"Scott Brooks has tried almost everything to encourage second-year swingman James Harden to be aggressive on the offensive end.

The Thunder's coach has spent timeouts summoning Harden to shoot the ball and has resorted to sign language during play — relying on a visual shooting motion to get his point across.

So there is no confusion, Brooks, a righty, even uses his left hand when motioning for his southpaw to shoot.

"He knows it drives me crazy," Brooks said. "I've never had the luxury of a coach wanting me not to hesitate on my shot. So I don't know how that works. All I know is when he's aggressive and quick with his decisions, he plays better. And when he's hesitant, you don't know what to expect."

Though it took a month, Harden is starting to show signs of supplying the assertiveness the Thunder needs from him. The 2009 No. 3 overall pick spent the first 18 games of his second season in a sizeable sophomore slump, averaging just 7.2 points, or 2.9 fewer than his rookie output.

But entering tonight's game at Minnesota, Harden has averaged 15.3 points in four December games. While Harden's shooting percentage from the field is still in the dumps — at 34.9 percent over the past four games and 36.1 percent for the season — his recent aggressiveness suggests he could be on the verge of finally canning shots with consistency.

At Chicago on Monday night, Harden had at least four hard drives to the basket. His attacking put pressure on the Bulls defense and led to a season-high-tying nine free throw attempts, boosting his average in that category in this month to a career-high 7.5."