James Harden is gonna get screwed over again in MVP Voting

We beat cavs, did harden do enough? Maybe two more points would have been a sexier stat another 40 point triple double

 

What did Harden do for his MVP case?

Stephen A.: He solidified he'll be the guy, whether co-MVP or the guy. The dude just shows up & gets it done. Unlike Westbrook, he's winning more frequently. Lou, Ariza, Anderson can play. Clint Capela has impressed me more & more. Can't find a bigger fan of Beverley than me. You want a Beverley on your team. He's a rough rider, doesn't shrink. He's a winner. I want him on my team. That said, Houston is going to the lottery if not for Harden. He does it all. He's that special. When you combine it that they're winning, what I saw last night reminded me of what I knew: when it's time to crown MVP, Harden's name better be on that trophy, co-MVP or by himself.

Max: When the facts change, so does my opinion. To start the season, I thought Westbrook would win MVP. I always believed Westbrook was better than Harden. In reality, LeBron is MVP every year & I wouldn't trade Kawhi for Harden or Westbrook. That said, I have to concede, the criteria for regular season MVP, I give it to James Harden. To start the season, D'Antoni was going to use him as PG. I knew they'd win a lot & be an exciting team. Credit to Daryl Morey for putting the requisite pieces around him. The perfect team is around Harden & the perfect coach. I didn't know they'd do this well. They're functioning on a high level. Credit to Mike & Daryl and most importantly, James Harden. He's making it work. Based on the criteria right now, it is James Harden.

SA: Harden is averaging 29/11/8. At the PG spot, I didn't want him at PG - I never dreamed he would change his ways. The willingness to get rid of the ball. James Harden actually trusted his coach. I'll do what you say. That's the biggest reason.

 

Wait WHAT!! Did Max say that? CONSPIRACY!!

 

Lmao, all of these guys will start picking or switching back to Harden after last night's game...they're so predictable.

all that's left for Harden to do is to maintain a high level of play and go beast mode against OKC when they play on national TV and the MVP is his, no debate

 

waiting for that flip flopper Chris Broussard to switch back to Harden as well

 

It's funny how these big Sunday national TV games mean so much to the media, because on the following Monday morning that's what they talk about. That's why in a few weekends when OKC comes to town for a Sunday afternoon game, Harden has to play big again so that the following day, the media will praise him

 

Where is the youtube of First take?

 

http://www.si.com/nba/2017/03/13/nb...ckets-san-antonio-spurs-golden-state-warriors

 

media conspiracy. obviously.

 

Hands down last night James Harden has his best game in his career

He was phenomenal offensively and defensively - he was guarding his man at all times, he was going after the ball to pick up rebounds at a crucial time, he was scoring when we needed it the most

This is what he needs to do 90% of the season, not just 60-70%

 

That def was not his best game of his career, he took a lot of dumb shots early on and his defense was pretty horrible in the 1st half. But he made up for it...

 

I don't know if it was the best game of his career, but in terms of sheer number of winning plays, you could definitely make that case. Felt like Harden's impact on the game was felt nearly every minute he was on the court, even if his scoring efficiency wasn't at it's usual elite rate. There have been very few games where Harden noticeably wanted a win more than last night.

 

+22
That is all

 

This was a marquee win. Let's be honest though, it's never enough. Harden needs 2 more wins against GSW and a win against the Thunder while maintaining 3 seed to even sniff top 3.

 

Wow! Thank goodness this game was on national tv. It's like this is the first Rockets game Max has seen.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...estbrook-james-harden-kawhi-leonard/99143284/

Yet as was revealed in a survey by USA TODAY Sports of 32 league executives, this race is as unclear as it is compelling.

The executives requested anonymity because of competitive reasons, and participants did not include members of the Thunder, Rockets, Spurs and Cavs because, well, objectivity might be tough to come by from those corners on this particular topic. The Los Angeles Lakers’ new general manager, Rob Pelinka, was also not polled because he was Harden’s agent until a few weeks ago.

The results were gathered throughout Sunday and Monday. Of the 32 executives who took part, 20 are general managers or front-office heads, and their vote totals are in parentheses.

1) Harden: 12 (seven among front office heads)

2) Westbrook: eight (six)

3) Leonard: seven (six)

4) James: five (one)

So that settles…absolutely nothing.

This exercise was the latest reminder that – following Stephen Curry’s unprecedented unanimous victory last season with the Golden State Warriors – this MVP race is expected to go down to the wire. The USA TODAY Sports weekly survey has Harden out front as well followed by Westbrook, James, Leonard, and Thomas.

When the individual MVP cases are so close, making one wonder if they shouldn’t just slice the Maurice Podoloff trophy into a gold-plated pie, the consensus from the executives who took part is that MVP moments matter even more.

...

Like so many media members, many executives said the Thunder’s overall record might, hypothetically, preclude them from voting for him. While Oklahoma City (37-29, sixth in the West) is certainly better than expected after losing Kevin Durant in free agency, a vote for Westbrook would mark a departure from the league’s history. Since 1976, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award despite his Los Angeles Lakers finishing sixth in the Western Conference while missing the playoffs, every MVP has come from a team that finished with at least the fourth-best record in its respective conference.

There was widespread amazement at Leonard’s defense, too, executives marveling at how he could be so elite at both ends of the court. Harden, who is having his best season in concert with first-year Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, clearly has no shortage of front office admirers as well. He is first in the league in assists and third in scoring for a team that few envisioned would be this good.

May the best man win, in other words. And good luck figuring out who that might be.​