Nets vs. Magic: 3 things we learned from James Harden’s Brooklyn debut
The Nets finally have their first winning streak of the 2020-21 NBA season, knocking off their third consecutive opponent in James Harden’s Brooklyn debut on Saturday. Harden (30 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds) and Kevin Durant (42 points) led the Nets in scoring, accounting for over half of Brooklyn’s scoring — not to mention they combined for 19 assists.
But even with the addition of Harden, the Nets still have work to do. Unfortunately for Brooklyn, they won’t have time to work on things as a team — they are off on Sunday and play again on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks
Before moving on to that matchup, here are three things we learned from the Nets’ 122-115 win:
James Harden is ready to facilitate
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Right out the gates, Harden was looking to complement his teammates rather than look for his own offense. Of course, he went on to score plenty of points, but the guard's passing was on full display throughout the win. https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1350606484275683328 "I'm a hooper. I'm very unselfish," Harden said on a Zoom call with reporters Saturday. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win." https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1350625135250825225
Turnovers still a problem for Brooklyn's stars
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As good as Harden was at giving his teammate chances to score, he also finished with nine turnovers. "He stuffed the stat sheet. Wow, almost a quadruple-double," Steve Nash joked after Saturday's win on a Zoom call with reporters. "But obviously, James is a brilliant basketball player." The Nets had 19 turnovers as a team. Harden accounted for nine of those. Kevin Durant had six. Might be time to make an adjustment or two.
Defense: Still an issue
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Entering Saturday's game, the Magic were riding a four-game losing streak during which they had not surpassed the century mark once. Yet, they scored 115 against the Nets on Saturday. A lot has to be corrected on this end, especially with Jarrett Allen gone.
