NBA News: Kyrie Irving Tells Superstar Teammate To Stick With Playing Point Guard

Over the years, Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden’s scoring prowess has never been questioned.

The eight-time NBA All-Star and 2018 NBA MVP has led the league in scoring in the last three seasons, averaging 30.0, 36.1, and 34.3 points respectively.

Since getting traded to the Nets from the Houston Rockets earlier this season, however, “The Beard’s” scoring numbers have dipped quite a bit, which isn’t surprising given that he’s playing alongside scoring savants such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

While Harden may no longer need to carry the brunt of the scoring load like he did during his last eight seasons with the Rockets, he has continued to make an impact on the offense with the Nets, and that’s through his elite-level playmaking.

Through 14 games in "The Big Apple," Harden has tallied 11.6 dimes a game and is currently the league’s leading assists man with 11.2 per outing. This is while still putting up 23 points per contest.

While Harden may still be adjusting to his new team, it seems that he and his backcourt running mate Irving have come to an understanding regarding their respective roles.

On Saturday, Harden, Irving, and the Nets blew out the Golden State Warriors, 134-117.

Harden finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and a Nets franchise-record 16 assists. Meanwhile, Irving had 23 points.

During the post-game presser, Irving said that he told Harden to run the point.

“He’s staying consistent. I feel like he’s just been doing a great job of managing the point guard role, we established that maybe four days ago, now,” Irving said. “I just looked at him, and I said ‘You’re the point guard, and I’m gonna play shooting guard,’ and it was as simple as that.”

Playmaking isn’t anything new to the usually high-scoring Harden. During the 2016-17 season, Harden took the role as court general in Mike D’Antoni’s first season with the Houston Rockets.

That year, Harden averaged a career-high 11.2 assists per game. If he continues to make plays for the Nets at this rate, it’s highly-likely that he sets a new career-high average in assists this year.

“He’s been taking control of the responsibility, and he’s been doing an incredible job. It just makes my job easier, to just go out and play, play free, and just make plays, so it's a luxury,” Irving stated.

Having a perennial MVP contender like Harden essentially as the third option is definitely a luxury that not every team has.

The Brooklyn Nets are currently sitting at third in the Eastern Conference with a 16-12 record.