Wow. In contested shots per game, Harden ranks #3 among all guards in the league. Westbrook? #121 There's your rebound difference right there. And Harden's the one who doesn't play defense?
It looks like the site is doing one of these for each candidate. So is the writer saying harden is his guy (does he vote), or is this just his harden piece?
Nice article. The one hypothetical I feel very certain about... is that if Westbrook was on a current 54-27 team, he wouldn't be averaging a triple double, and its likely Harden wins this award. The case for Westbrook rests almost 100% on the triple double. Has he carried OKC? Sure, but at 46/47 wins its barely above preseason predictions. Moreover, other players have similarly carried "crap" teams with great stats in the past, and never come home with the MVP. This is all about the triple double, which only exists because of the incredibly high usage combined with it being all Westbrook all the time for the Thunder. He's basically made those around him worse... at least based on what people thought. Nobody went into the season saying the Thunder lineup outside Westbrook was horrible. No, they were 45 win good based on predictions. Adams, Kanter, Oladipo.. they've had decnet seasons statistically in many senses, but we get the constant narrative about how Westbrook is carrying such a bad team. They're not a bad team. They're just not a good three point shooting team... which is true, 2nd worst in the league. So why are they 18th in the league in attempts at 25.9 a game (btw 15th is just barely more at 26.1)?? Why are they running that much space when they suck at it?? There's absolutely no system, or coaching... other than Westbrook ball. Which is fine, and damn is that dude REALLY REALLY good. Like will win the MVP good and hard to argue against it really. But at the end of the day it seems like 2 rebounds will be the difference... despite Harden's better efficiency, more points created, higher record and better defense.
