Give up on Harden winning the MVP

The worst thing you can do to a guy's MVP chances is win a tough road playoff game where he shoots 3 for 20. It shows how much credit belongs to the rest of the team.

 

How much credit should we give Harden for 14 (of the Rockets 30) 4th quarter points? Looks to me like the MVP shook off a tough game and came through in the clutch.

 

What about when Giannis scored 14 on 5 for 13 with 3 assists and 4 turnovers 1 stl 0 blk and are -7 plus minus yet your team wins in a blowout the Pistons at home in Blake Griffin's first playoff game? Harden still added in 10 assists 6 stl 1 blk and was +4 in a 3 point victory. Which one of those scenarios actually lend credence to the claim that your team deserved more credit? We all know the award isn't based on the playoffs and that Giannis will get it because his team won 60 games while he had good stats.

 

Yep. In addition: When we played the Bucks, Giannis was mediocre but his teammates carried the day.

 

I understand the notion a voter should not penalize a MVP candidate for having a good supporting cast. But at the same time it makes you wonder how "valuable" they are.

I can't help but look at that Bucks situation and see Coach Bud being the transformative catalyst of the team going from a 7th seed to a 1 seed. And see the DEEEEEEP supporting cast easily be able to buoy an injury or Giannis not even needing to play extended minutes. It is not to take away from Giannis' season. But his "value" is not as important as Harden's is, imo.

 

Harden lost his shot at MVP when the Rockets failed to secure the 2nd seed, or at LEAST the third seed.

4th seed gives him almost zero chance. 3rd seed there's a shot, and 2nd seed, I think he would have won it. It's mind-numbingly stupid, but that's how the voters think. One more win, and Harden probably gets it. The impact of overall team success is ridiculously overweight in MVP considerations. (Unless you average a stat-padded triple double)

That said, f*** it as long as we win a title. Finals MVP is where it's at.

 

Especially when the media had no problem exaggerating the "Yeah but Harden has shooters and D'Antoni's system" and "Westbrook has no help" narratives to propel Westbrook to MVP as a 6 seed over Harden as a 3 seed, even though their stats were similar and each had an equally historic season. It's the picking and choosing that gets annoying as the narratives the media has been pushing for 2015 and 2019 are totally 180s from that 2017 season. It is what it is though.