James Harden's rendition of "When I come around"...

Darnell Mayberry pointed out how Harden was a bright-spot in the Mavs game:
"James Harden. Turnovers. Steals. Blocked shots. Just a few positives that you can take from this one."

Forum talk about Harden coming around at okcthunderfans

You can see that Harden's stats are improving a lot recently. Over the last 8 games he's averaging over 15 ppg and he's doing it efficiently. He's also collected 19 steals over those games which is quite impressive and goes to show that his defense is improving also.

It really seems to me that he's playing with more confidence. I know I'm not the first one to say that, but it's true. I'm going to take a gander at where his confidence is coming from though. I think it was this:

We knew he had the skills all along. Basketball is so much mental it's not even funny. Confidence is the kind of thing that separates the great from the mediocre. Let's face it everyone who is under 7' tall and makes the NBA has worked really hard. And anyone (under 7' rule applies again) who can make an NBA roster is athletically gifted. But there are a lot of intangibles that separate the all-stars from the mediocre 4 years and done player. But I'll save those thoughts for a future post... In the meantime, I'm thinking about renewing my commitment to the "Harden for 6th man of the year award".

Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves

My thoughts for the game:
1. Tonight is a big game. Okay, that's an exaggeration. It's not really, but it's still important to win. Why? B/c Minnesota is a younger team than us. Also b/c they are in our division. Let's keep them playing catch-up to us.
2. Kevin Love is turning into a great pro.  I liked his game in college and thought he might be a good pro, but after watching his first 2 seasons I thought he was going to be a major flop. But I have to admit he's a real quality 4. He can space the floor with his shooting and is an amazing rebounder. I'm curious about his defense so that's what I'll be watching tonight.
3. James Harden is coming around. I think ... but I shouldn't hesitate. Darnell wrote a great article for today's paper about him. I was expecting him to be our 3rd scoring option this year and a 6th man of the year candidate, but feel pretty disappointed so far. I still think he's a great player and fits into our team, but I think he needs to pull the trigger more from downtown - just let it fly.

Anyways, I'll be at church tonight so I'll only probably get to catch the final 10 mins of the game or so. I'm seriously considering buying the nba league pass for its streaming dvr functionality.