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Mid-Week Matchup: Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

By Max Neuhaus

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 22: Andrew Wiggins #22, Karl-Anthony Towns #32 and Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for portraits during the 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 22: Andrew Wiggins #22, Karl-Anthony Towns #32 and Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for portraits during the 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 22: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves poses for portraits during the 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 22: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Minnesota Timberwolves poses for portraits during the 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Shooting Guard: Jimmy Butler vs. James Harden

When you look at these two, you see the top two shooting guards in the NBA. Who you prefer is based on what style you like to watch. If you prefer a grittier, get to the basket style of offense and tough-nosed defense, Jimmy Butler is your man. If you would rather just outscore your opponent and forget about defense, you would probably go with Harden. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.

For the purpose of this debate, however, we need to take a look at the whole player.

Starting on the offensive side, let’s take a look at The Beard. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged 29 points a game. His rebounding increased as well to 8.1 per game, but the biggest jump was in the assist category. Two years ago, he set a career high with 7.5 assists per game. Harden blew that out of the water this year with an amazing 11.2 assists a game. He shot a modest 34.7 percent from 3-point range, but that was while shooting 9.3 deep balls per game. Add in his 53 percent 2-point shooting percentage and he had a 52.5 percent effective field goal percentage. For the Rocket, that was the second highest percentage of his career.

Jimmy Buckets is a different story offensively. His 3-point percentage might be higher (36.7), but he only shoots 3.3 per game. Butler shoots fewer free throws, but he doesn’t get as many calls as the runner-up to MVP. Harden might have the more exciting numbers, the former Bull was more efficient. Butler shot 45.5 percent on 16.5 shots per game as opposed to Harden’s 44 percent on 18.9 shots.

Defense is another matter. Butler is always asked to guard the other team’s best player. Harden, however, is often used as a turnstile. He was a regular on the clip show Shaqtin a fool which points out the worst plays of the previous night and week. Here are just a few examples.

When it comes down to it, it seems like a matter of preference. Since we are a Timberwolves website, I know which direction we will be leaning

Advantage: Jimmy Butler

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