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James Harden can be the greatest version of himself as a No. 2 option

James Harden insists he hasn’t changed, that the same qualities he was criticized for in Houston are now lauded in Brooklyn.

"I get credit now, previously I wasn't getting credit," Harden said Wednesday after a satisfying triple-double performance for the Brooklyn Nets against his former Rockets squad. "Same leadership, I've been the same person. I haven't changed one bit."

It looks the same, the step-back triples, the pounding of the basketball into submission, but it feels different watching Harden with the Nets — freed from the responsibility of carrying a franchise, from being a culture setter.