Author Topic: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook  (Read 1344 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072

James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook

Lost in the Westbrook mania is the fact that the Bearded One is matching him stat for stat, all while shooting fewer shots and securing a far more impressive win total for his team.

By Berny Belvedere
April 12, 2017

 


James Harden, not Russell Westbrook, should be this year’s most valuable player.

You might wonder: How could anyone think this? How could anyone possibly deny the player whose stat line is the greatest in the modern NBA era? How could anyone possibly deny the player whose only statistical match, when measuring the top three categories — points, rebounds, and assists — is Oscar Robertson, the man who averaged a triple-double across an entire season? How could anyone possibly deny the player who has single-handedly guided a mediocre team through the raging, broiling Western Conference crucible and into the playoffs?

There is no denying that Westbrook has had a breathtakingly special season. Here’s the problem: all of the above is true of Harden as well. Lost in the Westbrook mania is the fact that the Bearded One is matching him stat for stat, all while shooting fewer shots, requiring fewer overall possessions, and securing a far more impressive win total for his team.

James Harden Took an Average Team Platinum

This last point is really important. Harden’s Houston Rockets have a higher winning percentage than every single team in the Eastern Conference, including LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the conference-leading Boston Celtics. The Rockets have the third-best record in the league, behind only the San Antonio Spurs, whose undying excellence is Patriots-esque, and the Golden State Warriors, who during the All-Star Game had four players on the court at one time and just last year broke the single-season record for most wins of all time.

The Spurs have Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the irascible genius Gregg Popovich. The Warriors have Steph Curry, who has won the MVP the last two years, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

The Rockets have…James Harden. Yet the Rockets have just two more losses than the Cavs did last year. Why is that significant? The Cavs finished first place in the East last year, and went on to win the NBA title. Who do the Cavs have? LeBron, obviously and most prominently, but also All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

At the start of the season, Vegas gave the Rockets the same odds to win the NBA title that they gave the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans. These are two teams who have fallen far short of even making the postseason, and despite sharing multiple stars between them, fell more than 20 wins shy of matching the Rockets’ win total.

I’m not arguing that Vegas dramatically undervalued the Rockets. On the contrary, Vegas — and basketball pundits more generally — appraised them more or less accurately. That’s what’s so earth-shattering about Harden’s season. He’s taken an average team — their other best players are Eric Gordon, Lou Williams, Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley, and Clint Capela — and elevated them to inconceivably lofty heights, record-wise.

What’s likelier: That every single one of these players is having a career year? Or that Harden’s offensive genius is significantly contributing to their stellar play? Typically, it’s Harden’s slashing prowess that leads to kick-out open threes. He does this better than anyone in the league. But notice on this play Harden’s ability to have the entire defense collapse in on him, allowing him to choose from among several options the likeliest way for the Rockets to score:

(Video at Link)

Positionally, Westbrook has guided the Oklahoma City Thunder to no special place. The Thunder will go into the postseason as the West’s sixth seed, which is in the bottom half of the conference. They’ve got the tenth best record in the league overall, are 16th in offensive efficiency, and 11th in defensive efficiency. This alone would make Westbrook an unprecedented selection. Let’s take a look at the last three decades of MVP winners.

Why Team Success Matters to Earning MVP





One of the biggest obstacles to seeing Westbrook as this year’s most valuable player is that winning is a significant criterion. The award is often wrongly construed as an individual accolade — the word “player” is singular, of course. But the word “value” is also there, and MVP voting has considered team success precisely because winning is seen as one of the highest functions of value. As an award that ostensibly measures value, the reasonable assumption built into the history of NBA MVP voting is that value ought to be partially defined by team success. Otherwise what good are all the individual stats doing? What value is being generated by the stats padding?

There is yet another reason team success is built into our conception of value. It is far easier for a superstar to stand out, stats-wise, on a less successful team.

Consider a hypothetical: take any superstar in the league — LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, etc. — and place them on a D-League team. Now promote that D-League team to play in the NBA.

Here’s what will happen: the superstar will destroy all statistical categories on his way to missing the playoffs. Should such a player be awarded the MVP based on his raw numbers? Historically, at least, MVP voting has construed winning as a necessary condition for earning the award.

Neither Harden nor Westbrook have very good supporting casts. Yet Westbrook has decided to shoot, on average, five more shots per game than Harden. Since Harden’s shooting percentage (.438) is slightly better than Westbrook’s (.426), and since Harden takes more three-pointers and gets to the free-throw line more often, if Harden were to chuck up five more shots each night, he would have more points per game than Westbrook.

It’s the Triple-Doubles Harden Has to Overcome

Westbrook’s numbers are undeniably sensational. He’s averaging 31.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game. This means he will end the season averaging a triple-double, a feat only accomplished by one other player (Oscar Robertson in 1961–1962). LeBron James — the consummate all-around player — has 55 triple-doubles throughout his 13-year career. Westbrook just got his 42nd of the season. What’s mind-boggling about these numbers is his triple-doubles have not been of the 15–10–10 variety — he’s averaging nearly 32 points per game while still getting 10 and 10.

To put this in perspective, Derrick Rose, a player whose pre-injury profile was similar to Westbrook’s, won the MVP award in 2011 by averaging 25 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. Westbrook’s numbers obliterate these.

The problem, once again, is that Harden’s numbers do too. Here’s his stat line: 29.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game.

The only reason Harden is not the runaway MVP is because Westbrook is averaging a triple-double for the season.

Prior to the season, NBA.com’s David Aldridge suggested that if Harden could register 26 points per game and 9 assists per game on a team that makes the playoffs, this should generate “strong MVP consideration.” Harden has spectacularly exceeded each one of these metrics. He is getting basically 30 per game, leading the league in assists at more than 11 per game, and his team has the third-best record in the entire league.

The only reason he is not the runaway MVP is because Westbrook is averaging a triple-double for the season. I won’t argue that the triple-double is arbitrary, but a strong case can be made for seeing it as somewhat misleading.

One of these two players is averaging a triple-double and the other is not. Upon first glance, this can suggest that Westbrook’s season is a dazzling, history-defying spectacle, whereas Harden’s season is condemned to the milder, more mundane sort of excellence no one writes paeans about.

But it only seems this way when we use this binary category — the triple-double — as our main evaluative grid. When we look purely at the numbers, here’s the reality: Harden is getting two fewer rebounds per game, but one more assist per game. Is that really the sort of discrepancy that warrants seeing one of the two as having achieved something historic while the other must settle for coming across as a garden-variety MVP candidate?

Let’s Bring In Some More Advanced Analytics


If the triple-double is clouding our judgment, we need the purifying work of statistics to disabuse us of this error. The Rockets, led by General Manager Daryl Morey, are perhaps the NBA team most attuned to advanced analytics for guiding franchise decision-making. Here are some aspects to Harden’s game they would like NBA viewers to consider:


<..snip..>

http://thefederalist.com/2017/04/12/james-harden-years-mvp-not-russell-westbrook/

No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2017, 04:53:22 pm »
   Of course, most of you know I'm very BIAS about this, GO ROCKETS, beat them Spurts and that Evil Genius Popovich in the second round.

No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline jmyrlefuller

  • J. Myrle Fuller
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,326
  • Gender: Male
  • Realistic nihilist
    • Fullervision
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2017, 12:26:02 am »
MVP or not, James Harden still has the Best Beard in SportsTM.

New profile picture in honor of Public Domain Day 2024

Offline goatprairie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,928
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2017, 02:59:15 am »
While Westbrook obviously is making a tremendous impact, the fact is his stats are somewhat or a lot stilted. It has been revealed that the team is deliberately ordering its big men to let WB get many uncontested rebounds. Uncontested rebounds are rebounds where no opp. player is within five feet of the ball.
Only about two of WB's 11 rebs per game are contested.  Not only do OKC bigs let WB take easy boards away from them, on fts. they box out their men and let WB sail in for any missed fts. 
And WB is the worst defender in the league at guarding his man on three point shots.  Only two CENTERS!!! rival him for not guarding their man on threes. WB leaves his man at the first opportunity to hunt for rebounds.  The players he is guarding shoot higher pcts. against OKC than any other team in the league.
Another thing to bring up is that because WB is getting many rebounds 90 feet from the basket instead of getting an outlet pass from one of his bigs, he's probably costing the his team pts.
He has taken almost 400 more shots than the next closest shot taker in the league. He is taking seven threes a game while only shooting 34%. He has a teammate, starter Victor Oladipo, who is shooting 38% but who takes two less threes a game than WB.
Teams have never been able to control WB who always plays semi out of control.
In short, WB is a very selfish player.
Two superstars (Durant, Harden) and one very good player (Ibaka) have left OKC rather than play with a ballhog, selfish hotdog who is WB.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2017, 09:15:04 pm »
   WestBrick was definitely the MVP last night, for the Rockets.
No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline goatprairie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,928
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2017, 03:42:59 am »
   WestBrick was definitely the MVP last night, for the Rockets.
I get on some basketball boards, and a number of people on them just can't accept any criticism of their hero, Russell Westbrook.
Now, obviously he makes more a positive impact than a negative one, but his style of play needs improvement. Of course, OKC having lost Harden, Durant, and Ibaka don't want to lost another impact player. So they let WB do anything he wants and force the other players to allow WB to pad his stats at their expense. That is the prime definition of a selfish ballplayer.
So I said unless OKC wins the title playing this way, WB's style of play is open for criticism.....like all ballplayers.
Well, I was informed that I'm a HATER!!! and just don't understand WB's greatness.
I responded by acknowledging he does a lot of positve things, and OKC would be a dismal team without him.
But that is beside the point. Because of his stat-padding,  avoidance of playing defense, and taking too many bad shots OKC simply is not playing as well as they could be.
But WB's a**-kissing fans cannot stand any criticism of him...their hero is perfect.
I think not. He's a ballhogging, selfish hotdog. That does not mean I think he's a bad player, but I just that he's far from perfect. And I really can't stand him. Now I know why Durant left OKC.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2017, 04:08:40 am »
   WTF??????
   That was a tough game, like the 2 before the OKC westbrick dominated pretty much throughout the game, but we won the first 2 and we'll win the next 2 and get ready for the Spurts.
   

No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline goatprairie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,928
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2017, 02:25:41 pm »
   WTF??????
   That was a tough game, like the 2 before the OKC westbrick dominated pretty much throughout the game, but we won the first 2 and we'll win the next 2 and get ready for the Spurts.
   

The comments on the sports forum I frequent from WB fanboys previous to this game were along the lines that WB had to take all the (mostly bad) shots he was taking because the rest of the team is so awful.
They say this despite the fact that OKC had one of the best defenses in the league (no thanks to WB) and some pretty decent ballplayers who can score. WB scored 32 last night, but his teammates scored 83. He is still shooting under 40% for this series. 
One positive thing in WB's favor last night was he only took one three point shot and mostly avoided the wild shots he usually takes in close situations.  So maybe a little criticism is finally sinking in on him.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2017, 02:29:13 pm by goatprairie »

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2017, 08:48:17 pm »
Westbrick will complete the sweep of the Rockets tonight.

 4-0 in triple doubles.

 Unfortunately for him, the Rockets will outscore the Thunder in regular points, as we have 3 of the 4 games so far and move on to the next round.
 
  We get to rest up for the Spurts, who are struggling against Memphis.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 08:49:03 pm by corbe »
No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2017, 02:46:12 am »
   Hot Dam, what a game, we get some rest for the second round with the Spurs, I'm afraid of Curry and GSW, they knocked us out last year, those NW teams are not to be taken lightly ask @Night Hides Not
No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.

Offline goatprairie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,928
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2017, 03:38:57 pm »
   Hot Dam, what a game, we get some rest for the second round with the Spurs, I'm afraid of Curry and GSW, they knocked us out last year, those NW teams are not to be taken lightly ask @Night Hides Not
Well good luck. My Bucks are in trouble now. Without Parker the team just doesn't have enough scoring to beat Toronto...or any other team in the playoffs for that matter.
Furthermore, I hope Houston does well so I can see one my homegrown (Wisconsin) players, Dekker, in the playoffs.

Offline corbe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 38,072
Re: James Harden Should Be This Year’s MVP, Not Russell Westbrook
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2017, 04:59:43 am »

Spurs vs. Rockets: Playoff Schedule, Start Date & Regular Season Recap

Published 12:19 am EDT, April 28, 2017  Updated 12:30 am EDT, April 28, 2017  Comment     By Tim Keeney 


Get ready for a Texas-sized playoff matchup. After disposing of the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 on Thursday night, the San Antonio Spurs set up a Western Conference semifinal meeting with the Houston Rockets.

Here’s everything we know so far about the seven-game series, as well as a look back at what they did during the regular season:


Spurs vs. Rockets Playoff Schedule

Dates and times courtesy of the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen

Game 1, Monday, May 1: Rockets at Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET
 Game 2, Wednesday, May 3: Rockets at Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET
 Game 3, Friday, May 5: Spurs at Rockets, 9:30 p.m. ET
 Game 4, Sunday, May 7: Spurs at Rockets, Time TBD
 Game 5*, Tuesday, May 9: Rockets at Spurs, Time TBD
 Game 6*, Thursday, May 11: Spurs at Rockets, Time TBD
 Game 7*, Sunday, May 14: Rockets at Spurs, Time TBD


Spurs vs. Rockets Regular Season Recap


San Antonio took three of four during the regular season, but every contest was tight. They played twice in early November, with the Rockets winning the first, 101-99, and the Spurs getting revenge, 106-100, just three days later.

The next matchup came in December, with the Spurs winning by two thanks to a late three-pointer from Patty Mills. And in early March, they had a battle that was once again decided by two points, with Kawhi Leonard pouring in 39 points to lead San Antonio to a 112-110 victory.

In those four games, James Harden averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 assists and 9.0 rebounds per contest, but the Rockets’ struggles from beyond the three-point arc proved too much to overcome. Houston, which led the NBA in three-pointers made per game (14.4) during the season, shot an anemic 28.4 percent from deep and hit just 9.6 threes per game gainst the Spurs.

On the other end, Leonard was nearly unstoppable, averaging 28.5 points with a 63.4 true-shooting percentage.

Ultimately, though, it was four games, zero decided by more than six points, and an average margin of victory of three points. This one could easily go seven, and even if doesn’t, it’s likely going to be highly entertaining along the way.


 Tim Keeney is a sports contributor for Heavy. He has previously worked for Rivals, StatSheet and Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @t_keen

http://heavy.com/sports/2017/04/rockets-vs-spurs-schedule-nba-playoffs-western-conference-semifinals-date-times-tv-head-to-head/
No government in the 12,000 years of modern mankind history has led its people into anything but the history books with a simple lesson, don't let this happen to you.