For all of the criticism that has come his way over the year, you can usually count on James Harden two do two things at a high level. For one, Harden’s ability to find ways to score — whether it’s by creating his own shot or getting to the free throw line — has turned him into one of the best offensive players of his era.
And then there’s his passing. Harden has long been one of the best players in the league at setting his teammates up, and during Wednesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, he was able to get into the paint, attract a ton of attention, and kick it out to Kawhi Leonard, who had no one near him as he stood in the corner. Leonard tried to shoot, and then, this happened.
I almost assume that there has to be something else going on here, because if not, then James Harden just flat out tried to block a jumper by one of his own teammates. His contest on the shot worked, though, as Leonard bricked this jumper. Harden did get the ball back after an offensive rebound, at which point he set up Amir Coffey for a three that he made. So in the end, he managed to get an assist on this possession, it just happened in the weirdest way you can imagine.