Good for Harden getting that extension. He was already sacrificing minutes, shots, etc. and for OKC (who have been making quite the profit the last few years) to play the money card was just disrespectful to their fans. Sam Presti has done an amazing job thus far, but this was a bad move.
However, there is an important distinction to make. Harden didn't come off the bench because he was the team's 6th best player. He was their third best, they brought him off the bench by design. I wonder how many of those guys on that list were their team's clear third best player (after two top 20 players)?
Let's get something straight - Harden was not sacrificing any minutes for the Thunder. He played over 31 minutes a game, which was the third highest on the team - where is the sacrifice there? And yes, he's going to give up shots to a players like Durant and Westbrook, but he does take advantage by having a high shooting percentage. People typically don't realize it, but OKC is largely based on the Spurs philosophy and structure, which is why Harden was compared to Manu so much during the series. You ask how many were the team's clear third best player in the list?
201011 Lamar Odom
200910 Jamal Crawford
200809 Jason Terry
200708 Manu Ginóbili
200405 Ben Gordon
And there's some more going back, but those are the more recent ones.
This move was great because the Thunder add an expiring contract in Kevin Martin, who can still produce as well as a good rookie in Lamb and future picks. I said it last year, and people argued with me about Harden not being on the team, but I was right. This was the best way for Oklahoma to get value out of the situation.
OKC's issue is passing the ball. Operation Russel attack the basket, pull up for a jumper on a break, or ISO Durant didn't cut it against Miami. They have to make a serious commitment to swinging the ball around, getting players open and stretching defenses. And on the defensive side, the further maturing/development of Ibaka is critical. Same with Durant and his lazy reach around defense.
So true, and it was how they beat San Antonio - the passing was great. For some reason, they decided not to carry it with them into the Finals which probably has more to do with maturity and their consistancy, which Westbrook is ALWAYS bashed for.
Adding Martin to your rotation is the equivalent of losing a defensive player.
Harden is not a stopper - the reason he did well is because he flopped well. He's like a small version of Varejao!
Without Harden they're going to have trouble stretching defenses out no matter how well they pass. I'll let Perkins, Sefolosha, Ibaka etc. take wide open threes all game.
Spurs did this one game in the WCF and it bit them in the ass. Just sayin'.