NBA.com’s Blogtable last week tossed around the idea of James Harden for MVP, a bandwagon I have been at the head of for the past two weeks. But as I’ve mentioned for some time, as with most things, there is something of a lag between the time when conventional wisdom has caught up with truth and reality. Take a look at one of the responses, for instance:
Seriously? Just because a guy looks into a camera and says something preposterous we don’t have to legitimize it here. He could win the scoring title this season and that still won’t make him the MVP, not on my ballot. My MVP has to impact the game in more than just on facet. He’s an offensive juggernaut, an absolute scoring machine. I’m a huge fan of that part of his game. But he’s deficient on the other end to the point that it takes away from his overall value. The MVP of the league has to be a more complete player than Harden is right now.
Harden, of course, as those of us who have been watching him night in and night out can attest, has stepped it up considerably on defense, this season, a big reason why the team is off to such a stellar start. But it won’t matter unless the Rockets win enough games for people to actually…watch their games.
I don’t think an MVP bid is out of the question. He finished fifth last year amidst all of the negativity surrounding his play. If he continues scoring at his current rate, and the Rockets finish at the top of the standings, I’d give him as good a shot as anyone.
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