James Harden has been on a tear through the NBA all season long, and is the main reason Houston is #3 in the Western Conference. The Beard has continued his hot streak into March, resulting in a 9-4 record for Houston in the month. Harden is averaging 32ppg, as well as 12apg and 7rpg. That’s right in line with his season averages. Against OKC on Sunday, Harden was outplayed by fellow MVP frontrunner Russell Westbrook. Westbrook had 39 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds, while Harden had 22 points, 12 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Aside from the obvious argument that Westbrook is averaging a triple double for the season, and the counter argument that his team isn’t even in the top 5 in the conference, the one argument I believe is the most important is the supporting casts. Harden has Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, and Lou Williams surrounding him, giving him breathers, and so on throughout the course of each game. Westbrook basically plays with three teammates on the offensive end, since Andre Roberson is the teams small forward, and he is largely incompetent on that end of the court. His defense is what keeps him on the floor, but he is definitely a liability on offense. Harden can have an off game, and the Rockets still have a decent chance of winning, while the Thunder, if Westbrook has an off shooting night, will be subpar at best on the offensive end of the court. Westbrook has been on fire in recent days, capped off on Wednesday by a 57 point triple double against the Magic.
Harden had a terrible game the night before Westbrook went off, shooting 5-20 in a loss against the Durant-less Warriors. That’s the way it seems this MVP race has gone, and will keep going. One night, one of the two players will have an off night, and vice versa, and they will have a sort of tug of war for the award for the final 9 or so games left in the regular season. As a Rockets fan, I am biased towards Harden, but the only real argument I have for him is that his team has a better record, and that he has more assists. Harden is a bit more efficient but that’s because he’s allowed to be without much consequence for the result of any given game.
