Brooklyn Nets superstar guard James Harden says that he is slowly regaining his form, but admits that his offensive game is still limited as he continues to make his way back following an offseason of rehabbing his hamstring injury.
Harden finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists during the Nets 106-93 loss to the Miami Heat at home on Wednesday night.
Harden, a former MVP, has scored 15 or fewer points in three straight games for the first time since the 2011-2012 season. Harden dealt with the hamstring injury during the second half of last season, and it severely limited him during the playoffs as well.
“Just getting more confident, being aggressive,” Harden said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “And it’s getting better every single game. As much as I want to get back to just, you know, [scoring] 30’s and 40 points, I can’t do that [right now]. As much as I want to, obviously I would love to.”
Harden is averaging 16.6 points per game this season which is a big dip from the 24.6 points per game he averaged last season.
“I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer,” Harden said. “Everything was rehab for three months, from a Grade 2 injury that happened three times in one season. So this is my fifth game of trying to just play with competition against somebody else. And as much as I want to rush the process and be back to hooping and killing, [have to] take your time.”
“My career, I’ve been blessed,” Harden said. “Just not having surgeries or whatnot. So just this whole process last year was just like frustrating and draining. … It was draining for me to know that I couldn’t be myself and be out there on the floor and be the player that I am [at the end of last season].
“But I’m finally slowly getting back to it. It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication. But it’s gonna happen. But you got to just continue to keep fighting, and I will.”
