James Harden has been the runner up in MVP voting in two of the last three years, but has always fallen just short of winning the award. In 2015, he lost the award to Stephen Curry by less than 300 total votes and in 2017, he lost the award to Russell Westbrook by a little over 100 points. His play last year was phenomenal as he led the Houston Rockets to 55 wins. Well this season he’s been playing better and the Rockets may improve on that record this year. The Rockets are 1

The Houston Rockets traded for Chris Paul last week and only gave up two experienced NBA players. Sending a smattering of end of the bench guys and a back-end 1st round pick is a pittance for a top 3 point guard. In the NBA, any chance to acquire a superstar has to be taken but this particular pairing doesn’t seem like a perfect fit at all. Both CP3 and James Harden are ball dominant players used to being the alpha on their respective teams and will now share the floor and on

James Harden has it all, consistency, grit and offensive prowess but one thing he doesn’t have is an NBA Championship ring. The Beard & Co are facing down the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs, a team that, among many attributes has stand-out Kawhi Leonard who has what Harden lacks, a ring. The matchup between these two players was hyped the moment the second-round meeting was confirmed in the 2017 NBA Playoffs yet here are a few things to remember when co

There are four players currently competing for the MVP award, but which one really deserves it this year? In a year of high powered offenses, triple doubles every night and 50 3-point shot attempts a game becoming a norm; James Harden has taken this new style of offense and dominated with it, showing that he should win the MVP this year over Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. In a very tight race, I think Russell Westbrook ranks fourth, LeBron James third and

Nikola Jokic The center position in the league has been changing for years now and in today's NBA, big men must be multifaceted to make a considerable impact. Teams are beginning to implement smaller lineups and are relying less and less on getting the ball into the paint. To be an elite center you need to be able to help the team in more ways than just simply relying on the old school big man mentality of bully ball and brute force. Finesse is as big a part of a big man’s ro

Today’s NBA is a different game; this is a guard-dominated league with a heavy abundance of talent that shows no signs of slowing down. As the quarterbacks of their team, modern-day guards can both dish it out and tear it up on the offensive end, and us fans are in store for some great matchups every night. Here a few of the greats our league has to offer. Best of the West (in no particular order): Chris Paul: While CP3 may be the seasoned veteran of the group, he’s still dis

On Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, newly-minted Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni made a subtle but interesting change to his team’s starting lineup. He moved the beard, James Harden to the point guard position. "He's more or less responsible giving rhythm to the team, that's what a point guard does," D'Antoni told espn.com regarding the decision. “He’s got a lot more responsibilities as a point guard. A play-caller, a good basketball mind, he's already telling guys we can do

The OTG staff's top 5 Shooting Guards! Tweet us your thoughts @otgbasketball #NBA #ShootingGuards #Harden #KLay #Butler

The OTG staff gives you their top 5 NBA Shooting Guards! Tweet us your thoughts @otgbasketball #NBA #ShootingGuards #Harden #KLay #Butler

5. DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors (23.5 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.5 RPG): If DeRozan could find a more consistent shooting stroke; he could be in the top three consideration. DeRozan enters his eighth season in the NBA shooting 28% from the three-point line for his career. Last season, DeRozan shot 34% but then just 15% in the postseason. Even without being a good shooter, DeRozan still finds ways to get his points by slashing through opposing defenses and finishing around the rim. He