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Obviously, Thunder fans weren’t excited about Sunday’s outcome, but there were things to be encouraged about. Even excited about. One being the way James Harden played Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter.

If Harden is ready to play defense like that on a consistent basis, there’s no way you can possibly keep him out of the starting lineup, or at the least, from 30-plus minutes a night.

Clearly, Harden was not backing down from Kobe, even as Kobe tried to repeatedly back him down. Harden played Kobe physical, always keeping a hand or at least some part of his body on him. He stayed down on pump fakes, swiped at the ball and even got a little chippy with Kobe. I love it.

Harden has come a long, long way as a defender since last season. He’s becoming a lot more disciplined and is understanding help defense much better. He has terrific hands and is strong, long and athletic. There’s no reason he can’t be a stopper himself to go along with a solid offensive game.

Commentary, Video James Harden

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Did the real James Harden stand up Sunday night against Cleveland? If so, I’m guessing that was him treating J.J. Hickson like the newspaper at the bottom of a bird cage.

The Beard played with purpose and without fear in what was, along with his 23-point outing Nov. 20 in Milwaukee with Kevin Durant on the bench, one of his signature performances of the season for him thus far. Harden played decisively on both ends of the floor, moved the ball, maintained a good energy level in a blowout and provided the scoring punch off the bench that Oklahoma City sorely needs.

In short, Harden played like the guy the Thunder thought it was getting at the No. 3 spot in the 2009 NBA Draft, and he did it within the current role he has on the team. And, perhaps not coincidentally, Oklahoma City finally had the laugher win over a bad team that contending squads are supposed to have often.

Harden’s stat line stands out: 6-8 shooting, including 2-3 from behind the arc. Three assists against one turnover. Twenty-one minutes. Three dimes and three boards for good measure. He can’t be expected to shoot percentages quite that high on a nightly basis, but the way he played, and the way Oklahoma City played with him, makes you think that the player everyone hopes he can be could be a little closer to appearing on a more regular basis. Read more…

Commentary James Harden

It’s pretty much regarded as the best face curtain in the league. James Harden’s beard has pretty much taken over the NBA. Baron Davis used to sit atop the Beard Rankings, but Harden has stayed consistent with his face fur.

When the Thunder was in Canada playing the Raptors, The Basketball Jones talked to Harden about his scruff and also about the rise of the beard.

Harden Beard from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

Video James Harden

Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

James Harden was the third overall pick. He was an All-American at Arizona State, all Pac-10 both years there and won Pac-10 Player of the Year as a sophomore. He averaged over 20 points a game, was one of the best one-on-one scorers in the country and at the time, appeared to be the perfect pick for the Thunder at No. 3.

I’m not saying he isn’t or won’t be. But right now, Oklahoma City isn’t getting the kind of production it had in mind from Harden. He’s averaging more minutes than last year (25.3), but fewer points (8.2), assists (1.4) and his field goal percentage is way down (36.4). His PER is an anemic 10.5.

Look at what he did late last season, in summer league and in the preseason. He appeared ready to breakout. But he’s struggled some early, much like the rest of the team. So, what’s up? Read more…

Commentary James Harden

The Thunder has admittedly been working on things this preseason. There has been some eyebrow-raising play on the defensive end (meaning it hasn’t been great) and in some regards, a few of the issues from last season haven’t been tightened up.

But it’s preseason and this stuff doesn’t matter a ton. For example, the Minnesota Timberwolves are 5-1.

However, one player in particular has impressed me. Not by anything huge he’s improved in his game or big development on one end. It’s just a minor thing he’s doing.

James Harden is shooting a ridiculous amount of free throws.

Not counting the CSKA Moscow game that wasn’t against an NBA team and which Harden didn’t play much, in five preseason games, Harden has attempted 49 free throws. And that’s in only around 30 minutes a game. That’s kind of incredible. Read more…

Commentary James Harden

AP Photo

With the World Championships about to kickoff and the month of August coming to a close, I think it’s more than appropriate for us to start getting a little excited about the upcoming year (especially now that we’ve seen the schedule). And a big part about the anticipation and excitement for this upcoming season has to do with the natural progression that a young team must make to go from potential contender to a championship reality.

So with that in mind, I’m going to look at five different things over the next few weeks that I’d really like to see happen next year because I believe these are the five developments that will take the Thunder from being a young and promising squad to a legitimate, without-question championship contender.

And no, these are not in any specific order of importance whatsoever. Read more…

Commentary James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America

We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump and while it does exist in every sport at every level of competition, the NBA is an intriguing case study for the opposing phenomenon of the sophomore slump: The Sophomore Surge.

(By the way, it was really hard to not title this the sophomore Serge, but I resisted.)

You see rookies are known, if not even expected, to do two horrible things in their rookie season. They take unbelievably ill-advised and often rushed shots, thereby plummeting their FG%, AND they turn the ball over so much that coaches round the world simultaneously smack their foreheads and yearn to call for a sub.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Well, of course—but not really. I mean of course there are exceptions in that not everyone is going to suffer from both and some will do better in these categories than others but, pretty much across the board, a rookie is going to take better shots and take better care of the ball more in their second-through-retirement seasons than they will in their rookie season. In fact, I’ll go out on a very short limb and say it should come as no shock to any of us that professional basketball players get better the more time they have to play professional basketball up until that no fun thief known as age steals their youth and physical prime.

It’s called experience and adapting to the speed and level of play of the Association. So why all the references to the sophomore surge? Well, seeing as the Thunder are still one of the youngest teams in the league and have a core consisting of players all under the age of 23, we have witnessed that “jump” from the rookie season to the sophomore season in terms of production and development. In fact, we’ve also seen the jump (via Durant) from sophomore stud to junior All-Star and MVP candidate (though please don’t expect all Thunder players to make that jump).

And since there are three rookie pieces that are as essential to the Thunder’s rise to the next stage of competing for a championship, the sophomore surge of Serge, Harden and Maynor will greatly affect the current and futures success of this team.

So what can we expect?

Well, for starters, you might not want to expect the same dramatic jump that you saw from Durant, Westbrook and even Green make for the Thunder’s newest sophomores. And here’s why… Read more…

Commentary Eric Maynor, James Harden, Serge Ibaka

The Thunder were a unique team this year. Four players started all 88 games the team played in. The fifth guy only missed six games. For a full season, Oklahoma City had the most consistent, constant lineup of anyone in basketball.

And the big question going into the offseason is how it can get changed up. Kind of odd, isn’t it?

The thing is, one should expect it to change. James Harden wasn’t drafted to come off the bench for his career, though that might be a worthy role. Serge Ibaka made a push for more minutes and maybe a starting spot. Jeff Green’s place has been a topic of often discussion. But the rub is, do you mess with what worked? Do you tinker with a starting five that was so consistent, and oh yeah, surprised everyone by winning 50 games and pushing the defending champs and potentially eventual champs to six grueling games?

Darnell Mayberry asked the question earlier this week: Should Ibaka start next year? The obvious assumption is that Ibaka would replace Nenad Krstic in the five first, meaning Ibaka would play center. I think everyone would agree – Ibaka needs more minutes. If he showed anything this past season and especially in the postseason, it’s that he’s ready to affect games in a positive way for the Thunder. Read more…

Commentary James Harden, Serge Ibaka

The future of this franchise will literally hinge upon the development of these three players (you can add on if they acquire a paint-oriented, back-to-the-basket big to that but we’ll go with these three for today).

Now you absolutely would have included Harden’s name on this list a year ago as he was the #3 pick, but Ibaka would have been a mere footnote. And Maynor, well we didn’t even expect him to be on the team once Utah drafted him. And now, well the development of these three could pretty much determine how significant of a contender the Thunder are for the next five-to-ten years depending upon how each turns out.

*Hopefully this won’t tread upon Clark’s engaging series on how each Thunder player can improve for next year since we’ll just be focusing on the rookies and will be more general…and yes, I’m excluding Mullens for what are, I hope, unbelievably obvious reasons

For today, Part I, we’ll be taking a look at the Thunder’s Sixth Man and All-Rookie Second Team member, James Harden. Read more…

Commentary James Harden

Dime put up an MTV Cribs style video today, getting a look at James Harden and what he collects, does and wears. He picks up his custom Range Rover, goes bowling, shows us his shoes and records a little in his in-houses studio. It looks like he’s figured out how to put that rookie contract to good use.

Video James Harden

Have something you want to share/rant about? Send it in: dailythunder@gmail.com. Today reader profsearcy brings us some “knowledge”.

When I heard about Russell Westbrook’s celebrity bowling tournament the first thing that popped in my head was the film The Big Lebowski. My wife would argue that whenever I hear about lots of things, my first thought wanders to the film, but that’s missing the point.

Lebowski is simply put, my favorite movie ever made. One of the great things about favorites is that they don’t have to make logical sense. I took a film class as an undergrad so I know that Citizen Kane is probably the best film ever made, but it isn’t my favorite. I know that the best James Bond was Sean Connery but I would be lying if I didn’t say that Daniel Craig was growing on me. I know that Superman is the Man of Steel, but I only have one superhero logo tattooed on my body and it’s a Flash lightning bolt. Lastly I know that Bohemian Rhapsody is more popular but Don’t Stop Me Now is my favorite Queen song. Favorites are yours and not subject to the whims of popularity or critical subjection. Read more…

Friday Fan James Harden

From NewsOK, Scott Brooks said:

“We had a fun little slam dunk contest and Harden won. It was amazing. He did a 360 (dunk) behind the back,” Brooks said tongue in cheek. “He is available tonight.”

Either Scott Brooks’ sarcasm didn’t come through in print or I’m an idiot, but did he do a 360 behind-the-back dunk or not? Whatever the case, it sounds like Harden is more than available tonight. Regardless, this is big for OKC in a game the Thunder will certainly need his, and his beard’s, services.

News James Harden

Chris Covatta/NBAE/Getty Images

The No. 3 pick of the 2010 draft did not come with a lot of flash or hype, bow-tie aside. He’s been steadily under the radar and perhaps even under appreciated by the league and his own fan base due to the stratospheric rise of Kevin Durant and even the marked improvement of Russell Westbrook.

But if we’ve learned anything in the past week and a half, it is this: The Thunder need James Harden.

Since Harden’s hurt hamstring has caused him to be out of the lineup, the Thunder has gone 3-3. At first glance, this doesn’t look all that bad. After all, .500 ball is not horrible in the NBA and you could argue that it’s such a small sample size that maybe there’s no real merit in their record.

And that would be a sound argument…until you look at their level of competition and their record before Harden went down. Read more…

Commentary James Harden

(Morning Thunder fans. Thanks for your support of Daily Thunder. How’s your BRACKET look?)

Nothing more to say than a cute kid, rooting on James Harden during last year’s NCAA tournament. Actually, there is a little more to say. I enjoy how the kid asks where James Harden’s mom is. That’s funny. Harden didn’t have the best tournament last year, but it didn’t affect his draft stock. And hopefully, it didn’t affect little Santiago’s love for him.

Video James Harden

Bummer. James Harden will miss 2-4 weeks with a right hamstring injury, after he tweaked it against the Hornets Wednesday night going to the rim in the second quarter.

The good news for Oklahoma City though is Kyle Weaver is healthy and has been recalled after a very productive stint in Tulsa. Obviously, this is fortuitous timing. Weaver appeared in five games with the 66ers, averaging 12.4 points, 7.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks in 42.6 minutes per contest. He’s an admirable replacement for Harden and I’m honestly a little excited to get a look at him.

It’s slightly terrifying that Harden is out. His contributions are pretty underrated. To have a guy come off the bench with the ability to score 10 points in a few minutes is something extremely valuable. Kyle Weaver will do a nice job in his steed, but there’s a reason Harden was the third overall pick last year.

News James Harden, Kyle Weaver