NBA Finals 2012: Time for James Harden to Get Selfish

In the aftermath of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 100-96 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, much has been made about the play of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, while minimal attention has been paid to James Harden, the Thunder's mercurial sixth man. 

Viewing Harden as something of an afterthought is understandable, since that's essentially how the Thunder’s coaching staff and players treated him in the second half of Game 2.

In the first half of Thursday's game, Harden was the Thunder's lone bright spot. He scored 17 points, single-handedly preventing the Heat from taking an insurmountable first-half lead. He played with abundant energy and made plays that excited the crowed. Before Harden entered the game the Thunder looked lifeless; with him in the lineup they seemed primed to compete. 

Given Harden's masterful first-half performance and his starters’ poor play, it would have made sense for Thunder coach Scott Brooks to make a concerted effort to capitalize on his top sub's hot hand by going to him early in the second half.

But Brooks opted not to do that. He didn’t insert Harden into the game until there were 5:39 left in the third quarter, and even with Harden in the lineup the Thunder’s offense continued to flow through Westbrook and Durant. A lack of touches accounts for why Harden scored only four second-half points and was somewhat of a non-factor. Even though the Thunder were able to stage a furious rally and had an opportunity to tie the game when Durant missed a short baseline jumper with under a minute left, you can’t help but wonder if the game would have turned out differently had Harden been given more opportunities to replicate his first-half success.

Like San Antonio Spurs sixth man Manu Ginobili—the player with whom Harden is often compared—Harden is a very difficult matchup. He is fast, very creative off the dribble and has a fantastic outside shot. He also doesn’t back away from big moments—his clutch shooting in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals was the reason the Thunder were able to win and take a 3-2 advantage back to Oklahoma City.

When Durant, Westbrook and Harden are on the floor together they constitute the most versatile scoring trio in professional basketball. Very few teams have the defensive capabilities to keep the Thunder in check when those three are clicking.

But for all of his offensive talents, the one thing James Harden is not is demonstrative. Unlike Westbrook, who leads the Thunder in shots taken during the finals, Harden doesn’t demand the ball. He defers to his older and more proven teammates more often than he tries to take over games by looking for his own shot.

This strategy often works and for good reasons. Durant is the NBA’s most prolific scorer and Westbrook, in spite of all the criticism he receives, can absolutely crush opponents when his shot is on. Durant and Westbrook’s experience and proven track records of success have made the tandem the Thunder’s de-facto go to guys.

But treating Harden as the third option may no longer be a viable way forward since he has become an offensive force in his own right.

At various moments throughout the regular season and these playoffs Harden has looked as good as Durant and Westbrook. There have been stretches of games where Harden has seemed virtually un-guardable, scoring at will and driving his team forward. He doesn’t do this as consistently as his older teammates, but when he does it’s scary how good he can be.

Coaching in the playoffs requires a balance of making adjustments depending upon the opponent and sticking with strategies that brought success over a larger sample size (the regular season). In this particular instance, Scott Brooks may be tempted to keep bringing Harden off the bench and letting his two All-Stars run the show, since that is what put Oklahoma City in the finals.

I don’t think this is a tenable strategy. If Oklahoma City is going to win the title, Brooks and the other players are going to have to get Harden more involved.

Starting Harden in Game 3 would energize the team and ensure he gets involved early. In each of the first two games of the finals, the Thunder have fallen behind by double digits before staging second-half comebacks. The team deserves credit for keeping their composure in the second half, but Brooks cannot depend on his team’s ability to make up large first-half deficits, especially when they are on the road and don’t have an enthusiastic home crowd behind them.The Thunder need to get off to faster starts when the series shifts to Miami tonight. Putting the three best offensive players on the floor at tipoff is one way to do this.

Miami utilized a smaller lineup in Game 1 and Game 2 by starting Shane Battier at power forward. The speed and shooting prowess of this lineup rendered Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins ineffective, so replacing him with Harden makes perfect sense at this juncture.

Even if Brooks doesn’t start Harden, he needs to tell the third-year player to be more aggressive. Harden is too talented to be a spectator of Westbrook and Durant. He needs to demand the ball and use his talents to make plays and force the issue.

In Game 2, Harden took only 11 shots, making seven of them, while Westbrook took 26. Such a disparity detracts from the Thunder’s offensive potential and the team needs to make adjustments so that doesn’t happen again.

Durant should continue to be the Thunder's primary offensive option, since the young forward has proven himself to be one of the best if not the best basketball player on the planet. But Harden needs to be considered on par with Westbrook when it comes to offensive repertoire.

It’s time for James Harden to find his selfish streak. He has alpha-dog potential but seems too willing to play second or third fiddle. Players with his talent should spend as much time dictating play as they do waiting for the shots to come to them.

If Harden can do this, I can’t see the Thunder losing this series. The Miami Heat have all sorts of talent, but not even they can measure up when the Thunder are sharing the ball among their three ultra talented young stars.