MVP Shouldn’t Even be a Discussion

Well, March especially is when Harden's 3 point shooting just collapses. And its happend for the last 3-4 years. So I feel like more tahn anything he should get rest but we cant afford it.

 

If the Bucks get the number one seed, Giannis has the MVP - it's that simple.

 

Maybe so. But that is the dumbest-ass practice in the world. What if the Raptors get it? Kawhi is suddenly MVP?

(Not calling you dumb.)

 

Leonard doesn’t have the same statistical resume as Harden or Giannis. Jokic the same in the West if they somehow ended up 1.

 

I keep hoping the Bucks drop to 2nd so voters have to use logic instead of tradition.

Food for thought:

The East where the Bucks play most of their games is: 482 - 521
The West where the Rockets play most of their games is: 518 - 479

They're 16-9 against the West which translates to a 52 win season or 43 total wins out of their 67 games they've played so far. This being said... Giannis is on easy street.

 

You could easily make a case (at least statistically) that Harden has been the more consistent player on a night-by-night basis. If consistently being the valuable player on your team isn't the definition of MVP, it should be.

 

It's a close race. In the past few weeks this race has become a lot like the 2015 race between Curry and Harden, and I believe it will end the same. Probably a lot closer though. To say "it's not even a discussion" is still the only thing that bothers me about this. To be fair, it seems like there are a good amount of Bucks fans saying the same thing.

Rk	Player	Tm	W	L	W/L%	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	eFG%
1	Giannis Antetokounmpo	MIL	50	17	.746	62	62	33.0	9.9	17.1	.580	0.6	2.5	.248	9.3	14.6	.637	.598
2	James Harden	HOU	41	25	.621	62	62	37.3	10.8	24.7	.437	4.8	13.5	.359	6.0	11.2	.531	.535

Rk	Player	Tm	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Giannis Antetokounmpo	MIL	6.6	9.2	.715	2.3	10.3	12.6	6.0	1.3	1.4	3.8	3.3	27.0
2	James Harden	HOU	9.9	11.2	.878	0.9	5.6	6.5	7.5	2.1	0.7	5.2	3.3	36.3

 

It may be but that's how it's been done with the exception of Westbrook.

MVP is the best story of the year. And that's subjective.

Giannis never having won and being on the team with the best record, and having the ridiculous stats makes him the front runner.

Harden stats are just as good obviously, but his team's record is a bit subpar and he won it last year. His crazy performances and keeping the team in top seed contention is amazing, but that has never gotten an MVP award before.

If Harden hasn't won it last year, he'd be the story...but his story is a bit old, and people don't like his game. So Giannis will get it unless the Bucks collapse which seems unlikely given the Raptors shaky play

 

Giannis

 

Harden is gonna lose MVP with what he is playing now. I know we are winning, but MVP voters not only care wins but also Harden's numbers.

 

The difference being, Harden can play like crap and still get you 30 points. If Giannis is playing badly, he won't even get close to 20 points. If Harden is playing well, he's literally unstoppable. If Giannis is playing well, he can be stopped; he's a limited player.

There's been plenty of games this season where Giannis hasn't had to carry for the Bucks. I know Giannis has been their best player, but he has consistent great support around him.

 

Bucks 2018: 44-38, 7th Seed. Coach: Kidd/Prunty
Giannis: 27ppg, 10rpg, 5apg. 53/31/76 splits.

Bucks 2019: 62-20 (538 proj.) 1 Seed. Coach: Budenholzer
Giannis: 27ppg, 12rpg, 6apg. 58/25/71 splits.

Coach Budenholzer is the "catalyst" for this team. Should be coach of the year.

 

Giannis is greatly improved over last year. Per game stats are misleading because he doesn’t have to play as many minutes this year (because his team is +11 with him on the floor and +3 with him off).

 

He plays 3 less minutes. Coach Bud's entire offensive and defensive philosophies that trickle down to the roster have had a massive impact (versus Kidd's and Prunty's systems).

My point is NOT that Giannis isn't having a great season. He is! Just that he isn't the "catalyst" vis-a-vis Coach Bud's implementations and the cascading effects on the roster.

 

Giannis is a boutique player like Steph. 33 minutes per game: is that the bottom limit, or can "MVP's" go even lower?

 

That's fair. But I don't see the relevance as far as MVP voting goes. You don't dock a player in MVP consideration because he happens to be playing for a coach that makes him and his teammates better players.

 

At least Giannis manages 0.5 mpg more than Chris Paul

 

Young James Harden? Media thinks he should have to wait a few years to get MVP. Make him really earn it.

Young Giannis? Can't give it to him fast enough.