The weather app on my smartphone read 39 degrees this morning. It left me wondering: When is this going to change? This is the second straight year in New York that spring has been a rumor rather than a reality, and it can lead a person to convince oneself: This will never change.
Which brings me to my mindset on the MVP award.
For months, I have been telling myself that James Harden is going to win the MVP award. Every night, he carries his team. For a huge chunk of the season, he has done it without Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley. Now he is going to have to continue doing it without Donatas Montiejunas. Tonight, he has to try to do it against the San Antonio Spurs, who are tied with the Rockets and the Grizzlies in the win column but sit in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
This can’t stay this way forever, can it? Not just the weather in the 30s and 40s (the high yesterday was 42!), but the Spurs in the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff standings. Along with Harden frozen in the No. 1 spot in my cold, icy noggin.
We awake this Friday with Stephen Curry just having set an NBA record for 3-pointers in a single season with 276, four more than the 272 he made last season to set the record. He dropped 45 on the Blazers last night. His team is sitting head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA with 64 wins, five more than the Atlanta Hawks, and — more importantly — 11 more than the Houston Rockets, who could find themselves sitting in the same sixth spot that the Spurs currently occupy by the time the season comes to a conclusion on Wednesday night.
Well, Wednesday is also the night when I have to come to a conclusion on who I will vote for as Most Valuable Player. Wednesday also might mark the third or fourth day that the mercury flirts with 70 here in New York, where the trees are going to bloom about four weeks later than usual.
Yes, a lot is going to change in the next few days. My mind might be one of them. As recently as Wednesday, I was telling people that there was probably a 70 percent chance that Harden wins the MVP.
Now, I am thinking that number is more like 50 percent.
Harden and Curry are both worthy candidates. Harden’s scoring numbers are better, but Curry’s would be higher if he wasn’t sitting out so many fourth quarters of so many blowout wins. Harden gets it done night after night — and he does it on both ends of the floor. Curry gets it done so early game after game after game, it allows for an extra half-hour of shuteye night after night — especially when the ‘Dubs are playing at home.
I have six days to make up my mind: Curry or Harden. So today, I am asking for some guidance from my loyal readers.
Who is the more worthy candidate?
Vote below, and I will take your ballots and comments into consideration before hitting the send button on my official ballot after all 82 games are in the books.
(RELATED: MVP Rankings, Edition XIII: April Fool’s Edition)
Chris Sheridan, publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com, is an official MVP voter. Follow him on Twitter.
James harden should win he’s held his team up till the winning point
I never got the ‘most valuable to their team’ argument. Is this a blanket statement? Is Dirk Nowitzki an MVP candidate this year because he’s the most valuable player to his team? Should Kemba Walker or Ty Lawson be in the conversation as well for the same reason? Boogie Cousins? Tobias Harris? Come on…
To me the MVP award goes to someone who is so valuable that, without him, his team would not be as excellent as they are. Sometimes, true, a player’s individual achievements are so mind-breaking that they should win it even if their team is 6th in its conference – case in point: MJ in ’89. But Harden is no MJ.
Looking back and thinking about past MVPs in recent years, it’s clear to me that if a player is really amazing when playing for a top-3 team, then they should win it. It’s a bit different if you have mid-00s Pistons type of teams. You could take Billups or BWallace out of them and they might still be good. But take Curry out of an already excellent team (a team that also fields Bogut, Thompson, Iguodala), and that team ceases to be as intimidating as they are now.
The overwhelmingly best player of the overwhelmingly best team of the regular season must win it. Same as Garnett in 04, Nash in 05, Dirk in 07, Lebron in 09, Rose in 11. Anything else would be a mockery.
I think Curry wins the award. He’s on the best team by far. Despite sitting out multiple 4th quarters he has broke his own 3 point record. He’s top 6 in both scoring and assists. He has improved his defense. The award usually goes to the best player on the best team and right now that is Curry.
I don’t want to discredit Curry for carrying the Warriors from a good team to great team. This is really impressive.
For Harden’s case, he is single-handedly keeping the unhealthy Rockets in playoff contention. They manage to maintain the 3rd seed while riding at Harden’s back. I think this is more impressive.
I love Curry, he’s really cooking it up this season. He’s truly the best player on the best team but he’s not the MOST valuable player. Its Harden.
I think Curry has had a great year and the warriors have had an all time great season. But is the MVP award about the best player on the best team or is it about who is the “most valuable” to their team. What has changed for the warriors that made them so much better than they were last season? Curry’s production? His numbers are almost exactly the same as last season when the warriors finished 6th in the west at 51-31 and he garnered almost no consideration in the MVP race. Its not as if Curry went to this superstar level to propel his team to an all time great season this year. When will we start to give credit where credit is due as far as the warriors are concerned. The emergence of Draymond Green (probably most improved player this season) and the arrival of Steve Kerr to go along with great health are what completely elevated this team to another level. As for James Harden, lets cover his case. He is having a career year, his team was decimated in the offseason losing Parsons, Lin, and Asik. Losing out on Bosh. No one predicted the rocets to compete for a top 4 seed in the west this season given those circumstances. The opening night starting lineup has played just 2 games together all season. Dwight Howard gone for a majority of the season. Another starter done for the season in PG Patrick Beverley. Motiejunas lost for the season. Jones out 30+ games and the rockets just kept on winning even enough to improve on last seasons record where they were the 4th seed in the west. Now you have to ask yourself, this season, do you think the warriors make the playoffs if they lost curry opening night this season? Do the Rockets make it if they lost harden? Do you think the rockets would be as good if you flipped curry for harden? Are the warriors as good with Harden instead of Curry? If you step back and objectively look at the argument it comes back to my initial question, “is the MVP award about the best player on the best team or is it about who is the “most valuable” to their team.” James Harden is undeniably the most valuable player this season for his team.
Perfectly stated. And I couldn’t have said it better.
I’ve said all along myself, that the warriors had obvious changes and improvements (Kerr, Green, better health, etc.) contributing to their win increase. Why no one mentions this, is beyond me.
However, Harden has been the one main constant, and was only working problems and injuries.
Give it to JH if the Rockets win the divsion. If not, Curry should get it. I do think JH has earned it, but the Rockets are still battling and can end up a 5th or 6th seed and that would not warrant an MVP.
I truly believe Harden is doing more with less but when i think about Curry’s situation, he is also doing more but with more. Its harder to be in the mix of the MVP race when you have really good teammates. In Houston, Harden has all the shine to himself but in Golden State, Curry is sharing that shine to his what Harden fans called “superstars”. Its more harder to shine in Curry’s situation but he still outshined them all. Curry carried the same team from last year from good to the best this year and thats harder. The cherry on top here is, as of now we dont know what the seedings will be in 2-6 in the western conference and Golden State is sitting on top not worrying about anything because theyre already the best team with few games left.
Curry has put up numbers , maybe not as much scoring but with assists and steals. Curry is a much better defender than Harden. Even though the Rockets all haven’t been healthy, who is gonna stop Harden from scoring? Curry has other players he passes it around to, and that’s why he should win the mvp
Its so close but the Beard should win it. He has done more with less.