NEW YORK — Rockets shooting guard James Harden is the NBA's top scorer, at 27.4 points per game, and is among the early candidates for MVP.
Given his credentials, it's hard to look at Harden as an underdog, but he will be just that when he enters Saturday's Three-Point Contest. Harden is just one big name in an eight-man field loaded with All-Stars and elite shooters.
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"That's what those guys do, they shoot threes as specialists," Harden said. "It's my first time, a little nervous, but I'll just work on my mechanics and go out there and shoot the ball."
Harden is no slouch behind the 3-point line — on average for his career, he hits 38.3 percent of his shots taken from behind the arc. But it is the players Harden will be pitted against that makes him a long shot to come away with a win.
In the Three-Point Contest along with Harden will be Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson and more. Of the eight-man field, only Harden and defending 3-point champion Marco Belinelli shoot below 40 percent from the 3-point line.
Harden doesn't expect his fellow competitors to show him any mercy, either.
"They're definitely not going to give me advice," Harden said. "So I'm just going to go out there and go off instincts. Go off what I know."