About This Blog
- Mike Masaya
- NBA, WNBA, NCAA, FIBA, D-League makes no difference, its all ball!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Prediction of 2012 NBA 6th Man of the Year: James Harden
This
may very well be the easiest of all the honors to predict in the
2011-12 NBA season. A prediction I made just a few weeks after post
lockout games began and I saw that Harden hadn’t missed a step. The slow
rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top of the league appears to
be sudden for those that have either not been fully involved in any team
other than their own or simply not fully paying attention to all 30 NBA
teams. Which to be fair, not everyone can or cares to do.
In
what has become the most well built team in the NBA through trades,
draft picks and key re-signings, the Oklahoma City Thunder play nothing
short of perfect basketball. Unselfish offensive attitudes, dedicated
defense and are supported by what is likely the deepest bench led by
James Harden.
Similar
to Manu Ginobili, the most well known bench player who by all means
would be starting on 90% of NBA teams, still comes off the bench to suit
the team’s style of play which gives them the best chance of winning.
James
Harder comes off the bench behind the highest scoring duo in the NBA in
Durant and Westbrook at 51.9 points per game, which is followed by
Lebron and Wade’s 49.3 in Miami and Kobe and Pau’s 45.1 in Los Angeles,
which for any 6th man is a lot of pressure. However, Harden is not
phased by this and goes out and plays his style of play, never
compromising the teams system for personal gain. In his first 3 years of
professional play, Harden has improved his stats in almost every
statistical category.
From
2009-2012, his scoring averages increased from 9.9, 12.2 to 16.9.
Assists went from 1.8, 2.1 to 3.8 with rebounds somewhat the same
however still statistically increasing. To be fair, his minutes have
also increased from 22.9, 26.7 to 31.8, because he is now forced to help
fill the void left by point guard Eric Maynor who went out a few months
back with a season ending surgery.
Considering
Oklahoma’s 40-13 record, 23-5 home record, 17-8 road record and as long
as Harden can stay injury free and continue having stater type
performances coming off the bench, as I said earlier, this may very well
be the easiest of all the honors to predict.
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