James Harden welcomes ‘fresh start’ at Sixers training camp

CHARLESTON, S.C. — James Harden is pleased with his performance at the 76ers’ weeklong training camp at The Citadel.

“Everything is basically a fresh start and a fresh canvas,” said Harden, who played 21 games as a Sixer last season after forcing a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.

That short time with his new team may have prevented him from fully grasping the Sixers’ system. Training camp has given him an opportunity to listen to coaches and find out how the team wants to play on both ends of the floor.

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In regards to his explosiveness, which was lacking last season when he played with a nagging hamstring injury, Harden said, “It’s getting there.”

“We’re playing with a full training camp,” he added. “So there’s times and periods that you have dead legs or rough legs. But those are the times when you’ve just got to push through it, those character things like that.”

But like last season, Harden is still trying to figure out when to be aggressive. Offensively, the Sixers are trying to play mostly in pick-and-rolls or post-ups. Harden believes game reps and communication will help in his decision-making.

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He’s still trying to find the right balance between being a scorer and being a facilitator.

“But now, it’s a little bit more different,” he said. “Different because of the time [this summer] I had off to prepare and get my mind and my body right. And it’s just an opportunity with the new people that we have. And, honestly, just the communication with myself and Doc [Rivers] and Joel [Embiid] to know when it’s time for me to be aggressive and for Joel to be aggressive.”

Harden averaged 21 points and 10.5 assists in his 21 games as a Sixer.