[Sports 790 - Ben DuBose] Why Harden, Not Westbrook, Is the Clear MVP Favorite

insert the media conspiracy is strong in this one gif good read

Spoiler

 

Great article, @The Cat

 

Good read. Didn't realize the writer is a fellow CF member.

 

The history of the MVP race shows that winning at a high level matters. Two years ago, Harden clearly did more for his team individually than Curry did for the Warriors — but Curry took home the award with ease, based on his team’s superiority. In other words, he was the best player on the best team.

If this year’s race is indeed between Harden and Westbrook, why shouldn’t the same logic apply? The Thunder are on pace to be a quality middle-of-the-pack playoff team, winning roughly 50 games. The Rockets are on course to win 60+, which would place them 40 games over .500 and in the top three of a loaded Western Conference. The Rockets’ roster may not be great, but the results are.

Unless that dynamic changes, it’s hard to see what the argument for Westbrook is. The MVP award typically combines individual excellence with team impact — and while both players are having historic individual seasons, Houston is clearly a tier ahead of Oklahoma City in the West.

Because that’s how an MVP lifts his team. Because Harden.

So basically he's echoing what I and others have been saying. It comes down to win totals. And it should. If that's what gave Curry the edge 2 years ago, it damn well better be the standard this year too.

 

I'm glad to see people start making the case for Harden now to push the narrative, but the season will probably take care of some of this. If the Rockets keep winning like this they will surpass the Spurs for #2 in the West and potentially the Cavs for #2 overall. If that happens I think Harden will edge out Westbrook.

Of course the opposite could happen and the Rockets could cool a little and drop to 4 in the West. If that happens and the Thunder are in the playoffs than the uniqueness of Westbrook's statistical season will probably get him the award.

 

Preach

 

Nice job, @The Cat! Somebody needs to send this to every national media outlet in the country.

 

LeBron James is also a threat

 

Very good article. Well done.

The only reason Harden is not the MVP favorite to some is because:

A) They arbitrarily value the extra 2 rebounds a game he averages for the triple double
B) They exalt Westbrook because Durant left him

In terms of normal lines of thinking (great statistics, efficiency, winning, enhancing teammates play, exceeding expectations), Harden has been better.

 

If Harden averaged as many uncontested defensive rebounds as Westbrook, he would average a triple double.

The difference in offensive efficiency is not small. The only slight edge Westbrook has in terms of efficiency is PER. I presume that Westbrook's record-breaking 42.2% usage rate has something to do with that. Harden has a significantly higher offensive rating, TS%, and eFG%.

 

Here's another good article

http://www.sbnation.com/2017/1/4/14164228/nba-mvp-rankings-james-harden-russell-westbrook

"Why Harden gets the edge.

Of the 32 players averaging 20 points per game this season, Harden is No. 5 in True Shooting percentage at .614. Westbrook is No. 29 at .543. Harden is contributing his 28 points and 12 assists per game on fewer possessions than Westbrook is contributing his 31 points and 10.5 assists. In fact, Westbrook takes about five more field goal attempts per game than Harden to get three additional points. That’s not a good trade off.

This isn’t to cheapen Westbrook’s achievement. But efficiency very much matters, and given how close the two superstars are in the big picture, it’s the relevant tiebreaker here. That Harden is able to shoot so efficiently while shooting so much is really incredible, on par with Stephen Curry’s 2015-16 MVP performance."

 

watch, at the end of the day, they will give LeBron the MVP just like they gave to Curry before

 

I honestly don't think it should matter this early in the season about the MVP race. So much can happen between now and the end of the season. Maybe Houston goes on a winning streak and gets the #1 or #2 seed? Maybe OKC goes on a losing streak and drops out of the playoffs all together? Maybe one or both of them deal with an injury? Maybe these insane numbers that we are seeing now start to decline? We should hold off and wait until the season is closer to ending before talking about this so much.

However, that's not the way the media works. The media starts talking about MVP and starts setting a narrative so early in the season. By the time MVP voting actually comes around it usually isn't a surprise who wins. So even though I don't think it makes much sense talking about it now, we need more articles and talk like this out there to try to start swinging the narrative for Harden. This was a great article!

 

Wow...Scott Brooks said Harden is the hardest player to guard in the NBA. That is crazy coming from the guy that has coached Harden, Westbrook, and Durant...3 of the premier offensive forces in the game. Very high praise and he has zero bias. He also has this guy named John Wall on his team presently.

 

nice piece but logic isn't necessarily what decides these races.

 

I'm glad he pointed out Vegas odds. All of a sudden Harden has a better roster. Harden is making his teammates better.

 

I rarely post, but great, great read, Ben!

 

Ben is the man.

He's a super fan he's one of us and he gets to talk about how great the rockets and harden is on a national level.

He gets to say and write what all of us wish we could.

Keep it up Ben!!!