NBA Notebook: What's wrong with James Harden?

Welcome to another edition of our NBA Notebook. We’ve got a lot to talk about this week, so let’s get to it.

IS THE SUN SETTING ON ROBERT SARVER?

Jordan Schultz reported last Friday that there is a forthcoming news story about Robert Sarver, owner of the Phoenix Suns. The actual report has still yet to be released, but it accuses Saver of racism, sexism, and sexual harassment.

In response, the Suns organization went on a full-court press in the media, categorically denying every claim that we, the audience, have yet to even see. Going as far as to say they have documentary evidence that refutes the claims, which leads one to wonder how there can be evidence of something "not" happening, but again, we have yet to see the report.

Although extremely premature, It’s hard not to think about what happened with Donald Sterling. Sterling, who had a bad reputation around the NBA for years, was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after audio emerged of disturbing racist comments he had made. It’s not impossible to imagine that the same fate awaits Sarver should the contents of the report be damning enough.

WHY IS JAMES HARDEN STRUGGLING?

One of the most popular topics this week around the association has been some version of "what is wrong with James Harden?" Harden is averaging drastically lower production and efficiency from nearly everywhere on the court. Some have pointed to the new rules this year, designed to discourage so-called non-basketball plays. We're talking about the kind of foul-seeking behavior that Harden had perfected into a perverse art form.

And Harden has certainly been hurt by those rules, he’s taking just 3.0 free throws per game so far, compared to 7.3 last season. But it’s more than that. Harden simply isn’t beating his man off the dribble and creating separation, his outside shooting has taken a dive, and generally he doesn’t seem himself.

It’s easy to forget because he ended up playing, but Harden ended last season having re-injured a recurring hamstring injury, and never got right. While he claims full health now, he missed an entire summer's worth of training, pick-up basketball, and lower-body conditioning.

So there’s reason to expect that even though the rules are hurting Harden, he’ll be back to playing at an MVP level eventually. But for now, Kevin Durant is right, the Nets really do miss Kyrie Irving.

THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL RIVALRY

After both the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks made major offseason additions, many had earmarked Thursday night's game between the two former ‘90s powerhouses as the potential renewal of a once-great rivalry.

And it didn’t disappoint. The then-undefeated Bulls ended up falling to the now East-leading 4-1 Knicks, but both teams showcased their tantalizing potential. The Knicks' Kemba Walker rained death from outside to lead New York with 21 points, while new Bulls additions Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso made umpteen clutch plays to keep Chicago within reach. The Bulls made an end-of-game run and had a chance to win, but RJ Barrett did enough to force a DeMar DeRozan miss at the buzzer.

This could be the beginning of something really fun.

LAKERS STUMBLING OUT OF THE GATE

It might be time to panic in Los Angeles. The Lakers have stumbled out of the gate to a 2-3 record, and LeBron James has already missed time with an ankle injury. Their latest loss, where they blew a 26-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder, was a new low-point for an already challenging young season.

It was the first time a Lakers team had blown a 25-point lead in 230 games. And troublingly, it happened while both Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis were playing. This is exactly the kind of game where Westbrook was supposed to show his value, instead he added 10 turnovers alongside his triple-double, and the Thunder, who are not trying to field a legitimate NBA team this season, captured their first win of the year.

Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards, in no small part due to the players the Lakers traded to them for Westbrook, are 4-1. It makes one wonder about the road not taken, and if the +450 is enough value for the Lakers to win it all.

SHOULD EMBIID BE PLAYING?

Joel Embiid has been playing with "knee soreness" for some time now, but it might be worse than originally thought. Ramona Shelburne reported that after his game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Embiid wasn’t able to walk for two days.

If true, there is no way that Embiid should be playing, and the team should step in and shut him down. But the problem is that without Embiid and without the still absent Ben Simmons, the Sixers will struggle to stay afloat in a suddenly cutthroat Eastern Conference. Only a resolution to the Simmons situation, one way or another, is going to fix this problem.