Kyrie Irving will have to play new role due to James Harden’s struggles

James Harden’s struggles have severely hurt the Brooklyn Nets

Drives haven’t been the only time when Harden manipulates his body to make the referees think that defenders are touching him. Harden has a habit of kicking his feet forward whenever he goes up for a three-point shot in an attempt to induce contact to draw a foul.

Harden’s style allowed him to be top five in the league in free-throw attempts in the seven seasons before this campaign, averaging 10.2 per game. However, the rule change has cut his free-throw attempts by 28.4 percent, as he is only averaging 7.3 per game this season.

More importantly, Harden has yet to change his approach in hopes that the league will change its mind about the rule change.

Consequently, Harden is often off-balance when he goes up for a shot, causing him to miss. Harden’s unwillingness to change his style, in combination with the rule change, has turned passing into his best offensive trait this season. He is currently averaging 64.9 passes per game, creating 23 points per game for Brooklyn.

Harden’s need to have the ball in his hand will likely create an issue with the return of Irving, as Irving is a player who likes to create his own shot. Irving has done most of his offensive damage in the pick and roll and isolation.

Irving has spent 36.2 percent of his possessions since 2015 in the pick and roll, averaging 8.4 possessions per game. He has shot 48.5 percent as a pick and roll ball handler on 6.8 shots per game, creating 8.4 points per game.