Doug Smith of the star.com picks Harden! https://www.thestar.com/sports/doug...look-at-an-nba-post-season-awards-ballot.html
Zach tried to play it cool in February. "Like I don't know who I'm voting for but well actually ... shouldn't Kawhi be MVP? Spoiler
heyp, you're response to his voting seems to indicate anger. It seems like really logically consistent voting. Frankly, some of the smartest voting I've seen. He's valuing winning above all else. I mean the Spoelstra thing over MDA makes no sense, agreed there. But i have no problem with Kawhi, AI votes.
If you think Harden is going to come close to WB in 1st place votes Spoiler you're wrong Spoiler but if you think Harden will beat Westbrook in 2nd place votes by a landslide.. well you're on the right track
No anger. I suppose I did write for the general sentiment of the board. I don't agree with a lot of his All-NBA teams, though. And Iguodala is highly debatable. He gives Iggy high marks for 17 games in March, and Gordon fell off a lot. But Gordon's essential shooting led to a 20-2 run in first half of the season, which should not be dismissed based on time of year. In the end, Zach is valuing defense more than most voters will on 6MOY. I can't really argue about Iggy on that.
Yeah, I don't agree with the Iggy vote, but I understand it at least, based on how he seems to be voting for everything. I'm fine with his all nba team votes. Not how I would have voted exactly, but I get it. And I do think AD is more of a center than a forward, which might
I understand the Iggy vote. He's more impactful than Gordon is out on the court. I think most coaches would take Iggy over Gordon if they had the choice.
It's going to be tough for Harden to overcome the media screeching that surrounds Russell Westbrook. Averaging a triple double, even if it meant mega-stat-chasing (including your teammates stepping aside for WB to snag more boards), will put stars in the eyes of these voters: HISTORIC SEASON! I'm afraid that Harden will wind up the NBA MVP version of the Buffalo Bills, but I hope I'm wrong.
It's pretty apparent, all the dumb ****s who can't say more than "triple double" are voting for westbrook, whereas anyone with any semblance of advanced stats and historical knowledge of the vote is going Kawhi or Harden. People like Zach Lowe choosing Kawhi, because he doesn't want to piss anyone off. Harden would fare better if the votes were still private. The crowds won't hate a writer for voting to fan favourites like Kawhi or Westbrook. Having a ballot like Harden Kawhi Lebron Westbrook would have the fans calling for that writers head on a pike. Westbrook has got it. I lost 50 bucks on this, sucks, but as long as we smash the thunder who gives a ****. Finals MVP> MVP. Get it done!
The thing that really pisses me off about this is the media moving the goalposts for the award. 2015: Harden has the stats but didnt win enough. 2017: Harden won enough but doesnt have the stats (Even though hes averaging one more assist and only 2 less rebounds).
Just face it. Harden's not going to win and he was never going to. The media hates his style of play and are obsessed with WB's triple double and narrative of being burned by KD. It's a lose-lose situation for Harden. Even if he were to win, everyone would complain about how WB got robbed.
The MOST asinine comment in the MVP debate is Wilbon giving positive spin on Westbrook after losing to the Suns, the 2nd worst team in the league, and propping up Westbrook for "going to a practice court after his shytty game, that shows he is MVP." Just garbage. Laughable.
The ESPN TV media people echo chamber is really going to hurt Harden. Everyone has their opinions, but I am convinced Harden had the lead in this MVP race. The Washington Post straw poll is one indicator. The way the media reacted on Monday, March 27th (the day after Rockets beat OKC taking a 3-1 season series) you could see the media concede on Westbrook. You saw it on ESPN's TheSix. And it was more than obvious at this time Westbrook was going to average a triple double for the season. But that VERY NIGHT, the "Dallas game" happened. And then the "Orlando game" happened. And then the "Denver game" happened. And it gave ESPN a BIG EXCUSE to rev up the Westbrook Narrative and push it. "Teflon Russ" didn't even get phased in losing to the 2nd worst team in the NBA, Suns. He just went to a practice court after his crappy night and "showed he is a real MVP because he wants to improve his game!!!!!!!!" There are writers that said they had Harden in the middle of the season but switched to Westbrook. Isola, Wilbon, Broussard, Stein are some that come to mind and have said as much. I am sure there are others. Harden is not going to be able to overcome that ESPN TV media onslaught.
