With a little over a month in the season left, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will likely finish neck-and-neck in MVP voting this season as a result of their spectacular performances this year, and yet, that fails to capture how otherworldly the tandem has been.
It's easy to forget now, but the duo played together a few years ago and helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2012 Finals, where they lost in five games to the Miami Heat.
At 6'5'' and 220 pounds, the Beard looks like your prototypical swingman, but he is in fact anything but prototypical. Harden possesses what one might deem as slightly above average athleticism, decent quickness, a killer first step and good-if-not-great upper body strength.
His physical tools are far from overpowering, but his offensive repertoire most definitely is. Harden plays the game at his own pace and dares opponents to challenge his best effort.
The 27-year-old Rockets point guard likes to slow things down in an effort to process information in a manner very much reminiscent to Neo after he discovered his true power in The Matrix films.
这个27岁的火箭控位喜欢放慢节奏来阅读比赛,这让我想起了《黑客帝国》中,发现了自己真正力量的尼奥。
Harden operates at varying speeds, a trait that consistently throws off defenders. At times, he will deliberately slow himself down while being guarded closely, only to pick up steam and explode toward the hoop for a strong finish.
Take Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan as an example. This past week, Jordan switched the pick-and-roll a few times and got matched up with Harden and got roasted in the matchup.
On the first switch, Harden went into ultra slow-mo mode, by dribbling Jordan to sleep, faking the drive with a jab step and then finishing it all off with a gorgeous step-back 3-pointer.
Three possessions later, they met again, with Jordan prepared this time around. On this try, Harden dribbled Jordan into sleep again, crossed over and blew by Jordan, slowed down as if to indicate he was going to make a pass to the corner (he casually looked into that direction) and instead made an easy uncontested layup.
The Beard possesses a multitude of impressive skills (ball-handling, shooting, passing and the uncanny ability to goad players into reaching for the ball to draw fouls and score), but none of them are on par with his mind.
Harden views the floor like a basketball genius given his ability to assess variables. such as personnel, tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, defensive rotations and match ups.
He processes all of this info within a split second and reacts in a manner that that allows the Rockets to thrive with a top-two league offense.
他只需要几秒钟时间就可以处理完这些信息,随后做出调整。在他的带领下火箭打出了联盟前二的进攻水平。
Interestingly enough, Harden's mind was a known commodity dating back to his lone Finals appearance.
非常有趣的是,哈登的篮球智商早在他唯一的一次总决赛之旅中就已经为人熟知。
A member of the Heat's coaching staff offered as much to Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins, prompting him to write: "When the Heat faced the Thunder in the 2012 Finals, they prioritized Harden over Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant, believing he was the superior playmaker even though he was the sixth man."
All Harden's been missing is the right teacher to unlock all of his gifts, and Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni has done a masterful job of creating the perfect offensive environment for a player some might consider to be the brightest in the league.
Harden's evolution from scoring threat to league leader in assists has been a marvel to observe.
哈登从联盟顶级得分手到领跑联盟助攻榜的进化历程是一个值得我们好好观察的奇迹。
After all, it's not like he stopped putting up points. If anything he's on the verge of becoming the league's top all-around player as evidenced by his career-high averages in rebounds (eight), assists (11.3), free-throw attempts (10.9) coupled with his customary scoring (28.8).
Harden is a player like no other, and yet, his former teammate has challenged his every move this season with a historic campaign.
哈登是独一无二的,而他的前队友正在用史诗级别的表现向他发起着挑战。
Russell Westbrook, averaging a triple double this season, could very well finish the year by averaging double figures in points, rebounds and assists; a feat that has not been accomplished since Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson managed it during the 1961-62 campaign.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard plays with reckless abandon and is constantly on the attack. It often appears as though games morph into a litmus test of manhood, and Westbrook is always poised to win them.
He makes appearances in every possible aspect of each and every contest to the point where one must wonder if his infectious zeal is a product of a competitiveness that borders on maniacal.
He is Kobe Bryant, DeMarcus Cousins, Gary Payton and Oscar all wrapped into one.
他是科比-布莱恩特,德马库斯-考辛斯,加里-佩顿和奥斯卡的结合体。
Westbrook will take every single shot if he must (Kobe), verbally challenge opponents and officials (Cousins), play with a swagger that vacillates between self-confidence and disrespect (Payton) and then do every single thing on the hardwood that will tilt the balance from defeat to victory (Robertson).
What's most fascinating about Brodie is that he checks into games with an energy reserved for fringe players attempting to prove to their coach they belong both on the team and in the league.
Westbrook plays at a speed few in the NBA could ever dream of reaching. Indeed, he's the basketball version of Dominic Toretto with a never-ending NOS tank.