1.) James Harden (Blend = 20.9)
Apr 20, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers in game one during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Advanced Stats: PER=23.5, Win Shares=.221, RPM=3.13, Wins Produced=.236, ASPM=5.01
We may hate him, and he may deserve it, but James Harden is the best shooting guard in the world, and there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s a historically good offensive player, as he averaged a 27% Assist-Rate and 25 points per game, on 61.8 % true shooting. For reference, the only other players to have done that are Jordan, LeBron, and Bird. Yes, his defense is terrible, but the rest of his game more then makes up for it.
The real areas of concern for Harden (besides his defense) are two fold. Firstly, he seems like kind of a jerk, and his teammates are taking notice. Secondly, its unclear how effective he can really be in the Playoffs, as his flail-for-a-call strategy doesn’t garner the same amount of whistles that it does in the regular season. Warts aside however, Harden is clealry the best shooting guard in the world, and that’s unlikely to change for a while.