James Harden is gonna get screwed over again in MVP Voting

Pablo Torre is really good at poking holes in the triple double argument too. He might be too smart for his own good though; when he speaks, people's eyes start to glaze over.

 

I don't know why this thread is the first thread I click on at lunch... I go back to work furious!

Gotta stay away from my triggers!

 

Shannon Sharpe started to make that point in that clip, but he didn't keep harping on it. In fact, it's something Westbrook has not gotten heat for from really anyone this season. Sharpe asked Bayless why was Steven Adams so good last year, but having a down year this season? Shouldn't Westbrook, if he's MVP, make his teammates better? How come no one ever really talks about that?

Harden, we're told, has a better team around him. Does he? Is Capela really that good of a player or does James just make him look good? I don't recall Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon(when healthy anyway) helping the Pelicans reach the level of success the Rockets have achieved this season. Hell, New Orleans only made the playoffs once with them and that was as the 8th seed and it took an upset win against the Spurs on the final day of the season to pull that off. What about Bev? He was cast off to Russia until he got a shot playing alongside Harden. Now suddenly he's a starter in the NBA. And that's to say nothing of 2 years ago when Harden was winning games with the likes of Joey Dorsey, Francisco Garcia, Nick Johnson, and Josh Smith(who the Pistons paid to go the hell away) playing key minutes.

 

I have been pushing hard for Harden for MVP for a long time. And held out hope for a long time. But there is no escaping the fact that Westbrook will win the MVP. Everything NBA right now is Westbrook-centric. Media Harden backers (particularly those from Dec-March) are RADIO SILENT right now.

The MVP race is over. Sadly.

BTW, regarding ESPN's Kevin Pelton MVP Stats article (which crowns Westbrook), he stated "the most valuable player is the one who adds the most wins to his team's bottom line." I tweeted at him to say "Important, but OKC is 10th in standings." Pelton's reply was "I think that is heavily influenced by how they perform with Westbrook on the bench."

At this point, if Harden can't get the MVP, lets hope he can have a dominant series vs OKC in the playoffs.

 

The NBA media always goes with the hype over logic. This year's rationale would have crowned James two years ago, but it was the year of steph hype.

I worry about the mental part of losing. James isn't really the play mad type. He's better when he is riding the wave, out of his head, not trying to control everything.

 

Speaking of "narrative." The Jump ran this feature about "Westbrook rescuing the Thunder after KD's departure." And thus that's what makes Westbrook "valuable"



Of course the SAME THING could be said for Harden. Remember the state of the Rockets franchise after last year? Dumpster fire.

 

harden "rescued" the rockets from dwight's departure.

 

Isn't it the MVP award will be announced after the playoff? Watch, once we beat the OKC in the first round, those bandwagon media will swing back to Harden. If we lose? Well, James doesn't deserve to be the MVP over WB then.

 

they'll just say harden has better teammates when westbrook averages a triple double in losses like they've been doing.

 

I hate that Harden is probably not gonna win the MVP award when he deserves it the most. However, I'll be satisfied if he completely dominates Westbrook in the playoffs while we stomp out OKC. The media will look foolish for rewarding Westbrook for guiding his team to a 1st round exit.

 

@txn No, how it works when the narrative is in place is, IF OKC wins, because of MVP Westbrook. If OKC loses, because of Westbrook's bum teammates. The media won't swing back to Harden. All topics are seen through a Westbrook prism.

 

Remember what the Rockets did before Harden arrived? Wound up in the lottery 3 straight seasons and out of desperation they gave a $25 million/3-year deal to a largely unproven Jeremy Lin just so they'd have someone they could market to their fanbase.

 

But at least those season long Harden supporters will show up. At this moment, I have to say Westbrook's showcase is pretty strong in the past 10 - 12 games. So the playoff victory is enough to put this race even or maybe edge to James. If we can beat Spurs, which I think it is close to 50/50 chance, that should quite the WB MVP chant a lot.

 

I appreciate Shannon standing up for Harden but the guy can do soooo much better. He just doesn't have how NBA works and stats right in front of him to shut down those ludicrous statements by House and Skip. No difference between 3rd and 6th? How about when it is 8 ****ing games!

Give me a break. you'll definitely drop several IQ points listening to Skip Brainless

 

Harden is the MVP hands down!!!

Anyone that disagrees need to be checked into the funny farm!

 

Didn't Rachel Nichols impress about Harden's change back in March?

 

Also, can we stop hearing "D'antoni's system is the reason."

No. No it is not. He did this under McHale. Of course having an actual coach will make the team look better. Besides, if it was MDAs system then where were the MVP candidates during his Lakers and Knicks stint?

It's just going to baffle the mind when Kawhi wins it next year and you won't hear a peep about Pop's system.

 

In addition to Harden losing out on the MVP award to Westbrook, I could easily see Popovich or Spoelstra win Coach of the Year and Iguodala winning 6th Man of the year (playing a key part on the team with the best record in the NBA). Rockets could easily get shut out of those awards.

 

Thank you for finding that exact tweet. I was looking for it. Funny how the media narrative swings.

 

Also, it is not just 3rd best in the west. It is 3rd best record in the league?

Morey man, where yall at? We need Morey to step up and mention these arguments because they are getting totally lost in a sea of nonsense. I know people didn't like when he stepped in last time but he has nothing to lose at this point. The media is dazzled by their own little story and round numbers and have tossed aside reality.