Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

Five ways the Thunder can stop James Harden

By Casimir Cuffy

Mar 26, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
James Harden is going to be tough to contain for the OKC Thunder. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
James Harden is going to be tough to contain for the OKC Thunder. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

The OKC Thunder finished 6th in the Western Conference and will battle the 3rd-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs.

Just how, exactly, do you stop a player who averaged a near triple-double, lead the league in assists, ranked third in points-per-game and ran away in points responsible for?  How do you stop a player who is in the top two in the MVP race? Is it possible to stop a player who lead his team from the eighth seed in the Western Conference a season ago to the third best overall record in the NBA in a year?

The answer is easy, you can’t. It’s next to impossible to stop a player with that production. However, James Harden can be contained or managed with the right game planning and discipline. Lining against Harden and his array of shooters in the first round is a tall task for anybody. The Thunder drew the short stick, but they are looking forward to the matchup from every indication.

Let’s examine these two sets of stats:

Stat-Line 1: 29.1 points-per-game, 11.2 assists-per-game, 8.1 rebounds-per-game, 43.8 FG%, 34.5 3-PT%, 5.7 turnovers-per-game

Stat-Line 2: 20.5 points-per-game, 12.3 assists-per-game, 7.3 rebounds-per-game, 34.3 FG%, 22.6 3-PT%, 6.3 turnovers-per-game

The first stat-line is James Harden‘s season averages. Those are wildly known, and a huge reason why he is neck and neck with Russell Westbrook in the MVP race. The second stat-line is the more interesting one, however. The second line is Harden’s averages in the four games against the OKC Thunder this season.

The statistical digression is real! What could the Thunder be doing to force Harden’s production to drop by such large numbers? Let’s look at five things OKC will look to keep doing to contain James Harden in this series.

Home/Thunder News