While the Brooklyn Nets ‘Big Three’ of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving continue to build their chemistry on site, Irving and Harden had a brief conversation this week to explain their roles.
“We fixed it maybe four days ago now,” Irving said after the Nets’ 134-117 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. “I just looked at him and said, ‘You’re the point guard, and I’m going to play shooting guard. “It was as simple as that. ‘
Irving described the conversation as concise and matter-of-fact.
“This is not a mystical conversation we had,” Irving said.
In Saturday’s game against the Warriors, Harden scored 16 assists, raising his 11.3 assists per game average since joining the Nets in mid-January. These are the most assists he has had since the 2016-17 season, when he led the league with 11.2 assists per game for the Houston Rockets.
“He took over the responsibility and did incredible work,” Irving said. “It just makes my job easier to just play for free and make plays.”
When Harden, a multiple points champion, was added to the Nets mix, the question was, “Will one basketball be enough?”
On his arrival from Houston, Harden discussed his willingness to play the necessary role with Steve Nash.
On Saturday against the Warriors, Harden, Irving and Durant scored 100 points for Brooklyn or helped. Saturday was the seventh game the trio played together – including the clash with the Toronto Raptors last week, during which Durant was ripped off the floor early due to the league’s coronavirus protocols.
Their record together is 5-2, including the loss to the Raptors that Durant could not complete.
“I came to this team knowing they had two special scorers in this team,” Harden said. “Obviously I score if I have to, but as long as I involve everyone in it and Ky (Irving) gets the shots he wants, KD gets the shots he wants, it’s pretty effective. Offensive is not the problem. “For us, we can score in bunches; it’s defensive. It looks like we’re getting a rhythm from now on. We just have to keep going.”