I respectfully disagree. Harden wasn’t even being considered a top five candidate up till now. But tomorrow the media narrative will start to change. Nick Wright and others will point out what Harden is doing and start making the case that he is having one of the greatest seasons of all time. Harden will start appearing at the top of the MVP leader boards again. Harden has to maintain this level for the entire season, but he changed the narrative tonight. Just watch.
MVP leaderboards are meaningless at this stage of the season. The all-star break is when one can start taking them seriously.
This game will definitely nudge Harden to #2ish on the all-powerful and knowing, KIA'S very own MVP Ladder list.
I just can't trust Harden until he's able to do it against Klay and Steph and KD, those guys have beat his butt over and over again. If he's able to do it next year when they all come back then I'll be the first to consider him for MVP -- Sauces, McIntyre, Goodwill, The Nose, BSPN Crew, BS, Windy, Ramona the Hutt, Fired Cris Carter, etc etc etc
Definitely too early to make this call. And “absolutely dismantling the Clippers”? Game wasn’t a blowout. Anyway I’m sure I’ll agree with you throughout the season. I don’t know how the media narrative will go though. That is what dictates it. I can promise you that if we have the most wins in the NBA, with Harden averaging what he’s averaging, he will most definitely win it.
Westbrook be ecstatic to have Harden wearing the same colors as him. Also, WB be huge for taking pressure off of Harden and breaking down defenses. We just need great defense, and that's going to be hard. Let's hope we can keep up on that end of the floor.
I hate to play the victim since every fan does it, but honestly, the amount of hate for Harden is unprecedented. If there is even the SLIGHTEST case against him for MVP -- if any team with a superstar has a better record, etc... he will not win MVP. It's amazing how overlooked this guy is. Thanks to that 2017 Game 6, it's like last year's amazing performance never even happened. Even though I fully believe championships are team accomplishments, and it's silly to just individual players by them, it's gonna take a ring before he gets any respect from the media or casual fans... Even then, maybe not until he's downhill and approaching retirement.
Average 40ppg like Paul Pierce is expecting while we snatch a top 2 seed. then he's got the MVP. The only problem is is Lakers are the 1st seed, the bias will kick in and AD is winning.
After what we've seen in the past few years, you really cant' reasonably think that Harden has the chance to win MVP again. I mean unless Harden does something super crazy(like averaging over 40), and we have the best record in the NBA, Harden isn't going to win it. Averaging 40 in a season is pretty hard even for Harden, and unless Russ and Gordon find their shots and we add at least 1 good 3D player, I don't think we can have the best record in the league. Winning a championship is much more important for Harden now. If he can win one as the best player of the team, he will be without a doubt a top 20 player of all time. I hope the team can find more help for him this year.
I honestly like op and the thread but I don’t want any MVP talk this year. Enough of the individual stuff. It’s time to focus on the ring
Was just thinking this. Clippers lost because they were on the road and were without PG. Also, Harden and Westbrook already have chemistry whereas Kawhi is still trying to integrate into Rivers' offense in LA. #mediaconspiracy.
Yeah, you can't win the MVP's in November, but you can certainly lose them. A lot of criticism lobbed at Harden centered around the fact that the Rockets started slow. "Harden carried them sure, but he was part of the problem early on...Giannis tho, he's a true superstar and MVP!" The Rockets' strong start, including this statement game, absolutely matters.
media been sucking lebrick's dicck all year. if fakers get top 2 seed in the west, they gonna give the MVP to lebrick for sure. Harden may have to average 40 points per game for the whole season, and may not be enough still...
