Tuesday Menace: Will Harden be Able to Outshine Curry?

Stephen Curry defended by James Harden

This is a new season. We’re back to square one.

2 seasons ago, the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors clashed in the Western Conference Finals, where the Houston Rockets tasted a bitter defeat, 4 games to 1. They failed to avenge their loss last season against the Dubs.

Tomorrow, these two powerhouse teams will go head-to-head once again, back to square one.

The match up of James Harden and Stephen Curry is of particular interest in this game and up to the next games that they’ll be facing each other. Both players are unquestionably great point guards and penetrators. They even have the magic dribble that may break their defenders’ ankle. Who will stand higher against these two prodigies?

James Harden is holding on a slim lead in terms of PPG this preseason, sitting in the number two spot with 21.3, whilst Curry is right on his tail, with 20.8.  But Steph Curry’s shooting and scoring is significantly more efficient, harden makes only 37.3 % of his shots. On the other hand, Steph delivers more than half of his attempts with a 50.9 percentage.

The better point guard will be able to yield better plays for the team. Better plays are measured through assists. James Harden is more than one step ahead of Curry on this aspect. He is currently the number one player in terms of assists, averaging 10.3 per game whilst curry is nowhere to be found near, deep down in the 33rd spot with only 4.3.

Curry is more of scoring for himself than passing for his team. Yet, he was unable to put a huge deficit in point averages against Harden. If Steph would play like this tomorrow, then the only way for him to win this match up is to be efficient in his shooting, miss less for his team who relies on him as the main offensive power.

Harden’s point guard sense will be tested tomorrow against the super team. His average in terms of assists are quite high but just how good is it against an extraordinary team which thwarted them in the semis, and that is way back when Kevin Durant is still with OKC. Even LeBron James admitted that Kevin Durant was the difference of this team. His presence polymerized an all new dubs.

It’s going to be Curry’s  shooting efficiency against James Harden’s passing ability that will be tested tomorrow.