James Harden: Wins should impact MVP voting the most

With the exception of lockout seasons, the National Basketball Association has stuck to an 82-game schedule since 1967-68.

Anderson’s opinion may be in the minority – Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook is considered the favorite to take home the MVP hardware after breaking Oscar Robertson’s 55-year-old record with his 42nd triple-double Sunday – but nobody will convince Anderson or Harden’s other teammates they’re wrong.

The race for MVP honors in the National Basketball Association has narrowed to five contenders – Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Houston’s James Harden, Cleveland’s LeBron James, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Golden State’s Steph Curry.

Indeed, D’Antoni referred to Harden’s new position as “points” guard.

I’d go as far as saying that if Harden were having the season he’s now enjoying during any year other than this one, he’d be considered the runaway candidate for Most Valuable Player.

“I think that’s the most important thing”. But if we’re talking about which candidate has pushed his team to the most unexpected heights and placed it in the closest proximity to title contention, Harden wins this MVP going away. His statistics are more than impressive, and his team has a legitimate chance at another championship. His Rockets have emerged this season as one of the league’s most risky teams, and they’re a legitimate threat to challenge the Spurs and Warriors for the Western Conference title.

To win this series the Thunder have to make this a defensive battle; they simply can’t outscore Houston. It’s not like the Thunder are out of playoff contention.

The two will meet this weekend in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs.

Rockets guard James Harden recorded his 21st triple-double in Sunday’s game against the Kings.

The Harden fanatics in their “Fear the Beard” get-ups believe the Rockets guard should beat out Westbrook because winning should be the ultimate criteria.

But it really does blow my mind to see fans and media pundits alike blow off the significance of Westbrook’s historic season.

Westbrook’s triple-double record-setting season is rather jaw-dropping.

The win kept the Clippers (50-31) tied with the Utah Jazz, who earned a 105-99 win over the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. It’s evident that Westbrook’s valiant efforts have benefited his team.

The last thing the Thunder want to do is disrupt the incredible flow Westbrook has sustained all season. Now, this is concerning for a multitude of reasons. With the best players on the floor instead of wearing their nicest street clothes, the level of competition and parity in the would increase-similar to how it reigns in the shorter 16-game National Football League season.

The Thunder, on the other hand, are a completely different story. They are losing to subpar teams such as the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons, who have no business beating a powerhouse organization like the Cavaliers. But is he any better than Victor Oladipo, who has a better PER and an edge in Win Shares? If chasing regular season accomplishments is the true definition of value, that’s fine, but consider this: No NBA player with at least 15 minutes per game has ever used more than the astronomical 41.8 percent of the Thunder’s possessions that Westbrook has used while on court this season. But like Russ always says and uses his hashtag and his motto: ‘Why not?’. “I know I’ve done enough”.

The six-time All-Star is also now in line to come away with the NBA’s scoring title. But James, Irving and Love are still all playing 35 plus minutes a game. The teams don’t share many similarities in their approach, with the Rockets wielding a more balanced attack led by MVP candidate, James Harden.