Kevin Durant has been a scoring machine all season long, but he has really been on fire as of late.  This season, Durant is averaging 28.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 48% from the field and 33% from three.  Well, in the last 10 games Durant is shooting a blistering 57% from the field and 44% from three, while averaging 32.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks.  The Thunder are 8-2 during Durant’s current hot streak and they have improved their record from 13-14 on December 23rd, to 21-16 today.  Durant has been putting up MVP caliber numbers, and if he can keep the Thunder in their winning ways you will definitely see them making some noise come playoff time.

James Harden got off to a slow start for the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite being the number three pick in the NBA draft.  Harden has been coming into his own as of late though, and has scored in double figures 6 of last 9 games after failing to do so in his first 11 games.  Harden has a good knowledge of the game, especially for a rookie.  See where he ranks amongst the other rookies here at my list for the Top Rookies in the NBA so far.

After giving up 33 points in the first quarter to the Philadelphia 76ers (5-14)  the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-8) buckled down defensively to get an easy win.  Kevin Durant did his thing, scoring 33 points and hitting 5-7 shots from three point land.  The Thunder rebounded the ball well, beating the Sixers 43-29 in that category.  Russel Westbrook’s shot was off, hitting only 1-11 shots from the field, but he still contributed a lot with 15 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 28 points.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Durant is now in his third year and has solidified himself as one of the top scorers in the NBA.  Durant, who averaged 20.3 points per game as a rookie and 25.3 last season, already has a 40 point game under his belt this season and is averaging a career high 28.5 points this year.  He is also doing a good job rebounding the ball, with an average of 7.5 boards per game.  Durant is doing a great job scoring for the Thunder, but he needs to be a little more selective on his three point shots.  He is only shooting 23% from three so far this season and most of that is due to Durant taking contested threes.  He has a great mid-range game and needs to utilize that more instead of throwing up difficult threes.

20-year old Russell Westbrook is a player for the Thunder to build around. Westbrook played in 82 games for the Thunder last season and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Thunder like the fact that Westbrook isn’t afraid to shoot the ball but they will likely want him to pass more down the road. 24-year old Shaun Livingston will back up Westbrook as long as he can stay healthy. He played in 12 games last season with the Heat and Thunder in which he averaged 19.3 mintues, 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has a huge upside. 36-year old Kevin Ollie will also be around at the point. He played in 50 games for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B