James Harden is gonna get screwed over again in MVP Voting

This is a particularly eye-opening statistic for anybody who says that Westbrook is "forced into high usage to carry the team because nobody else can do anything" and the "Harden has too much help" narrative.

 

Bruh, those stats are too advanced! Triple-doubles is a far simpler way to determine the true MVP.

 

The sad thing is the majority of nba fans are casual and only care about eye popping stats. So the triple double aesthetic is so "amazing".

*rolls eyes*

Here's hoping the voters look at everything as far as more detailed stats and the big picture.

 

Too bad all these people with MVP opinions aren't watching Jim and the Rockets play. They're missing some pretty good basketball.

 

What will kill Harden's chances at the trophy: Haters who refuse to vote him for 2nd or even 3rd place.

 

From ESPN today:

Our ESPN Forecast panel, for four years and counting, has correctly predicted the NBA MVP every April. This year might be different, though.

In the midst of one of the closest races in recent history, we asked our panel: Who will win MVP?

Among 72 voters, there was a tie: James Harden was named by 36 voters, and Russell Westbrook by 36.

We also asked them: Who should win?

The vote was only a little more decisive there: Westbrook came out ahead, but he received only 49 percent. The remaining votes went to Harden (33 percent), Kawhi Leonard (14 percent), LeBron James (3 percent) and John Wall (1 percent).

 

so half thought that Harden would win, but only 33% thought that he should...interesting

 

Say J Sizzle.. I was just pointing out the obvious. Like I've said, Harden is having a marvelous historical season in his own right. And there were probably many more great seasons before this WB feat that dont get the recognition. But 30/10/10 is damn near a legendary feat. We can twist or discredit all we want because it may overlook Harden's greatness. But in the minds of most bball purists and former players, this is will get WB legendary status ...

 

I swear, if I hear "averaging a triple double" one more time, imma choke someone.

 

I think J Sizzle is going to go on a killing spree if Harden doesn't win MVP, dude has got to have 500 posts in this thread.

 

I ask again...

Why is 30/10/10 legendary, yet 29/11/8 is not, other than arbitrarily valuing an extra numerical digit? That's not discrediting Westbrook. It's just acknowledging the inherent silliness of triple doubles. Anybody who finds 2 rebounds a game as the difference between historic and forgettable is a fool

But once again, you are correct. Many outdated and archaic basketball purists will fawn over this for the rest of their lives.

 

I couldnt tell you.. maybe like you said , its the increments of 10 thing..lol

 

Guess we can count out the Worrell vote...

Pretty large pool of votes being removed, gotta wonder how this changes what would be otherwise traditional results.

 

If you normalize those stats to a per 70 possession basis, they are:

Westbrook: 31.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 10.2 assists
Harden: 26.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 10.3 assists

So, the difference is more substantial than one might think just looking at the raw per game numbers, because of the difference in mpg and pace. Westbrook is accumulating more stats on a per-possession basis -- he's using up way more possessions in the process, so whether that extra production is ultimately a good thing is up for debate.

 

I think that's pretty unfair to assume bias. As long as the team based media is represented evenly and fairly I don't really get the point to removing them.

 

I'm with Barkley.. Analytics has ruined the NBA. Even amongst the opinions of fans..lol

 

Some take the voting seriously and attempt to be objective, and others are unabashed homers.

I assume this is referring to media members who are employed by the team, as opposed to beat writers (e.g. Jonathan Feigen).

 

I'm not assuming bias, I'm just thinking that a large chunk of people with similar jobs that watch the game from a unique perspective, that have always had a say in the NBA awards, now have no say. I think that can skew things, regardless of bias.

 

Fans are dumb, look at this vote on ESPN on who should win MVP

57% of fans think Westbrook should win
16% for LeBron
13% for Kawhi
only 14% for Harden

It's time to accept it, people just don't like Harden. The reason the media has been pushing the westbrook for MVP narrative is because that's what the people want. /r/nba was drooling all over him early this year, they still are, but at the start of the year it was insane. KD left, he's got a triple double average, and he's in the playoffs. That's all they need.

Harden clearly has the much stronger case, but he may never win it. That defence video and his style of play (drawing crafty fouls) has really alienated a lot of the casual fan base. He'll probably make all-nba 1st team, but I don't think it'll mean much to him as it's obvious he wants that MVP. Hopefully Harden can go supernova in the playoffs, and take us to the glory. Chip > MVP

 

How many times has a player averaged a triple double for a season? And how many times has a player not averaged a triple double for a season?

That's why it's historic.