The Brooklyn Nets need James Harden to flip the switch

James Harden is not looking comfortable this season. Some of his struggles have to do with the combination of Kyrie Irving not being with the team and Nicolas Claxton not being present to be a lob threat alongside the 32-year-old. Most of his struggles though has to do with his mentality on the court.

In the postgame press conference after losing to the Phoenix Suns, a disappointed Harden reflected on some of these recent struggles.

“I’m trying to figure out when to score,” said the Nets star. “When to be a playmaker, when to run an offense, when to do a little bit of everything. Just trying to figure it out. It’s been a little difficult.”

While shooting only 4-of-15 from the field to score 14 points on Saturday night, his lack of shot attempts is frustrating even Nets fans. When he is not scoring, his ability to facilitate is not effective, and turnovers are easy to come by. This season, Harden is only putting up 14 shots a game and for someone who averaged 36 PPG in the 2018-19 campaign with the Houston Rockets, even something that Kevin Durant has never done, this is concerning.

Long story short, Harden has to take a page out of his own book and get back to the basics. That means playing with the same hunger and confidence he had playing for the Rockets. The same hunger where he would just drop 40, 50 or even 60 points on your head just because. He’s a top three scorer in the league right now and he’s not playing like it.

The Nets need Harden to flip the switch and to flip that switch now.