Mike D’Antoni is in his fourth season as Rockets head coach, and he says the current shooting slump by James Harden is the worst he’s seen from the team’s superstar over his time in Houston.
Based on that rarity, D’Antoni and the Rockets aren’t ready to push the panic button just yet — even after five losses in six games, and a season-long losing streak of four straight. Before this downturn, Houston (26-16) had won eight of its previous 10 games.
Speaking at Tuesday’s practice, D’Antoni said of Harden:
For the first three-and-a-half years I’ve been here, [this is] the first tough stretch he’s ever had. Realistically, he’s going to get out of it. He keeps working. He’s working on his shot. You don’t overreact to that.
You don’t tell him, ‘Don’t shoot that like you did for three-and-a-half years, and you won us an average of 58 games. Don’t do that.’ That’s crazy. ‘Do what you do. You have the best instincts of an offensive player ever. Then, do it.’ He will. I have no doubt two weeks from now, that’s not an issue.
In Monday’s home loss to Oklahoma City, Harden tied an NBA record with 16 missed 3-pointers in 17 attempts (5.9%). After the game, he took the unusual step of staying on the Toyota Center court in uniform to go through shooting drills, seemingly with an eye on refining his mechanics.
Following a blown 17-point lead in a 112-107 loss to the #Thunder—with a 9/29 shooting performance (including 1/17 from beyond the three-point line)—@JHarden13 is out here on the Toyota Center floor going through his pregame shooting routine. #OneMission pic.twitter.com/0wBbI6lPzY
— Adam Clanton (@adamclanton) January 21, 2020
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The performance against the Thunder was the latest in a clear downward trend for the 30-year-old former MVP. In Harden’s last seven games, he’s scoring 29.6 points per game on 33.1% shooting from the field, 23.1% on 3-pointers, and 83.5% on free throws.
The Rockets are 2-5 in those games, with the lone wins over lowly Atlanta (10-34) and Minnesota (15-28) without All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.
By contrast, over Harden’s first 34 games of the 2019-20 season prior to this seven-game funk, he scored 38.4 points per game on 46.3% shooting overall, 38.6% on 3-pointers, and 86.4% on free throws.
Speaking at Tuesday’s practice, Harden addressed the mechanics of his shot, indicating that he knows what he needs to work on:
Sticking the landing on my shot and holding my follow-through. Obviously, every time you do that, the shot isn’t going to go in. But you give yourself a better chance of making them. I’m not too worried.
While some have wondered if Harden’s slump might be correlated with fatigue due to his high usage, it’s worth noting that the seven-game downturn began in Atlanta, after the Rockets had four consecutive off days of rest. There also hasn’t been much travel, since the Rockets are on a season-long homestand of four games, and they’ve had two additional schedule gaps during his slump with two consecutive off days.
Harden also rejected another popular theory that shot selection and the difficult nature of many of his shots — such as his renowned step-back 3-pointer — might make it more difficult to snap out of his funk.
Speaking at Tuesday’s practice, Harden said:
Those are like regular shots for me. That’s what I work on every day.
In his closing remarks, the NBA’s leading scorer for three straight seasons made it clear that he wouldn’t let the slump affect his on-court mentality.
It’s all about me. Keep working my [butt] off. That’s all I can do. Obviously, I want to make every shot that I shoot, or every time I go to the basket, I want to make a layup. It doesn’t happen. But the more you work, the more confidence you get.
I missed so many 3s last night. There’s been games, I made so many 3s. You never know if you don’t shoot the basketball and be aggressive. The only way to do that is building confidence to shoot the ball. Terrible game. I’m going to continue to shoot. Hopefully, the shots go in [Wednesday]. If they don’t, I’m going to continue to work. If they do, I’m still going to continue to work. Nothing changes.
Harden and the Rockets obviously hope the results will change, starting with Wednesday night’s home game against the Denver Nuggets (30-13). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central from Toyota Center.
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