Daily NBA Fix: James Harden’s No Good, Very Bad Start to the Season

Twenty-two percent.

The Houston Rockets’ James Harden is shooting 22 percent from the field so far this year.

Twenty-two percent.

Even last season when Lance Stephenson was struggling to find his way with the Charlotte Hornets he still managed to shoot 37 percent. He did set a new NBA record by shooting 17.1 percent from three-point range, but nonetheless, he still managed to shoot well above 22 percent from everywhere else.

It has only been three games and he will almost undoubtedly get back to being his normal MVP candidate-type self, but it’s still shocking to see him struggle so badly through three games as the Rockets fell to 0-3.

Sunday night against the Miami Heat was just another brick or 13 in the wall as he went 2-for-15 from the floor and 0-of-10 from beyond the arc. Going 12-of-14 from the free throw line was the only saving grace on his 16-point night. It was another loss for the Rockets as the Heat rallied back from a 65-44 deficit in the third quarter to outscore the Rockets 65-24 on their way to a 109-89 victory. Just like Harden’s season, it has been a struggle for the entire Rockets team this season.

With Harden only having 54 points on 12-of-54 shooting so far this season, he’s nearly been outscored by Stephen Curry‘s explosion against the Pelicans on Saturday as CBS Sports’ Matt Moore pointed out on Twitter last night.

To break that down even further, consider this: Harden has a total of 27 points on field goals (nine two-pointers, three three-pointers), a number he’s matched in free throws by going 27-of-31 from the foul line. He has as many turnovers as made field goals.

Sure he has to share the floor with Ty Lawson now and he’s been taking less shots near the rim, but that doesn’t explain away his troubles. Watching him shoot he’s taking some of the same shots he took last year but he just hasn’t found a way to get them to go down.

Even when you look at his shots more in-depth you see he’s shooting 20 percent on open shots according to NBA.com, which defines it as the nearest defender being 4-6 feet way. It is just strange because when you account for the fact that it has only been three games, you see most of the percentages are similar to last season as far as the type of shots Harden has taken.

But maybe that’s just it. It is only three games. Maybe there are some growing pains with playing with Ty Lawson handling the ball and Harden playing off it. While there is little reason to expect this to continue, it is still worth pointing out that James Harden is having a horrific start to the season.

Kobe’s NBA Player Ranking

Remember when Kobe Bryant was complaining on ESPN’s player rankings before the season started? How he called ESPN “a bunch of idiots“? Well he might have changed his mind.

"“I’m the 200th best player in the league right now,” Bryant said, in a video posted to Lakers.com. “I freaking suck.”"

After a encouraging start on opening night Kobe has regressed to a 31.4 field goal percentage as the Los Angeles Lakers have fallen to 0-3.

For what it is worth, Sports Illustrated ranked Bryant as its 54th in their NBA player rankings this season.

LMA, San Antonio Spurs Hold Off Celtics 

LaMarcus Aldridge showed why the San Antonio Spurs wanted him around in a 95-87 victory against the Boston Celtics. Aldridge’s 24 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block helped keep the Celtics at bay despite Boston outscoring San Antonio 56-51 in the second half. ‘

Even if stylistically it wasn’t a perfect fit for the Spurs and Aldridge, it is clear on nights like this why they would need the jolt in the arm he can provide.

Coach Gregg Popovich knew this, which is why he went to such lengths to woo him to San Antonio according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News.

Never change, Pop.