NBA stars DeMar DeRozan is showing up this season: James Harden
If there’s one player on this list that DeRozan definitely showed up to start the season, but the star is beginning to catch up of late, it’s the Brooklyn Nets starting guard James Harden. And it looks like the Nets and Bulls are two of the top teams that will be duking it out to figure out who the top team in the East will be this season (probably along with the Bucks).
As the Nets keep hanging around, Harden will play an important role in how deep they’re able to go in the postseason. He and KD will go a long way to also deciding whether it will be the Nets, Bulls, Bucks, etc. that will take the crown as the top team in the East.
Thus far, though, Harden’s play was pretty inconsistent for the Nets. He’s averaged around 23 points per game, eight rebounds, 10 assists, one steal, and five turnovers while shooting 41 percent from the field, 32 percent from beyond the arc, and 87 percent from the free-throw line.
There are two aspects to Harden’s game that have really changed this season. The first is the fact that he’s turned into a true facilitator of the offense more so than ever before. He’s got an assist percentage north of 40 this season. But his scoring numbers are down. Harden isn’t scoring as many points per game thanks to dips in his shooting percentages and usage rate.
He is also still getting to the free-throw line pretty often (with a free-throw attempt rate north of .52). But that’s not the usual frequency for Harden in getting to the free-throw line.
Another advantage that tips the scales in DeRozan’s favor when comparing him to Harden is the fact that he’s helped to down the Nets twice in two tries so far this season. DeRozan completely outclassed Harden in the two meetings between the Bulls and Nets this season, doubling his number of points per game and essentially doubling up his field goal percentages.