Harden checks every box. Traditionalists will love his eye-popping scoring average (he’s leading the scoring title by full 5.0 points, which would be the largest gap since Michael Jordan's 1986-87 season when he averaged 37.1 to Dominique Wilkins' 29.0) and triple-doubles combined with the narrative that he’s “carrying” the Chris Paul-less Rockets. The nerdier voters will appreciate his freakish efficiency (his current true-shooting percentage tops Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s best) and off-the-charts offensive RPM. Both ends of the spectrum can get behind Harden.
Good article. I don't disagree with any of his points outside of Paul coming back denting his MVP chances. Harden is on a mission.
LOL @ guy in the comments whose homemade analytics have Harden ranked 10th for MVP, five spots behind Domantas Sabonis. Time for a new formula, my friend.
Bro, don't diss that guy's stats. He also correctly has KAT as a top 10 MVP candidate (Every knows this, ask Jimmy Butler), and his stats have allowed him to find a hidden jem - Julius Randle!!
"He used to hunt for the three-shot foul in pick-and-rolls, but the league started cracking down on it. Now, he’s getting it with the step-back 3." Do your worst, Adam Silver. James Tiberius Harden laughs at your puny rule changes!
The only narrative I currently dislike, is the one where "harden started off really slow, whereas giannis has been consistent all year". It's just a false statement. Harden was doing very good but the team was struggling. It's just these past weeks hes been on another planet in comparison.
I don't think it's false, really. Statistically, Harden was really good, but his defense was horrible compared to what it's been lately, and he was not leading the team to wins that it unequivocally should have won. I said all of 2017 that Westbrook was not the MVP because his performances weren't translating to wins and he was not elevating his team. Same with Lebron last year, so the same applies to Harden the beginning of the year. It was genuinely bad and likely cost us another shot at the #1 overall seed. Now...obviously Harden has become the best player in the league this season for the entirety of it, but that first month counts, so I understand Giannis being some people's choices, given that the Bucks have the best record in the league and he's dominating. But if Harden keeps this up for the entirety of the season (unlikely given Paul and Gordon will come back), then I don't see how he's not the MVP. We'll see though.
if it's close at all giannis will be crowned mvp. as we've seen in years past, harden will have to perform well above and beyond the next best candidate in order to force the vote. most likely harden is going to end up with just 1 mvp award and 3-4 runner-up mvp's in his career.
Ehhhh. After the first 11-13 games our expected shooting % vs our actual shooting % was the biggest gap in the entire league. We were losing because just about everyone else couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean.
You're correct. He was FAR better than LeBron last year, like it really wasn't a debate, but there was still a wave of media members pushing LeBron down the stretch. Honestly...I'm ok with Harden only winning 1. It secures his legacy, and if he ends up with multiple runner-ups, people will remember how dominant of a stretch he had. Disappointing, obviously, but the media determines these things and for whatever reason they're anti-Harden. You're not wrong. But the point remains...the Rockets were actively bad. I am ok not rewarding them because of that first month. It was a complete failure. And like I said...Harden can more than make up for it if the Rockets have a strong 2nd half of the season. I am the biggest Harden homer there is. I'm just saying I understand people recognizing the start to finish consistency Giannis and the Bucks have shown, at least to this point in the season.
I try my best to be unbiased on things like this and to play devil's advocate as often as possible. It's just impossible to do this time. There is literally no reason I can find that Harden shouldn't be MVP this year. Even if he goes back to only scoring 28 a night instead of 40 for the rest of the year. LOL. I guess the only thing going against him is that he won the award last year and they don't usually like to give it to anyone 2 years in a row? That's literally all I can think of.
At least this guy is consistent about the "new coach" rule the writers arbitrarily added when MDA joined
Very cool that Haberstroh is getting behind Harden this early with the stats. Harden needs that in his resume. Bottom line for me..... Harden is my MVP, but...Milwaukee Bucks are 29-12, 2nd in East. Houston Rockets are 24-17 and 5th in the West. Rockets are going to need to close that 5 game gap with the Bucks for Harden to have a chance at winning a 2nd MVP award. Team success is big. 538 is projecting the Bucks to get 56 wins (2nd East) and the Rockets getting to 50 wins. I am hoping the Rockets keep up their current pace and get to 54 wins (2nd West). If they keep that pace and close that win gap with the Bucks, that will really help out Harden's MVP chase. Rockets are 24-17 at the midway point. Over the last 20 games they have played at ~ 70% win percentage (14-6). On that same pace (~73% wins) they could go 30-11 the rest of the way to get to 54 wins. Will they do it? 538 projects 54 wins as the 2nd seed.
