Eric Bledsoe the next James Harden? Well, not the one above, but maybe this one…
First off, this is going to be Bledsoe’s break out year! Now, for those of you that don’t know James Harden, last year he was named the 6th man of the year in the NBA. And in my opinion, was often more valuable than the Thunder’s star point guard Russell Westbrook. Harden has a motor that want quite and always seems to come up with a basket when you need one.
So how does Bledsoe compare to Harden?
It has more to do with the fact that very few people knew of Harden until last years run into the playoffs with OKC. There’s also his beard that is his own brilliant piece of marketing.
Bledsoe has a different style of play but he still possesses that same never say die attitude. He also plays on a team that is a playoff contender that will be tough to beat if everything is clicking come playoff time.
Here’s an excerpt from an L.A. Clippers blog “Fully Clips”…
Due to Wall (the nation’s #1 point guard and #1 overall recruit) playing at Kentucky as well, Bledsoe played a lot more 2-guard than usual. However, Bledsoe still turned in a solid freshman year for the Wildcats as he put up roughly 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
Bledsoe, along with the aforementioned Wall, Cousins and Orton, would declare for the 2010 NBA Draft.
His draft stock may have taken a hit due to Wall being John Calipari’s primary point guard at UK, but with as much athleticism as anyone in his draft class, the Oklahoma City Thunder would select Bledsoe with the 18th pick in the draft.
However, the Los Angeles Clippers saw as much, if not more in him than the Thunder did and decided to swap a future conditional first round pick in exchange for Bledsoe.
Now starting up in his third season with the Clippers, the fans may just see why that trade was made on draft day in 2010.
Sometimes it’s hard to quantify a player’s value when he’s on the court; for some players, the +/- rating doesn’t accurately reflect how they change the game. You can’t put a numerical value on energy or momentum shifts, and that’s where Eric Bledsoe has begun to shine.
James Harden was the same way with the Thunder. In his second year with the team, he began to shine, especially in the second half of the season following the Jeff Green-to-Boston trade. Once it came playoff time, the NBA truly took notice of his game. Harden was an absolute sensation, for reasons beyond the Rick Ross beard he was rockin’.
Bledsoe is definitely an exciting player to watch and here’s the proof!
