Before we dig too deep into things, let me lead by saying this
-- if you prefer Russell Westbrook over James Harden?for your fantasy
basketball team, take him.
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. Dont think twice.Nobody is going to laugh at you and question the
pick. In fact, theres a good chance many will agree with it. Jim
McCormick made a strong case for drafting Westbrook first, and he even
found a way to weave the great Oscar Robertson into the story to support
his case.Its true -- Westbrook is a triple-double waiting to happen
just about every time he steps on the floor. Hes a better rebounder than
Harden, he gets more assists than the Rockets star and, without Kevin
Durant around to shoot 19-20 times a game, its a foregone conclusion
that Westbrooks scoring will skyrocket from the 23.5 PPG he averaged
last season.To be completely honest, I was firmly on the Westbrook
bandwagon not too long ago as well.So what changed?While I still see
Westbrook and Harden as the clear top two picks in fantasy hoops this
season, all it took was an explanation from new Houston Rockets coach
Mike DAntoni for me to re-evaluate my stance. DAntoni, as you know by
now, announced early in Rockets training camp that Harden would move to
point guard this season.Hes more or less responsible giving rhythm to
the team, thats what a point guard does, DAntoni told reporters late
last month. Hes going to be on the ball, and hes going to be
distributing the ball, and it will take some adjusting. Hes got a lot
more responsibilities as a point guard. A playcaller, a good basketball
mind, hes already telling guys we can do this, we can do that.This is
meaningful for the following reasons:It closes the assist gapNaturally,
Harden running the point means theres a good chance his assist numbers
are going to bump up from the 7.5 APG he posted last season. Already,
were seeing a change in his role during the preseason; he dished out 10
helpers in his first exhibition game and followed that up 11, 15, and 8
in his next 3 contests.As mentioned above, this was one of the main
areas where Westbrook (10.4 APG) had a big advantage over Harden last
season, dishing out 2.9 more assists per game. You can see the players
stats in the chart below:Fast-forward to today, and suddenly its not
unreasonable to envision that gap closing entirely with Harden taking on
more of a distributor role and Westbrook losing a future first-ballot
Hall-of-Famer on the receiving end of his passes.They are trending in
opposite directions as far as assists go, and it wouldnt be surprising
if both ended up averaging right around 9 APG this season.DAntoni widens
Hardens advantage from 3-point landWithout a big assist advantage to
hang his stylish hat on, Westbrook is only noticeably better than Harden
in one category -- rebounding -- which happens to be the easiest to
address on the waiver wire. Experienced fantasy hoops players know how
simple it is to stream bigs in and out of the lineup to win the rebound
category.The same cant be said of 3-point shooters. They are not a dime a
dozen -- at least not the good ones.Sure, as McCormick mentioned in his
story, you can always hit the waiver wire to find a 3-point specialist
or two if you draft Westbrook over Harden, but too often those
specialists come at a cost. Why? Because theyre a complete non-factor in
all the other categories aside from scoring.Wouldnt you know it, this
also happens to be the one category where Harden has a huge advantage
over Westbrook.Harden made 2.9 3-pointers per game last season to
Westbrooks 1.3, and that was before DAntoni arrived. This season, you
can expect that discrepancy to grow. Harden will have the perpetual
green light from long range under DAntoni and almost surely take and
make more 3s than last season. The same cant be said of Westbrook, who
has never made more than 1.5 3-pointers per game in any of his eight NBA
seasons. Thats one part of his game thats unlikely to change with
Durant gone.Any way you slice it, Harden is a much bigger 3-point threat
than Westbrook.Harden is now eligible at PG and SGSo the biggest
advantage Westbrook previously had over Harden -- dishing out assists --
probably is reduced, and Hardens biggest previous advantage -- making
3-pointers -- is probably even more extreme. Unbelievably, neither of
these may matter as much as the fact that Harden is now draftable at
both shooting guard and point guard.Value-wise, this gives Harden a huge
boost over Westbrook, who is only point guard-eligible at ESPN and most
other prominent fantasy sites. As Ive been saying since the start of
September, its important to draft a top-level point guard early in
drafts this year due to a huge talent drop-off at the position from pick
30 to pick 50, and now drafting Harden makes that possible.What Hardens
dual eligibility does is take the edge off during the draft process. If
you draft him, you can always look for another point guard in rounds
two or three and utilize Harden at the SG spot. You could also be in
range for someone like Chicago SG Jimmy Butler in the second round,
which would then allow you to use Harden as your primary PG.The point
is, having a quality point guard and still managing to find a good
shooting guard isnt easy this year, with shooting guard again being one
of the thinnest positions, and drafting Harden provides flexibility you
simply cannot get by selecting Westbrook.Think of the flip side. If you
draft Westbrook, you still have to find a shooting guard and someone --
shooting guard or not -- who can make up for Westbrooks lack of 3s.Its a
close call, but the more I look at it, the more I prefer Harden -- who
missed only one game over the past two seasons compared to 17 by
Westbrook -- as my choice for the No. 1 pick.
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.
Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter
strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid
and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory.
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. - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would
bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12
records.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One day after Thanksgiving, Nashvilles
forwards were thankful for Mike Fishers generosity.Colin Wilson and Ryan
Johansen scored twice, Fisher added three assists and Nashville beat
the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Friday night.James Neal also scored and Pekka
Rinne made 22 saves for Nashville, winners of three straight. The
Predators continued their home dominance, improving to 8-1-1.Right now, I
think our guys are doing a good job defensively, and because of that,
good things are happening offensively, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette
said. Were getting out of our end, were making good decisions through
the neutral zone, that allows us to play in the offensive zone.Wilson
snapped a 12 game goal drought.Tonight I was just going back door and
Fish was finding me, so Im thankful for that, Wilson said. He was making
great plays. When he is seeing the ice like that and you know that a
player is on, it is nice to be playing with. You know if you get to an
area, hes going to get it to you.Dustin Byfuglien scored for Winnipeg.
The Jets concluded their five-game trip, losing all five games. They
scored just six goals and allowed 20 on the trip.When things start
snowballing, sometimes its tough to reverse course, Jets captain Blake
Wheeler said. I think we just kind of have our game in neutral right
now. Weve got to kick it into overdrive.Byfuglien opened the scoring
with 5:14 remaining in the opening period. His wrist shot from the right
point deflected off of Wilsons stick and beat Rinne high to the glove
side. After getting his skate tangled with Fisher, Rinne fell forward as
the puck sailed over his shoulder.Wilson tied it at 5:39 of the second.
Fisher had the puck on the right boards near the faceoff circle and
sent a pass to Wilson in front, where he had an easy tap-in for his
third of the season. The three assists equaled a career high for
Nashvilles captain.Were just going to have to play fairly close to
perfect mentally, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. That first goal that
we gave up, weve got two gguys behind the net.
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We just cant. We dont have that margin for error right now.Johansen
followed 1:08 later on the power play.Fisher sent a pass from the right
faceoff dot to Johansen at the left dot, where he beat goalie Connor
Hellebuyck with a one-timer. Hellebuyck finished with 25 saves.Rinnes
toughest stop came against fellow Finn Patrik Laine at 9:29 of the
second. Rinne was able to kick away Laines snap shot from the right
side.He has such a great shot, Rinne said of his World Cup teammate.
That was his only chance tonight. They didnt have much to be honest with
you. We played a solid game.Neal made it 3-1 with 2:06 remaining in the
second on the power play.With 2 seconds remaining in major boarding
penalty assessed to Winnipegs Brandon Tanev, Neals wrist shot from the
left faceoff dot sailed toward the Jets net. In the slot, Jets
defenseman Mark Stuart tried to swat the puck out of midair, but tipped
it over Hellebuycks shoulder and into the net.Neal did not return to the
ice following the second period. The team announced the he was out with
an upper-body injury.Tanevs penalty was committed against Nashvilles
Colton Sissons, who did not return to the game following the
hit.Laviolette did not have an update on Neal or Sissons following the
game.Wilson scored his second of the game at 2:13 of the third and
Johansen struck again at 8:15.Game notes
Predators D Ryan Ellis missed the game with an upper-body injury. He
was replaced by Anthony Bitetto, who missed Nashvilles last 18 games
with an upper-body injury sustained in the season opener. ... Nashville
has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its last four games.
... The Jets are 3-12-1 when trailing after two periods this season. ...
The Jets have allowed 32 goals in the second period this season while
scoring just 14 of their own in the middle frame.UP NEXT: The teams will
meet again Sunday in Winnipeg.
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