James Harden is gonna get screwed over again in MVP Voting

other than adams i wouldn't want kanter or sabonis over the rockets corresponding bigs. If you think otherwise that's fine. Neither Kanter or Sabonis do much for me

 

If the Rockets aren't a top 3 team in the western conference and the Thunders aren't the 5th seed, I'm giving my nonexistent vote to Kawhi and then Durant, assuming the Spurs win 60+ games and the Warriors win 70+ games.

 

Leonard definitely deserves to be in the conversation, but Durant??? The same dude who plays along side Mr. Unanimous MVP and Mr. Best Two Way Player ever?

Come on, man.

 

yeah i know, thats why Kawhi is my number one, if the Rockets/Thunders aren't a top 3 or top 5 team. I totally respect the decision to ignore Durant's performance due to him joining the 73 wins warriors. And because of his decision he rightly or wrongly has got no shot at winning the award, but dude I just cant ignore what he is doing on offense AND defense.

While Westbrook is CLEARLY having the best statistical season offensively, Durant right now isnt that far behind, quietly having maybe his best season ever... especially when you take into account the limited time he has the ball compared to Westbrook/Harden and the excellent defense/rim protection he's given the Warriors.

I think any other year and from past precedents/results, the MVP frontrunners would be Kawhi and to a lesser extent Durant.

 

How can you legit give the MVP to a player whose team won't get home court?

 

I agree with this. In my opinion, neither Westbrook nor Harden deserves to be the MVP; their volume stats are great and all, but efficiency wise not so much. And they both are limited on the defensive end as well. If the Spurs finish as the 2nd seed, and manage to win close to 65 games, I see no reason why Kawhi shouldn't be considered as a strong MVP candidate.

 

Difference is Spurs have a ton of talent even without Gasol. Put Kawhi on this Rockets team instead of Harden there is little chance we would be this good. Harden dose not have an Aldridge or a Parker. Hell simmons is better then majority of our players.

Harden is not just stats, he has carried us to the 3rd seed in the west with his playmaking.He makes his teammates better

 

Unfortunately I agree that Kawhi won't likely be a strong MVP candidate due to the fact he isn't clearly the sole star of his team.

Stats do matter alot in the NBA.

 

TNT has recency bias in full effect. Their MVP is whover is playing in their televised game that night. Clowns.

 

ESPN had a bottom line stat about Westbrook's turnovers. Never thought I'd see that.

 

I don't think Westbrook is having a better season than Harden offensively. Correct me if I'm wrong (i don't have the stats in front of me) but don't hardens ppg + asssists generate more offense than westbrooks ppg +assists? I'm also pretty sure Hardens offense is more efficient. Once again I'm open to being corrected if I'm wrong. I don't have the stats in front of me.

We all know westbrook is a slightly better rebounder.

 

I can understand taking Anderson over Sabonis, but Nene over Kanter? lol not a chance

 

Seriously. Kanter can beast. Sure not great defensively but not the only guy in the league with that on their resume. Plus I don't think he's beeen in a great situation yet. If he could develop a 35% point shoot he'd be great on the Rockets lol.

On paper Oladipo, Adams, Kanter were CLEARLY supposed to be better than Gordon, Andersen and whomever was the supposed #3. Which is why they universally we're projected to finish higher.

That they haven't is partially on Westbrook. It's hard to criticize him because his stats are so great and if you replaced him with a crap player that team would be ****. But his type of play doesn't elevate that team beyond what he's giving them. It's not making them better than the sum of the parts.

 

Why do y'all give Westbrook a 5 seed buffer and harden a 3?

 

Disagree. IMO, people had higher expectations for OKC b/c Harden was underwhelming last year. People generally expect a team's star to marginally improve from one year to the next, and because of that, no one expected much from the Rockets. Nobody anticipated that Harden's improvement would be as tremendous as it's been.

That being said, OKC clearly has the weaker supporting cast. Gordon and Oladipo are essentially a wash. Capela/Harrell/Nene aren't as good as Adams/Kanter, but it's not a significant disparity. After all, Kanter is offensively gifted, but he's a poor defender and only averages ~21 mpg. And given that he comes off the bench, his only role is to run the offense when Westbrook rests. He rarely closed out games.

But what about the rest of the rotational players?

Ryan Anderson >>>> Sabonis
Ariza >>>> Roberson
Beverley >>>> Payne?

 

What's the Rockets record when EG sits out? If it's good it will bolster Harden's case by showing that EG is not that great and Harden is carrying a less talented team. (btw I do think EG is great and an all star)

 

4 wins 2 losses

 

On raw talent, Houston might have a slight advantage, but Houston were expected to lose a lot more games than okc to injury, and they have.

 

I just got done looking at the numbers, actually. And yes, Harden is definitely having a better season offensively. Westbrook is averaging 2 more points per game than Harden, but it takes him 5 more shot attempts per game to get those 2 points. Harden is shooting better than he is in every category. And, as we all know, is averaging more assists than Westbrook.

The eFG% difference is stark, as well. Russell: .461. Harden: .521

Westbrook is having quite the season, but the efficiency is just not there.

 

It's much more than a slight advantage. That's like saying Harden has a "slight" beard.

The gap between Anderson/Ariza/Beverley and Payne/Roberson/Sabonis is huge.