 3 games...

I really hope Caris LeVert gets healthy and has an awesome career but we would be getting zero from him since the trade given his condition right now.

I was surprised how much we gave up since I do not believe that Houston had the upper hand given that Harden quit on them.

After the big four (including Harris) the cubbard is bare.

I think after the last few years Sean Marks has earned enough of my trust to give him a couple months to get this roster rounded out a bit.

[TheNetsFan]

Harden deserves blame for this no doubt. This isn't acceptable at all imo. Nets traded for a superstar. Not a glorified Rondo/Rubio.

Rondo and Rubio without the defense.

It's OK for him to defer, but when he's running the second unit, he needs to be an opposing run stopper. He can't defer on the wrong side of a 6+ - 0 run.

[NetsJets]

scoring, shooting, passing, rebunding, and defense.

all those things harden has done better then levert, even with harden having some down games and not clicking yet.

Caris wasnt scoring 30 in his sleep vs the bucks the way harden did

If he only played like he was better than Caris the last 3 games...

I really hope Caris LeVert gets healthy and has an awesome career but we would be getting zero from him since the trade given his condition right now.

I was surprised how much we gave up since I do not believe that Houston had the upper hand given that Harden quit on them.

After the big four (including Harris) the cubbard is bare.

I think after the last few years Sean Marks has earned enough of my trust to give him a couple months to get this roster rounded out a bit.

He would be playing barring an unrelated injury.

[Prokorov]

So Harden going full Chris Bosh type of role this season?

Was thinking he will still want to be his superstar self. He looked himself fully in the first 2 games with Durant vs Magic and Bucks. But since then, he has been weirdly passive. And the Kyrie excuse isn't valid in the last game because Kyrie played smart all game and actually moved the ball well and still got great stats. On the other hand, I saw Harden overpassing to inferior bench players all game and it was beyond frustrating to be frank. My point is, there is no good reason Harden is playing this passively even with Kyrie out there.

Nets traded a lot of their future and sacrificed their defense for an all-time great player so having him reduce his aggressiveness/role this much is such a waste. I don't quite see Nets winning a title if Harden wants to be just a good unselfish role player. He needs to be at least close to superstar level if not superstar level. There is no good reason to be this passive imo (since Nash is staggering their minutes and started instructing his players to move the ball more).

That said, Nets' defensive issues are certainly bigger than this issue but still this annoys me a lot.

The only one reducing hardens aggressiveness is himself.

When he is on the floor with no KD/Kyrie he should be trying to score. thats the big adjustment. he needs to know when to be point guard and when to be a scorer.

[Prokorov]

Kyrie could focus on defense and still pitch in 12-24 points per game.

Why is there no in between?

He doesn't need to score 40 or 50. Why not 20?[/quote]

He is scoring 20.

21.5 ppg as a net.

Why is he so passive that he refuses to shoot even with the bench units. Makes no sense.

It may take some time to adjust. we all agree bench unit he needs to be a scorer first. it isnt always easy to just turn that mentality off and on. im sure he wants to get chemistry with everyone not just KD/Kyrie

Stop making excuses, hes been bad.

He hasnt been bad. he hasnt been anywhere close to bad. he is playing like an all-star, just not a top 5 player

[Prokorov]

What is Harden giving us that Caris couldn’t have given us based on what we’ve seen so far? He’s supposed to be an upgrade over LeVert, start playing like it.

scoring, shooting, passing, rebunding, and defense.

all those things harden has done better then levert, even with harden having some down games and not clicking yet.

Caris wasnt scoring 30 in his sleep vs the bucks the way harden did

If he only played like he was better than Caris the last 3 games...

he has.

Levert was an inefficient chucker who played 0 defense. Harden is giving us an efficient 20/10. if caris had games like harden is having people would be blwonig their load about how he is a star

[Prokorov]

In these last 3 games he’s not been that good what are you watching? His first 2 games is what we brought him in to be.

Hadrens "not good" = levert at his apex

Hyperbole

its not hyperbole. like hardens 4 games with the nets are better then Leverts bubble stats (best ball of leverts career)

[Prokorov]

Harden deserves blame for this no doubt. This isn't acceptable at all imo. Nets traded for a superstar. Not a glorified Rondo/Rubio.

There is no need for blame. the big three have played TWO games together.

Harden helped us beat the bucks and is posting a pretty stellar 21/10 on 60+ TS line while adjusting to playing with apair of elite scorers with a different lineup in all 4 games.

[NetsJets]

scoring, shooting, passing, rebunding, and defense.

all those things harden has done better then levert, even with harden having some down games and not clicking yet.

Caris wasnt scoring 30 in his sleep vs the bucks the way harden did

If he only played like he was better than Caris the last 3 games...

he has.

Levert was an inefficient chucker who played 0 defense. Harden is giving us an efficient 20/10. if caris had games like harden is having people would be blwonig their load about how he is a star

LeVert could give us what Harden has been giving us since Kyrie returned to the lineup. We traded for him to be an upgrade.

[NetsJets]

Hadrens "not good" = levert at his apex

Hyperbole

its not hyperbole. like hardens 4 games with the nets are better then Leverts bubble stats (best ball of leverts career)

No. LeVert’s Blazers game is better than what Harden did against the Heat.

[Prokorov]

Hyperbole

its not hyperbole. like hardens 4 games with the nets are better then Leverts bubble stats (best ball of leverts career)

No. LeVert’s Blazers game is better than what Harden did against the Heat.

that is 1 game. and levert probably would have sucked against the heat too, because... you know, he is an inefficient chucker