He's one of the best scorers ever.". We haven't seen scoring numbers this big since a 23-year-old Jordan put up 37.1 PPG. "I love to just be out there and the grind.". He's led the NBA in made free throws in each of the past five seasons, but he's taking it to new heights this season. pic.twitter.com/VNIuvHaPo9, — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 5, 2020, Harden’s current campaign is just the third time in over 30 years that an NBA player has averaged at least 34 points in a season. "Even when you play pickup, there's a rule that the guy who checks it in can't shoot.". Very few people thought Harden would get even better and more productive following an incomprehensible scoring season in 2018-19. NBA history is lined with dominant scorers like Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal who used to camp out down on the block. Since the beginning of last season, Harden is averaging a mind-blowing 19.6 drives per game, and he's pretty good at it. Until Harden silences those concerns, many folks around the NBA will remain skeptical and refute the idea that he's is an all-time great. Hero ball is back and we owe it all Harden, whose offensive techniques are reforming the conventional wisdom of the modern NBA in real time. If Harden stays at his current average of 34.4 points per game, the No. He just scored 60 points in a little more than 30 minutes of game action and hasn’t scored fewer than 25 points in a game since opening night. It appears that he already has a vision for how that could potentially work in his new job as head coach of the Houston Rockets. The former Sixth Man of the Year is nearly averaging an unfathomable 40 points per game. (The other two were Harden’s 36.1 last season and Kobe Bryant’s 35.4 in 2005-06.). To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. "Last year he was the MVP and now he's even better and it's a credit to him, his work ethic and the passion that he plays the game with.". Between all the step-backs and driving rim attacks, Harden produces a predictable shot signature. As a starter with the Rockets, Alston averaged 12.6 points (35.0% on 3-pointers), 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 35.9 minutes per game. In many cases, it even sends them to the bench. "There's a long-held basketball perception that the guy who holds the ball initially shouldn't shoot," he said. He's a rarity in pro basketball, regularly inventing new fundamentals. So you might as well just mark that down in the book. 1. What's wrong with watching a virtuoso? "So I don't know about now, but I've had that feeling. Meanwhile, Brewer played alongside Westbrook in Oklahoma City during the 2017-18 season and became a starter in the playoffs. Hero ball might work in December, but does it work in June? Harden is both the most efficient and the most active perimeter isolation player in the world. Alston played 11 seasons in the NBA from 1999 until 2010, including parts of four seasons in Houston from 2005 through 2009. The ESPN Daily delivers the biggest sports news and moments every weekday. "I've been seeing it all these past few weeks.". Maybe hero ball isn't so bad after all. But then Harden started to develop his step-back in the iso lab, his team took an all-time dynasty to the brink. NBA draft No. Harden isn't even a throwback to early-2000s hero ball -- those dudes like Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady can't compare to Harden's on-an-island approach. The dominant trends of the 2010s were never really about ball movement or motion. Harden led the league in scoring last season for the first time by averaging 30.43 points a game, but injuries to Chris Paul and Clint Capela have forced him to carry an even bigger load this year and he's averaging in NBA-best 36.33. Trivia time: Who was the most recent NBA player to score over 12 PPG at the free throw line? ), When you ask Morey why he thinks Harden is the greatest scorer of this era, his answer -- just like the Rockets' offense -- is simple: "James is generating more points per possession than pretty much anyone in history.". With the regular season shortened due to the league’s COVID-19 hiatus, all NBA teams will only have eight games remaining when they report to the neutral “bubble” site near Orlando in July. Many of Harden's key iso sequences do begin as soon as he brings the ball up the floor. Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who worked for the Rockets from 2011-16, gushed about him. James Harden is the greatest scorer since Michael Jordan, 'I can't imagine attaching my name': How owners hide their political donations, Why Roger Goodell and NFL power brokers built their own PAC, Sources: Rockets hiring Mavs' Silas as new coach, Sources: NBA revenue dropped 10% to $8.3B, Sources: Morey near deal to be 76ers hoops prez, Sources: Jazz being sold in $1.66B agreement, Lakers' Green: Expect vets to rest if Dec. 22 start, Raptors' Davis allegedly assaulted woman in NYC, Inside the political donation history of wealthy sports owners. He doesn't want to talk about it, of course. More than a third of their buckets came with the help of an assist. Even though Harden's step-backs and drives are very good statistical options, they pale in comparison to the boon of the whistle. Associated Press Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles around Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, in Houston. None of the league's 11 other 25 PPG scorers are even approaching 30%. James Harden Is On Pace To Have The Best Scoring Season Since ... James Harden Like Charles Barkley says, James Harden's style of basketball is “iso ball” and … The answers to those questions are fueling the NBA's most unconventional offense. Many observers, including myself from time to time, have derided the monotonous aesthetic of Rockets basketball. That's astounding. Fewer than 14% of Harden's made field goals from this season and last season have been assisted. In 13 games this month, last season's MVP is averaging 44.1 points. And while many observers tend to roll their eyes at Harden's foul-drawing antics, opponents do so at their own peril. Through 19 games, Harden is averaging an incredible 38.9 points per game and, barring injury, he's on pace to win his third consecutive scoring title, something only MJ … Harden is the savviest foul-hunting guard this league has ever seen. At the end of a decade that will be remembered for its analytical awakening, Harden and the Rockets are making us rethink the virtues of hero ball, a ridiculed tactic that looked left for dead years ago as motion offenses started dominating the league. No NBA player has accomplished that feat since Kevin Durant, who did it from 2009-10 through 2011-12. But here's the stat that really matters: 51% of Harden's isos lead to a 3-pointer from himself or a teammate. During his 13 years in the NBA, veteran swingman Corey Brewer has had plenty of experience dealing with Houston Rockets superstars and recent league MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The dude is going to the line 14.4 times per game, and over 12 of his nearly 39 points per night are coming at the charity stripe. We want to see pictures of your kids in costumes, Halloween decorations, food, and parties from years past. When NBA games resume, James Harden is on pace to win his 3rd straight scoring title, averaging a league-high 34.4 points per game. Ever after pairing up with Russell Westbrook, here is how Harden is doing things nobody else has ever done in ways that no one has ever even tried. "I've been seeing double teams, triple teams, zones," he said. Despite awesome scoring totals, Harden's percentages from the field aren't as dominant as other great scorers. Let's start with Harden's 60-burger against Atlanta: His 24 shot attempts were the fewest ever in a 60-point game in NBA history. Over 50% of Harden's points stem from isos. Nicknamed "Skip to my Lou," Alston was best known for his ball-handling abilities, as well as his passing skills... As a top assistant coach in Dallas, Stephen Silas had a key role in the offense that recently became the most efficient in NBA history. An offense made up entirely of Harden isos leading to shots and fouls would average more than 140 points per game based on those scoring rates. Consider this: Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, 122 NBA players have run at least 200 isolation plays, and Harden leads the way with 1.14 points per iso. Does it work when the best teams in the league have seven games to focus and solve it? On the 14% of iso possessions when Harden passes, Houston generates 1.19 points. In the days following his 61-point show at Madison Square Garden, the Beard was asked if he feels like he's un-guardable right now. As Harden has been piling up points, opponents are searching for ways to slow him down. If he's so great, why can't he get to the Finals? "I mean, I've always felt like that," he said with a sly smile and laugh. Stephen Silas ran the Mavs' offense. Harden has got time to show us that his superhero ball can do more than just rack up unprecedented regular season stats. One other underrated Harden edge is that he only has 12 total turnovers out of isolations all season, making up just 3% of his solo plays. He was making perfect decisions every time down the floor. Through 19 games, Harden is averaging an incredible 38.9 points per game and, barring injury, he's on pace to win his third consecutive scoring title, something only MJ and Kevin Durant have done in the 3-point era. Another 13% of the time, Harden draws a foul on his isos, leading to a nearly automatic 1.72 points per possession. — Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 3, 2020, Sign up for the Rockets Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Here's what ESPN's Mark Jones said of the team's hiring process: What motivates billionaire sports owners to donate to political campaigns? Does Harden wilt under pressure? And Harden thrives much like Chamberlain did -- in the kinds of isolated one-on-one matchups that were supposed to be dead by now. "When we left here we thought he was really good and then somehow, some way he's gotten even better," he said. It might be the most tried and true strategy in basketball history, but not everyone is amused. Harden is on pace to break his own record for the most 3-point attempts in a season with 1,143. Just watch this season's breakout sensation, Luka Doncic, and you'll see that the future of the league is bending toward Hardenism. Why do anything different? They were always about 3-point shooting and the quest for efficiency. Later this summer, “The Beard” should add a third scoring title to his long and still growing list of career honors with the Rockets. Dating back to 2013-14 ... ... no team has passed the ball less frequently than the 2019-20 Rockets, ... and no team has run more isolation plays than the 2019-20 Rockets. While they've made strides since a terrible start had them near the bottom of the conference, Harden and Houston know they need to get much better. But shot selection is one thing. You've just got to make sure he doesn't get the 60 points.".