The primary reason is that the Rocket is not winning consistently. James is in the same boat as Melo.....having great numbers but as team not playing that great. Once, and if, the team turns around and start climbing up the ranks in the conference he'll show up.
Same boat as Melo?. Except rockets will make the playoffs and Knicks prolly won't. I just can't understand how Melos up there pretty much puting up same numbers as harden and he's losing almost every game. Harden just tied a rocket record and that's not MVP like or caliber?. He's been breaking records since last season but it's like the harden hype has vanished and tch we all know harden D is sloppy but tbh he has some of the nicest rips in the nba
It's because we aren't winning consistently? The Rockets have a .621 winning percentage. How do you explain Love and Lowry being 6th and 10th, respectively? Both their teams have a .500 winning percentage. I guess they are consistent that they win one and lose one.
If you are talking about the latest trend, neither Melo or Harden is in the top 10...so there you have it with regards the same boat. On a different note, look at it like this if Melo is hurt the Knick will suck bad. However, though just a few games, the Rockets actually have done well without Harden in the line up. Take is with a grain of salt though.....
I can't explain Love and Lowry, though you must admit that without those players on those teams....those teams would suck even more (dramatically more). Sure, the Rockets has a winning percentage but with two max players the team is just a few spots from the 8th place. Also, December's 8-8 record is actually pretty bad. Lastly, when you look at the games (though small sample size) when Harden was out the Rockets still won those games by a high percentage.
Last season he finished at a TS% of .600 Going into tonight he was at .602 His 3 point percentage is down but his 2 point percentage is way up. I think it has to do with a few stretches of absolutely horrible defense. Something that I think overall has been blown way out of proportion as an every game season long thing when it really hasn't, but through some stretches has been god awful. Also as others have mentioned I think the teams record vs what was probably expected from them is hurting him a bit. Add in a few missed games and you have your answer.
Because the MVP ladder is pure garbage. Harden would destroy Lowry and a lot of others on that ladder easy.
Are you kidding me?! Have you seen how Lowry has been playing recently?! Just watch a full Raptors game next time.
Read other fan forums for an unbiased opinion. It's pretty unanimous. No defense is the biggest thing. Plus his offensive game is unappealing. He relies on creating contact for free throws, which a lot of people see as abusing the system. ( Much like Kevin Durant, but Durant has wider game to compensate for the cheap shots)
Have you been watching Harden play? 38 is a career high type of game for Lowry, Harden just did it three times and it wasn't even that impressive.
mvp ladder doesn't matter anyways. he's nowhere near the conversation for mvp so it's useless talking about 10th place or whatever.
I will never understand this FT thing and why it's so hated. If it were so easy to do on a consistent basis then there would be so many more guys doing it. Harden is just built differently that most guards in this league, he isn't a twig out there and it's not his fault that he's also quick enough to get by guys and force them to swipe at the ball when he drives. Take away ALL his FTs and he's still getting 17.2 per game from the field, I didnt do all the exact math, but looking down the line of the top 10 -15 or so scorers and they are all somewhere between 17-20 points per game from the field. Agreed in the defense being the biggest factor though. And really I don't think it's all that different from last season, but this year he's had a few stretches that drew attention to the media that just didn't happen last year.
Oh I know Lowry is good. I am simply using them as an example of good players on teams with bad records since he used the argument that we aren't winning consistently
It's not the swiping. Harden literally runs into people on the drive when they're not set. IE the nowitzki foul where nowitzki was literally turned around and trying to get out of the way, but harden caught up to him. It's not an easy skill, I agree. You need strength and footwork, but it's still viewed as cheap. Harden also does it more than anyone else in the league, except maybe Durant. This gives him the stigma of always getting bailed out by free throws . Unfortunately, these 2 black eyes keep him out of the discussion.
Harden is undoubtedly a top-10 player in this league. MVP ladders are usually horrifically subjective rankings based off an individual writers opinion. Harden is the best player on a mid-seed western conference playoff team that has been plagued with injuries. His efficiency and production as noted by others has remained consistent and whatever perception you assign to his "defense" needs to account for his foot injuries and the offensive load he bears.
I live in Canada, we have NBA channel for Canada that covers the Raptor daily, a lot of program that go to Lowry house and spend days exposing his life, with that deep media coverge, the NBA hope to create the biggest market for any single team. We are talking about a city that 2nd to NYC in north America, and with a possibilty to have 15 million more viewer from around the country, that's been said, no wonder that MVP ladder approch will over look player such as Harden or even Durant for the sake of expanding new markets
