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[ESPN] [Narratives] MVP Forecast for 2019-2020 season

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Deuce, Aug 26, 2019.

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  1. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    NARRATIVES START NOW......


    https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27426015

    The 2019-20 edition of ESPN's NBA summer forecast is here.

    Which will be the best and worst teams this season? Which superstar players will win the major awards? What surprises are on the way?

    We polled ESPN's panel of basketball experts for their predictions heading into the season. Over the next week, we'll roll out the results right here.

    Who will win NBA MVP?
    The superstar duos across the league help two recent MVPs in this vote. As the clear No. 1 options on their teams, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Currytake the lead for our panel, followed by a deep crowd.

    1. Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks: 90 points (30.3% first-place votes)

    2. Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors: 63 points (27.3% first-place votes)

    3. LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers: 34 points (12.1% first-place votes)

    4. Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers: 33 points (15.2% first-place votes)

    5. Anthony Davis | Los Angeles Lakers: 25 points (9.1% first-place votes)

    6. Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets: 19 points (3% first-place votes)

    7. Kawhi Leonard | LA Clippers: 16 points (3% first-place votes)

    Others receiving votes: Damian Lillard, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Paul George. Voters were asked for their top three most likely candidates, and we calculated a weighted point total.
     
    #1 Deuce, Aug 26, 2019
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  2. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    ESPN panel debates the race
    https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27461899/answering-biggest-questions-next-nba-mvp-race

    Some excerpts.....

    Royce Young
    "For a former winner and last season's runner-up, James Harden just does not seem to generate the kind of MVP attention one would expect. Maybe there's some voter fatigue maybe it's because of his new MVP-level teammate, maybe it's a stylistic thing."

    Tim MacMahon
    "I can hear the cries coming from Houston about a bias against James Harden. Frankly, I don't see any reasonable explanation for Harden just barely cracking this list. After all, he has been among the top 2 in MVP voting in 4 of the past 5 seasons."

    Andre Snellings
    Whose MVP chances are most underrated?
    "The obvious choice for most underrated chances is James Harden, who has finished top two in three straight MVP votes and four of the past five but is currently *ninth* on this list."

    Tim MacMahon
    Whose MVP chances are most underrated?
    "I don't want to harp too much on Harden being so low, but he's the easy answer here. I mean, the dude is coming off one of the best individual offensive seasons in NBA history. (Not to go full Daryl Morey, but that's fact, not opinion."

    Kevin Pelton
    Whose MVP chances are most underrated?
    "James Harden. Yes, his stats are unlikely to be as impressive with the arrival of Russell Westbrook, who could split the vote. But Harden has finished either first or second in voting four times in the past five years. I'm stunned he got so little support"
     
    #2 Deuce, Aug 26, 2019
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  3. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    Harden isn’t even in the top 7? Word?

    [​IMG]
     
    #3 Reeko, Aug 26, 2019
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  4. jordnnnn

    jordnnnn Member

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    You gotta love it...

    Q: So why is Harden so low....?
    A: literally nothing to do with stats, production or wins and losses.
     
    #4 jordnnnn, Aug 26, 2019
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  5. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    bUt ThErE’s No BiAs
     
    #5 Deuce, Aug 26, 2019
    dreamshakin, D-rock, luckyman76 and 16 others like this.
  6. lurgar

    lurgar Member

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    There's no bias here guys. I mean, there's no actual reasoning that can be found to explain why he's not even in the talks about being MVP, but it's not bias. Just....we need to find a reason later.
     
    #6 lurgar, Aug 26, 2019
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  7. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    Harden finishing 9th says everything you need to know about their level of expertise.

    My dog could make a better prediction and he's not particularly bright.
     
    #7 topfive, Aug 26, 2019
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  8. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    The problem is those "experts" are the ones voting, and they're the ones who hold the bias against him. But honestly, after last season, and now with Westbrook here, I'm looking forward to a season where James hopefully DOESN'T have to carry the load.
     
    #8 Fyreball, Aug 26, 2019
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  9. ROXTXIA

    ROXTXIA Contributing Member

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    If narratives don't win out, the popularity contest will.

    Why don't they say, "I just don't like his game"? Can't, I guess.
     
    #9 ROXTXIA, Aug 26, 2019
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  10. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    My prediction

    Giannis will improve from last year, in eye-test skill, stats and Wins (#1 wins in league), but Curry will win MVP because he took an injured team to 53 wins and 4th seed, scoring 36.1 ppg
     
    #10 heypartner, Aug 26, 2019
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  11. The_Yoyo

    The_Yoyo Contributing Member

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    You could have argued its because he has Westbrook, MVP from 3 seasons ago as a teammates now, but that makes no sense since both LeBron and AD are in the top 5 despite being teammates.

    You could say "voter fatigue" but you have the top 3 guys all former MVP winners, 2 of them being multiple time MVP winners.

    Makes no sense at all by any sort of logical argument of course its a "feelings over fact" argument from ESPN
     
    #11 The_Yoyo, Aug 26, 2019
    Patience, apollo33, foh and 11 others like this.
  12. Rockets4Life13

    Rockets4Life13 Member

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    I see what u did there
     
    #12 Rockets4Life13, Aug 26, 2019
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  13. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    oh snap!

     
    #13 Deuce, Aug 26, 2019
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  14. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    On Nov 13th vs the Lakers, he will get ISO’d on Dwight, and drive past him for an unassisted dunk. So, despite Giannis shattering his own unassisted dunk record from last year, Curry will be impervious to it all year long, due to that one never-ending video highlight.
     
    #14 heypartner, Aug 26, 2019
  15. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    It's one thing to know Harden will never win another MVP again, its another to totally ignore his talent and achievements up to the point.

    Hey ESPN, your bias is showing.
     
    #15 DreamShook, Aug 26, 2019
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  16. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    Post of the year. I could not have said it better.
     
    #16 peleincubus, Aug 26, 2019
    rgw20014life and Richie_Rich like this.
  17. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    It's Occam's Razor: A lot of people have been media-trained and social-media-trained to simply not like Harden's game. We can search all we want for a better explanation, but that's really it.

    I would have thought a historical season like last year would begin to change opinions of him, but it seems most Harden haters have just doubled down.

    At this point, the only thing Harden could possibly do to start to undo that narrative would be to have an outstanding finals in which he leads the Rockets to a title. Anything else would be seen as just him "failing in the playoffs" again.
     
    #17 topfive, Aug 26, 2019
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  18. JW86

    JW86 Member

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    I just hope Harden stops caring.
     
    #18 JW86, Aug 26, 2019
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  19. TheSource

    TheSource Member

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    The mvp stuff is getting old it’s time to win a championship and I think harden knows that
     
    #19 TheSource, Aug 26, 2019
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  20. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    zion should be #1
     
    #20 Jontro, Aug 26, 2019
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