James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha: Oklahoma City Thunder Players who need to up the ante next NBA season
James Harden
The young James Harden did well in his second season with the Thunder after having a below -standard rookie season. Harden scored at an average of 12.2 points per game to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
James has killer set of skills. He is a brilliant shooter, has speed, athleticism and last but not least, he plays a good defence. These stats show that Harden has the ability to make it big, but the problem is that he lacks consistency.
The young power forward has still not shown enough to make him a consistent starter and he needs to make an effort in that regard. He did show signs of improvement in the playoffs last season when he really turned the heat on, and together with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, formed a formidable partnership on the front court, proving to be a major component of OKC’s surge deep into the playoffs.
Despite the lockout, Harden has continued to work on his game and has been a part of numerous pro-am and charity games. With a bit of consistency, Harden can surely become a dark horse for OKC coach Scott Brooks in the 2011-12 season.
Thabo Sefolosha
Thabo Sefolosha, the 27 year old shooting guard from the Oklahoma City Thunder, has so far been utilised as a defence specialist with a specific role to limit the key players of the opposing teams and make the steals.
Last season, he scored at an average of 5.1 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
These numbers do not justify the talent that Sefolosha posses. He is a beast on the defence, there is no doubt about that, but coming into the league, he was touted as a good perimeter shooter.
So far though, he has failed to live up to that potential.
He is gritty player who loves to give it his all - a career average of 2.7 steal per game is a clear proof of that. All he needs now is an expansion is his offensive role and if he gets it, the Thunder can definitely reap the benefits.
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