When the Thunder traded Jeff Green, second-year guard James Harden recognized the team would need him to be more productive as a scorer.
“We had to make up for those 15 points that we lost,” Harden said. “Everybody's level of play had to step up.”
Harden has averaged 17.7 points per game since the break compared to just 10.3 points per game in the first half of the season.
“When we made the trade, I didn't go to James and say, ‘James, we need six more points out of you. And you need to do it or else you're not going to play,'” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “I didn't quite say it that way.”
Harden is also playing five more minutes per game.
“Since the trade, he's played some good minutes,” Brooks said. “But he's earned them. He's played well. We weren't just going to give him extra minutes. I think that's a mistake sometimes the league makes. Guys get minutes that are not earned, but James earned the extra minutes. He's playing well. He's scoring, he's defending, he's rebounding, he's playmaking and it's all because of the work he's put in. It's well-deserved.”
“We all believe in him, and he knows that,” said Kevin Durant. “And he's been playing defense very well these last few games. He's just playing hard for us. He's been working extremely hard and he's starting to see some of the benefits of it.”