Luc getting a lot of attention this season with Houston. More than he ever has in the pass. He’s getting paid this offseason. I don’t think he’ll come back for cheap next season. I could see him getting contract offers like the one P.J. had or Ariza
I don't think there's a bias this year necessarily... BUT... This was when you knew there was a general bias overall that Harden would have to fight through. Those #s aren't quite as good as Lebron's this year, but they're close, and still hella-crazy good. The knocks against Harden that year were (i) non-existent defense, (ii) horrible team chemistry Compared to Lebron this year: - non-existent or pretty bad defense on the whole - horrible team chemistry The Rockets finished 8th in the West. The Cavs are 4th in the East which is as horrible considering. Harden was forced to continue playing with Dwight. Lebron traded away the chemistry problems during the season. So Lebron's ACTUAL narrative is slightly better than Harden 2015/2016, but definitely in the ballpark. Harden misses the all-nba teams ENTIRELY. Lebron is in the conversation for and getting MVP votes. Lol
Another update since I've been able to find a few today... Harden- 25 Zach Lowe, ESPN Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN Ramona Shelbourne, ESPN Cassidy Hubbarth, ESPN Sam Amick, USA Today Ben Golliver, Sports Illustrated Sean Deveny, Sporting News Kevin O'Connor, The Ringer Steve Aschburner, NBA.com John Schuhman, NBA.com Shaun Powell, NBA.com (No vote last year. He was in a column with 4 verified voters. Probably has a vote.) Sekou Smith, NBA.com Chris Broussard, Fox Sports Kurt Helin, NBC Sports Bill Simmons, The Ringer (also said he has AD #2) Mike Wilbon, ESPN Will Guillory, NOLA.com (No vote last year. Claims to have a vote on Twitter.) Brian Mahoney, AP Doug Smith, Toronto Star Eddie Sefko, Dallas Morning News Jalen Rose, ESPN Michelle Beadle, ESPN Howard Beck, Bleacher Report Paul Flannery, SB Nation Rob Mahoney, Sports Illustrated (No vote last year. Claims to have a vote on Twitter.) Votes needed to win: 26 LeBron- 4 Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today Stefan Bondy, NY Daily News (No vote last year. Claims to have a vote on Twitter.) Jason Lloyd, The Athletic Cleveland (No vote last year. Claims to have a vote in article.) Tim Reynolds, AP (also voted LeBron last season) Votes needed to win: 47 Remaining votes-71 (David Aldridge has stated that he will not reveal his vote early.) http://official.nba.com/wp-content/...-Most-Valuable-Player-of-the-Year-Award-1.pdf A couple of notes: Yes, these are official voters based on either the person having a vote last year or working for a reputable publication and claiming to have a vote. Colin Cowherd and Stephen A. Smith do not have votes as far as I know. And I added the "votes needed to win" based on a player needing 51 first-place votes to win (could be less if anyone votes for a player besides LeBron or Harden).
@MacLovin -- nice work. If you're willing to edit the information as it comes in, start a new thread. I'll give you Supporting Member access for awhile and you can edit the post for unlimited time.
This is an interesting approach and I think I heard it from at least 1 media person as well. I think Shelbourn actually made that point on the Hoop Collective podcast. That Harden hasn't done anything to NOT give it to him.
Man...I never realized how much I hate my username until now. IIRC, we still had T-Mac and Superbad was somewhat recent. This was the best thing I could come up with, I was in a rush.
It's like hearing yourself on a recording for the first time......there's just something cringeworthy about it. All good though, appreciate you looking out in this thread!!
Now that Harden is a shoe-in for the MVP, ESPN's The Jump is mad. Now TMAC, who has said Harden is the MVP for 8 months, says Harden is the best offensive player and Lebron is the MVP; there should be 2 awards. Rachel Nichols is insufferable, gawd damn. Windblows: "I voted for James Harden, but I felt bad about it. I feel bad for Lebron." Doris Burke on a live broadcast said it pained her to vote Harden MVP. What the hell, man? It's disrespectful.
Makes Harden's season even more impressive. Was so good and so much more deserving that even those who begged to slurp Lebron ended up voting for him anyway.
Harden just doesn't have the media karma that players like Lebron, Westbrook, and Carmelo have. In their eyes, he can do no right, while the others can do no wrong. Today's media is also obsessed with freakish athleticism and undervalues old school skill.
Sending negative vibes to ESPN. Sending negative vibes to that loser Tracy McGrady. I hope something bad happens to him. Sending negative vibes to Rachel Nichols. I hope something bad happens to her. Sending negative vibes to Fathorse. I hope something bad happens to him. Sending negative vibes to Doris the Westbrook dick rider. I hope something bad happens to her. Sending negative vibes to LeBron James. **** them all to hell. @Louka, please send negative vibes to ESPN & all of their terrible NBA "analysts". (And boy are they anal.)
Even when he was clearly a cancer in New York, you'd have the likes of Stephen A Smith defending him and never criticizing him for how much he hurt the team. Instead it would all be, "Phil Jackson is at fault here." and before that, it was "Mike Dantoni needs to go." And today, I've yet to see any strong criticism of Carmelo on the Thunder despite his shooting woes. Instead, the blame is usually pointed at Billy Donovan for not "knowing how to utilize Melo". Point me to some current media hate of Carmelo.
