Harden league's top reserve: Oklahoma City’s season continues as they keep their eye on the NBA title in the postseason, however guard James Harden has already earned himself one piece of hardware, as he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last week. Harden lead the league in scoring off the bench, as he averaged 16.8 points per game in 31.4 minutes per game. (Updated 05/14/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/26/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Harden has emerged as one of the most efficient scorers in the league, as he scored his 16.8 points per game on just 10.1 field goal attempts. He is hardly the ideal of a reserve, as he finished third on the Thunder in minutes per game, however he often plays with the second unit and came off the bench in 60 of his 62 games. He remains a high-end Fantasy option for postseason formats as the Thunder continue to advance. (Updated 05/14/2012).
05/22/2012 00:28 Westbrook, Durant lead Thunder past Lakers, return to Western finals
Russell Westbrook scored 28 points, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder surged ahead in the second half to beat Los Angeles 106-90 in Game 5 on Monday night and eliminate the Lakers from the playoffs.
05/20/2012 01:14 Durant's 3-pointer seals comeback as Thunder beat Lakers, take 3-1 lead
Russell Westbrook scored 10 of his 37 points during a stirring fourth-quarter comeback, Kevin Durant added 31 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder seized control of the second-round series with a 103-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 on Saturday night.
Harden continues to fly just slightly under the radar. Make no mistake, however, Harden will enter the 2011-12 season as the Thunder’s No. 3 scoring option. After only starting five games last season, despite playing in all 82, Harden is expected to be Oklahoma City’s starting two-guard entering the year. Likely getting a boost from the 26.7 minutes per game he played last year as a 21-year-old, the Arizona State product could easily improve upon the 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 3-pointers he recorded per game last season. Harden exploded in the second half of the season as he posted 15.8 points per game over his final 28 regular-season contests. After an excellent playoffs, Harden is ready for a monster third NBA season. Harden’s upside as a starter has him a solid Fantasy sleeper leading up to Draft Day. He’s worth taking with a mid-round pick in all formats and should be considered on the cusp of being a top 50 Fantasy guard. (Updated 8/28/11)
