NBA Update: James Harden 'Sacrificing The Most' Of All Big 3s, Journalist Says

Since joining the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden may have been doing things he has never done before in his career.

Harden has established his name as one of the best all-around scorers of his generation. However, former ESPN Radio host and The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo recently shared an analysis of Harden, intending to point out that the 2018 NBA season MVP has made a huge adjustment in his game now that he’s part of the Nets’ “Big 3.”

Speaking on The Ringer’s “Sports History with Ryen Russillo,” the veteran NBA journalist weighed in on who among the modern day NBA Big Threes have sacrificed scoring in order to make way for their co-stars. According to Russillo, it was Harden who has done it among all the players who have become a part of Big Threes since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls era.

“Now that [James] Harden is on Brooklyn [Nets] and this is legitimately a new version of the big three, [the question] is ‘who is sacrificing’?” Russillo said. “It’s not [Kevin] Durant because we look at him, he’s actually shooting more and he’s putting together, by the way, the best shooting season of his entire career. Kyrie [Irving] is always going to be taking his shots so that’s not that much different.”

The 45-year-old further explained that Harden’s significant adjustment with the Nets could be backed by “two” statistical categories – “shot attempts” and “usage rate.”

“But there are two numbers that stand out with Harden that are worth paying attention too,” Russillo pointed out. “The one is shot attempts, (from) 22 (with the Rockets) to now 15 with the Nets. It’s clear that he’s approaching the game more as a playmaker than he has as a scorer first guy that he’s been in Houston for years.”

“The other is usage rate, which plays into the shot attempt thing where he was at 40 a couple years ago,” he added. “And where he’s at now? Harden is sacrificing the most not only (out) of this group but arguably any of these more modern big threes.”

Looking at Harden’s current stats with the Nets, it is a bit hard to determine whether or not he really did sacrifice a lot of his shooting for Durant and Irving.

So far, Harden’s barely dropped in points per game, from 25 to 24. But his scoring effectiveness evidently improved as his field goal percentage went from 44% with the Rockets to 46% with the Nets.

However, Russillo may have been right about Harden’s switch from first option scorer to playmaker as the eight-time NBA All-Star recorded the best numbers of his career in assists with 12 a game.