Oklahoma City Thunder still missing James Harden?
Back in 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the NBA Finals, falling to the Miami Heat in five games. After the season, they decided to part ways with high-scoring guard James Harden, sending him to the Houston Rockets. Since then, the Thunder have failed to get back to the finals.
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Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders believes the Thunder still miss Harden.
"Things just haven’t been the same in Oklahoma City since James Harden left town, but with an MVP player like Kevin Durant and another top-10 NBA star like Russell Westbrook, it’s impossible to say that they aren’t still in the championship conversation. Some players are good enough where they can make that happen all on their own, but Durant and Westbrook haven’t gotten it done all on their own, and this year’s roster doesn’t look any better than the ones that have fallen quite a bit short the last couple of seasons. They’ll have one of the best records in the West, but unless some of the younger players undergo a huge leap this season, they probably aren’t going to win a championship, not with all the really good teams in that conference."
They do miss Harden but if Reggie Jackson can continue to improve and Serge Ibaka’s offensive game continues to grow, the Thunder can certainly win an NBA title.
Harden averaged 25.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 45.6% from the field, 36.6% from beyond the arc and 86.6% from the free throw line. In his five-year NBA career, the third-overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft has put up 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 44.5% from the floor, 36.9% from three and 84.9% from the charity stripe.
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