The Brooklyn Nets star is struggling this season. After losing to the Miami Heat, Twitter roasted James Harden for struggling amid new foul and free throw rules implemented by the NBA.
Harden struggles under new foul rules
The Brooklyn Nets are off to an iffy start to the new NBA season.
On Wednesday, the Nets lost 106-93 to the Miami Heat with Harden dropping 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
He did that while attempting just three free throws (Harden averaged double-digit free-throw attempts per game from 2018-2020).
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Over the past few years, Harden has been an unstoppable force in getting to the basket and drawing fouls.
However, the once offensive-juggernaut has taken a nosedive in terms of output this year, with a new NBA foul rule clearly having an impact.
Referees this season have been instructed to not call fouls drawn by unnatural motions, such as an offensive player leaning or jumping into contact.
The former MVP is a master at drawing contact and getting soft foul calls.
Now, it’s pretty evident that the foul rule is affecting James Harden’s abilities.
NBA Twitter mocks Harden after Heat defeat
Harden’s struggles under the new foul rule were painfully apparent during the loss to the Heat.
Time after time Harden went searching for the calls he used to get, but the refs refused to cave.
It made for painful viewing and NBA Twitter went in on Harden.
What’s Harden said about the new foul rules?
It must be said that Harden is slowly coming back from a hamstring injury sustained in the second half of last season that severely limited him.
“I had no opportunities to play pickup or nothing this summer,” Harden said. “Everything was rehab for three month.”
However, Harden acknowledged the new foul rules after the Heat loss saying, “I’m not the type to complain about it.
“I asked every official if they see a foul just call a foul.
“Sometimes I feel like coming into a game it’s already predetermined. I already have that stigma of getting foul calls – A foul is a foul no matter what league it is.”
However, he remained optimistic.
“Just getting more confident, being aggressive,” Harden added.
“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.”
