Who is your MVP?

[ifmanis5]

Great race with a bunch of legit candidates this year. I can't choose between Curry and Harden. Either one would be a good choice but I'm not even sold on either being ahead of Davis or Westbrook as having a better year. I'm voting Curry but I admit this is kind of a guess. What say you?

 

[ifmanis5]

Just realized I didn't include any of the Atlanta guys. They sort of cancel each other out a bit in terms of individual achievement.
 
Also not on the list- Shavlik Randolph.

 

[ilol@u]

I think James Harden wins it. Like the poster above said, having Patrick Beverly and Dwight Howard (2 of your 5 starters) out for a long period of time and carrying your team to a #2 seed in the packed West is impressive. 

 

[ifmanis5]

FYI the PER stat, which has been changed to the ESPN stat (massive eyeroll), has Westbrook, Davis, Harden as 1-2-3. LINK: http://espn.go.com/nba/gameleaders
Westbrook also has 2 of the best 4 games of the year. LINK: http://espn.go.com/nba/gameleaders

 

[ifmanis5]

I added Tim Duncan. Deserves some consideration.

 

[The Social Chair]

Another interesting debate will be guards on the NBA first team. Harden and Curry for me.

 

[ivanvamp]

I've seen enough of Harden to see - and I think I remember reading an article that backs this up with the new advanced defensive metrics - that he plays virtually no defense whatsoever.  
 
(see:  http://regressing.deadspin.com/chart-of-james-hardens-defense-looks-just-as-bad-as-you-1687812356 )
 
So when you have a guy that basically is awful - among the worst in the league, really - at defense, that's half the game where he's actually hurting the Rockets.  
 
Yes, he's a big, big time scorer.  But when you turn the guy you're guarding into James Harden on the other end (a bit of an exaggeration, but still), you can't be the MVP.
 
I still think LeBron.  Does it on both ends of the court.  Most imposing player in basketball.  Does everything well.  He's still the king.

 

[Kliq]

That link doesn't work for me, and while Harden's matadore-like defense has been well-documented in the past, most people agree that he has given more effort on defense to the point that he is a mediocre defender. LeBron is still the best overall player in the NBA, but IDK if someone that just randomly took two weeks off should be considered ahead of players having dominant statistical seasons like Curry and Harden.

 

[Devizier]

Yeah, Lebron coasting during the regular season should DQ him from the MVP.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I am partial to Curry obviously and I think there is a case for Harden.  However as HRB point out in the gamethread, Curry's brilliance helps the performance of his teammates.  Kliq points out that Curry doesn't need to score a lot of points for the Warriors to win whereas Harden almost certainly does - and I agree completely.  The MVP is really just a popularity contest but if you want to talk about most valuable, you simply need to look at the guys who play both ends of the floor as hard as they can and make those around them better.    Once you frame it that way, its pretty clear that Curry is more valuable than Harden.

 

[Tony C]

it's pretty much of a 1A/1B sort of thing...but Curry seems to be the choice, and can't argue with that. I will disagree with Ivanvamp a bit in that last year Harden played no defense -- he's actually been quite good this season.

 

[Kooz]

Curry. The Warriors maks a major jump and bag 65+ wins, and Curry gets a huge amount of the credit. 

 

[Kliq]

Who has assisted more corner threes this season, Harden or Curry?

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Who has assisted more corner threes this season, Harden or Curry?

Perhaps you have the stat but I searched and couldn't find it (I suspect others here have it handy), though I did find this page which is fantastic.  I might get lost for hours before the playoffs...
 
In any event, its pretty clear that Curry looked to pass the ball a lot more than Harden this season.  Harden isn't quite the event horizon that, say, vintage Jamal Crawford is but he clearly isn't looking to get his teammates involved.  Westbrook, for all his hero ball credentials, is a better at sharing than his old running mate.
 
That said, when you compare the players Curry has around him - like, say Klay Thompson who scored 42 points on 15-21 shooting tonight - its pretty clear that he has much better options than Harden so its no wonder that James decides to do it all himself.  

 

[radsoxfan]

Seems like you're pretty significantly underestimating Harden. He's averaging 7 assists a game (Curry is at 7.7). Hardens assist rate is the highest of his career at 34% (Curry is at 38%). And as you mentioned, Curry has far better teammates.

I don't think I'd vote Harden either over Curry, but you're glossing ever the entire reason he is in the conversation. He does everything for that team, not just score.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Seems like you're pretty significantly underestimating Harden. He's averaging 7 assists a game (Curry is at 7.7). Hardens assist rate is the highest of his career at 34% (Curry is at 38%). And as you mentioned, Curry has far better teammates.

I don't think I'd vote Harden either over Curry, but you're glossing ever the entire reason he is in the conversation. He does everything for that team, not just score.

 
Well, my intention wasn't to underestimate Harden.  I think the vote will go either way and if its Harden I won't be shocked.  I agree he does everything for the Rockets and its entirely possible that he would have higher assist stats were he surrounded with the same type of talent as Curry.    However its a fact that he doesn't distribute the ball as often or as effectively as Curry and not all of that can be chalked up to his supporting cast.    I would argue if that were the case, guys like Westbrook and even Ty Lawson wouldn't have the assist numbers they are currently putting up.    Which leads to the fact that Westbrook should still be in the conversation.

 

[radsoxfan]

 
Well, my intention wasn't to underestimate Harden.  I think the vote will go either way and if its Harden I won't be shocked.  I agree he does everything for the Rockets and its entirely possible that he would have higher assist stats were he surrounded with the same type of talent as Curry.    However its a fact that he doesn't distribute the ball as often or as effectively as Curry and not all of that can be chalked up to his supporting cast.    I would argue if that were the case, guys like Westbrook and even Ty Lawson wouldn't have the assist numbers they are currently putting up.    Which leads to the fact that Westbrook should still be in the conversation.

Your post reads like Harden doesn't pass.

"Harden clearly isn't trying to get his teammates involved".

But he averages 7 assists a game, basically the same as Curry. And WAY above average for a shooting guard (or even a "point shooting guard"). If anything his passing is a strength, so I think you're looking at Harden in entirely the wrong light.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I am actually shocked that SamRayNot hasn't bumped this or started a new thread.

Add MVP to Steph Curry's increasingly impressive resume. Even if you preferred Harden, Davis, Westbrook, LeBron or even Paul, its hard to argue with this outcome.