Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden is eligible for a contract extension this summer with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden fully expects to get one during the summer.

“They’ll do a pretty good job of working it out,” Harden said. “I’m focused on several other things right now. But when the time is (right), they’ll figure it out and it’ll be done.”

Harden loves it in OKC and calls the team a “family” and his teammates “brothers.” That is what this team is but Harden would likely be taking a little less money to stay in OKC.

Harden won the Sixth Man of the Year award this season and had a breakout season averaging 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assist per game. Harden was integral in the Thunder’s playoff run until he starting slumping in the NBA Finals.

But Harden’s poor play in the Finals represented just how important he is to this team. If he even played a little bit better, the Thunder may very well have won the NBA title this season.

The Thunder organization has created something special and Harden knows that as well as anyone.

His personality by all accounts also lends to the fact that he’s be willing to sacrifice some cash to be a part of something special. Harden already understands the idea of sacrifice as he has come off the bench for the past two seasons despite being talented enough to start.

When the Thunder made all of their great draft picks beginning with Kevin Durant in 2007, it wasn’t all based on talent. They found high character guys that would fit together and improve over time.

Sam Presti and the entire Thunder organization have continued to sell that to their players, coaching staff and fans. It will work.

That’s why even though Harden’s future technically is unclear with the Thunder as well as head coach Scott Brooks’, they aren’t going anywhere.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will begin the Western Conference Finals this coming Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EST.

It is a very highly touted matchup between the two teams that are playing better than anyone else in the NBA right now. Combined they have lost just one game in the playoffs so far.

There will be many great matchups in the series beginning with maybe one of the most important: James Harden and Manu Ginobili.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Harden came into the league in 2009 and was always compared to Ginobili. Both are left-handed and have very similar styles of play and skill sets. Harden is blossoming into an All-Star now in his third season while Ginobili is on the decline but still very much a star in his own right.

Harden and Ginobili are also two of the best sixth men in the history of the NBA. Both could start but their teams need them to come off the bench to really hit their potentials.

Harden played in 62 games for the Thunder this season and averaged 16.8 points per game, 3.7 assists and had a career-high true shooting percentage of .660.

Harden has picked up his game in the playoffs most noticeable in his aggressiveness getting to the line. He averaged 6.0 free throw attempts per game in the regular season and is getting to the line 7.9 times per game in the playoffs.

Ginobili played just 34 games this season and actually began the season as a starter before returning to his more comfortable role off the pine. He averaged just 12.9 points (lowest since 2004) and 4.4 assists with a true shooting percentage of .668.

Ginobili, while capable of turning it up in the playoffs, hasn’t needed too yet for the Spurs and is scoring only 11.3 points per game in the playoffs but playing just 26.3 minutes per game.

Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

Harden and Ginobili will play huge roles in this upcoming series. The Thunder really rely on Harden to lead their second unit and sometimes even get them back into the game.

The Thunder usually have an advantage when their bench is in mainly because of Harden but the Spurs probably have the best bench in the NBA and the best depth of any team in the league.

So the matchup is really Harden vs. Ginobili and the entire Spurs bench. Harden is a one man show out there for the Thunder while the Spurs get it done by committee.

While Harden may not be able to match the Spurs production himself, it will still be vitally important for him to at least keep it close and get into a rhythm himself.

One of the secrets about the Spurs that not many people are talking about (which is understandable since they haven’t lost a game since April 11) is that they aren’t the greatest defensive team. The Spurs don’t have what we’d call a “championship” defense.

They’ve dominated in the playoffs largely because of how efficient their offense is. Their defense isn’t bad, but it’s not what’s won them games so far.

Handling the Thunder offense is going to be a brand new challenge for the Spurs and handling Harden in general may be impossible for them.

In three games against San Antonio this season, Harden averaged 19.3 points and shot .594 percent from the field. He’s going to be able to get into good rhythm in this series and that’s not a good thing for the Spurs.

The greatest advantage that the Thunder have against the Spurs is that their big three should be able to “get theirs” pretty easily and starting with Harden.

What we’re going to see in this series will be different from what we’ve seen so far for both teams.

The Spurs will be up against a team that will be able to match their offensive fire power or at least come very close. The Thunder will be playing against a veteran team who is going to come out and accomplish just about everything they want to.

It is hard to imagine saying that James Harden will have a big series and the Thunder will not win. But the Spurs are the only team who could probably withstand a Harden storm and it will be coming.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden was named the NBA’s best sixth man yesterday to the surprise of no one. Harden was winning this award from the first game of the season this year and had little competition for it all season.

Harden averaged basically a 17-4-4 shooting 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. He did everything for Oklahoma City’s second unit and showed in Game 4 that he can be relied on to close out games for them as well.

Is Harden one of the best sixth men ever? Is he the best one ever?

The award wasn’t given out until the 1982-83 season. Bobby Jones of Philadelphia won it that year then Kevin McHale won it the next two. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner was on the NBA championship team in three of the first four seasons.

Sixth men have always been a crucial piece to championship teams. And it makes sense too. Being a sixth man often means sacrificing being a starter and hearing your name called out every night before the game. Winning a championship is about sacrificing for the team and for the greater good.

Before we determine if Harden is the best sixth man ever we need to figure out what are the best qualities for a sixth man to have.

Scoring off the bench is probably the most important. It is so valuable to have someone who can come in off the bench and score at a high level. And when you get to do this against a second unit it can sometimes become a deadly weapon like in the case of Harden.

Harden is really one of the premiere one-on-one scorers in the league and when he gets to play the first six minutes of the second and fourth quarters against bench units he is really able to take advantage of this strength.

Like I mentioned before being a player who is willing to sacrifice is also an important ingredient in a sixth man. Harden is easily able to do this because he plays with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. So it makes a ton of sense for him to play a lot of minutes without either of them so that the Thunder can maximize their three best players’ potential.

A great sixth man must also be able to close out games. We saw Jason Terry as a perfect example of this last year for Dallas and Harden is now showing signs of becoming that guy for Oklahoma City. Manu Ginobili was also the offensive closer in a lot of cases during his championship days for San Antonio.

What really makes Harden so special is that he not only can carry a scoring load for the second unit but also essentially is the point guard for the Thunder’s bench squad. When Eric Maynor was lost for the year with an injury earlier this season, Harden’s role increased. He had to create everything for himself and others on the bench.

I think this is where Harden separates himself from past Sixth Man of the Year winners is his ability to thrive in two crucial bench roles. He can do this because he has superstar talent and an incredible understanding of how to play the game and what’s important.

Harden is no right up there with ’08 Ginobili who played a similar role that Harden did this year and with slightly better numbers.

Other than Ginobili you have to go back to the 1980’s to find a better sixth man than Harden. In 1985, Kevin McHale averaged a 20-9 for the Celtics and he also shot .570 percent from the field. The year before McHale averaged 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and they won the title.

Harden’s not on that level yet and may never be at least as a sixth man. Harden has a chance in the rest of these playoffs to get there though. If he becomes the closer for the Thunder handling the ball down the stretch of games then this Thunder team really has a chance to go all the way, cementing Harden as possibly the best bench player of all-time.

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Harden was the easy choice for the award from the day the regular season started. He averaged 16.8 points, 3.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game during the regular season.

Harden had a breakout game in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round proving just how valuable of a player he is, scoring 15 points in the final quarter to help Oklahoma City erase a 13-point deficit.

Lou Williams of Philadelphia finished second in the voting and received three first place votes. Don’t let those three guys watch basketball anymore.

Jason Terry finished third in the voting and Taj Gibson actually received one first place vote. Again, no more basketball watching for you sir.

Harden averaged 16.8 points, 3.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this season. He also shot .491 percent from the field, .390 from three and .846 from the line.

He led all bench players in scoring and really had the potential to make the All-Star team.

Harden has already had a huge playoff moment cementing his status as the league’s best bench player when he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against Dallas to help the Thunder come back from a 13-point deficit and sweep the defending champs.

Harden didn’t have much competition for the award either especially with San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili being injured for much of the year. Jason Terry of Dallas and Lou Williams of Philadelphia were probably the next closest for the award.