James Harden, Russell Westbrook done talking about who’s MVP

“That’s the reason we’re in the position we’re in”, Harden said. That’s not a knock on him, Westbrook or Harden, but James is simply a once-in-a-generation talent. They’ve been unbelievable all year long.

Most expect either Harden or Westbrook to take home the MVP trophy on June 26 after both players had stellar regular seasons.

Although the Thunder certainly have the ability to cause a disruptive series, it won’t be on Sunday.

Some people would want to give it to the best player on the best possible team.

In three games with Beverley as his primary defender, Westbrook averaged 38.3 points per game on 44-percent shooting from the field while Harden averaged 20.5 points on 34-percent shooting in four games when Roberson was his primary defender. Tuesday night’s game was meaningless. The fourth was that 12 point win. Middling at best, the Rockets’ defensive rating came in at 106.4, good for 18th in the National Basketball Association and even with the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden are close. There is no real dominant team. However, that does not guarantee Houston a series win.

Even though Westbrook has emerged as the favorite to win the regular-season award, his team faces an uphill battle in the opening round of the playoffs. With such talented shooters out there, Houston just has to keep firing them up. Harden averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds a game- all career bests – in helping Houston to a 55-27 record.

It’s going to be hard for anybody that gets through there, because they’re in a hard conference with San Antonio, with the Clippers and, of course, the Golden State Warriors.

“The group of guys that we have, especially going into the playoffs – we’ve got to make sure we come ready to play, because we know they’re (Houston) going to be ready”, he said.

This is what they’ve lived on and this is what they should continue to live on.

“It’s so important to be able to control your emotions after a game, whether it’s a win or a loss”, Donovan stated. Is it Harden? Is it Westbrook? If you can limit them and make it all about Harden, you do it.

In short, there are going to be turnovers all over this series. And seeing how Beverley gets treated in Oklahoma City will be interesting anyway as he’s the man who knocked Westbrook from the playoffs a few years ago after running into him and causing a knee injury.

The Thunder went on to lose in five games to the Grizzlies in the second round. The question is whether Houston can corral it just a tiny bit. The MVP debate raged all season and reached a fever pitch in the final weeks.

The defending champions went 51-31 after a bad stretch of games to end the season. Oklahoma City, which led the National Basketball Association in rebounding in the regular season, was outrebounded 56-41. “They go out and perform”. That could be the difference in this series.

Jumpstarted by the trade deadline acquisitions of Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott from the Chicago Bulls, the Thunder finished the season 14-10 and should feel confident heading into the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. If the Thunder can take Game One on the road, it will get them a quarter of the way towards winning the series.

Again, this isn’t easy, but it must be the game-plan. Westbrook is the be-all, end-all for the Thunder. If he slips at all, they slip.

“He played a very, very good game”, Donavan said.