James Harden, Jeff Teague - 10 dark horses of the post-season: NBA playoffs 2011 (Part-1)
The playoffs’ are considered the best platform for any professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) to show his talent. Many players try to put their best foot forward in these playoffs. Some get recognised while some get overshadowed by the brilliant performance of others – others like Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Zach Randolph.
No doubt these superstars performed wonderfully in this year’s playoffs and did ultimately steal all the limelight, but there were also many unsung players who never received the appreciation level they truly deserved. The dark horses, so to call them, stayed put, helping their more illustrious superstars take over the scene throughout the playoffs. Here is the list of these unsung heroes, who really made their opportunities count in this year’s playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder - James Harden
Oklahoma City Thunder’s reserve shooting guard James Harden announced himself on the big stage in this year’s playoffs. His presence in both the front court gave OKC the extra offensive edge; they had been looking for throughout the regular season.
Harden proved to be one of OKC’s best perimeter shooter throughout the playoffs. Thunder coach Scott Brooks mostly used him as a role player in the post season and time and again we saw, Harden coming off the bench and tilting the balance of the game in Thunder’s favour. Had it not been for Harden’s exploits in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies, OKC would never have been able to shrug off their tenacious opponents.
Then against the eventual champions, the third year guard, Harden posted impressive averages of 14.4 points, on a 0.535 shooting from the field, 6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 assists. In the 17 games, Harden played in the off season; he scored at an average of 13 points per game.
Atlanta Hawks - Jeff Teague
Atlanta Hawks’ Jeff Teague was not in line to play much in the playoffs for his team, but an injury to Kirk Hinrich just before the Conference Semifinals proved to be a blessing in disguise for him as he played all six games against Chicago Bulls.
Hinrich had been acquired by the Hawks to provide some extra help in the rather fragile mid court. With him going down against the all important series, Teague took the responsibility on his shoulders and boy did he play ball. Teague made sure that the Bulls’ defensive system, which basically revolved around Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, is disturbed.
In the six games against the best defensive team of the regular season, Teague scored at an average of 15.8 points, four assists, 3 rebounds and one steal. He scored 21 points in three of the last four meeting, however charged by Derrick Rose, the Bulls eventually went on to win the series 4-2. In total eight playoff games Teague averaged 11.8 points, 2.10 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Hawks.
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