Don't get me wrong, the Bearded One is who I think should be the MVP of the NBA this season. That said, is too much importance being placed on that honor?
Many still believe that Harden should have won a couple years ago; and I read that the guy who beat him for it that year is endorsing him for it this year.
Bottom line is that at the end of the day, as much as I want Harden to win, I would not have a problem with Westbrook or Kawhi getting the vote. I do not think that Isaiah Thomas is on the level of those three; and no matter how great LeBron may be, I can't give it to him just for the scheduled days off.
I think that there is going to be some voter backlash across the board just because so many Rockets will be heavy favorites in several categories. One could make the argument that they could be awarded MVP, Coach of the Year, 6th Man of the Year and Executive of the Year and it would be hard to argue against it.
If Harden wins the MVP (as I believe he should) then that is fantastic. If he does not then I hope that his attitude is similar to one Hakeem Olajuwon back in the 94/95 playoffs where he went out and made his case against the person who did win the award!
What I am seeing this season is 4 guys with legit arguments, and one extremely strong dark horse candidate. What I could see happening is Harden & Westbrook splitting a lot of first place votes only to see Kawhi or LeBron win with a majority of second place votes.
Whatever happens we have, as Rockets fans, been treated to a truly special season of basketball by the Beard!
Are we making too much of the MVP race?
Are we making too much of the MVP race?
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Mr. E
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Are we making too much of the MVP race?
"A fanatic is one who can't change their mind and won't change the subject."
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Re: Are we making too much of the MVP race?
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TMU
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Re: Are we making too much of the MVP race?
I think the MVP award is a misnomer because when you consider the terms "most valuable", I don't think that the most valuable player is necessarily the best player from one of the better teams in a particular season. Basketball is a team sport and a team's success isn't based on one individual. However, historically the award has always been given based on one's team success, particularly if you are the best player coming from the top 2-3 seed in either conference (very few exceptions to this rule, IIRC Moses Malone and another player that I can't remember off the top of my head).
With the development of advanced metrics such as WS, WS/48, VORP and BMP, etc, we now have metrics that are more objective in identifying the best and most valuable players from each season. Utilizing these metrics retrospectively, we now realize that the award hasn't always been given to the "most valuable" player (e.g.: Duncan in '03 vs. McGrady, Kobe in '08 vs. Chris Paul). But now that these metrics have become more prevalent, it will be interesting to see if the voters will continue to see these metrics as secondary to team success and reconsider how they award the MVP. However at the same time, I also think that it is equally important to preserve and uphold the historic context of the MVP award. Otherwise, the award loses it's true meaning.
This year is particularly difficult, but I think it's going to be a very close race between Harden and Westbrook. Westbrook has demonstrated great individual brilliance and contrary to the notion that he's putting up garbage stats, he's actually leading the league in BMP and VORP (though the 2 metrics are closely correlated). The number of triple doubles also helps his case in the eye of many casual NBA fans, but certainly impressive nonetheless. The case for Harden is that he's drastically improved not only as a player (compared to last year) but has also elevated Rocket's offense, overcoming the infamous preseason prediction of "Rockets: a mere lottery team". But most importantly, the biggest case for Harden is that he fits the traditional context of how the MVP award has been given for many years, and certainly it would be unfair to take that away from him this year solely because we have more advanced metrics.
As a basketball fan, I personally would like to see both Harden and Westbrook, each win an award without splitting the MVP award - which to me would be absolutely ridiculous. I think one solution is to create the "Offensive Player of the Year". The MVP award can remain as a misnomer and be given to the best player from a top 2-3 seed team (so for this year it will be James Harden), and then you have the Offensive Player of the Year, which goes to Russell Westbrook for his exceptional individual offensive production.
With the development of advanced metrics such as WS, WS/48, VORP and BMP, etc, we now have metrics that are more objective in identifying the best and most valuable players from each season. Utilizing these metrics retrospectively, we now realize that the award hasn't always been given to the "most valuable" player (e.g.: Duncan in '03 vs. McGrady, Kobe in '08 vs. Chris Paul). But now that these metrics have become more prevalent, it will be interesting to see if the voters will continue to see these metrics as secondary to team success and reconsider how they award the MVP. However at the same time, I also think that it is equally important to preserve and uphold the historic context of the MVP award. Otherwise, the award loses it's true meaning.
This year is particularly difficult, but I think it's going to be a very close race between Harden and Westbrook. Westbrook has demonstrated great individual brilliance and contrary to the notion that he's putting up garbage stats, he's actually leading the league in BMP and VORP (though the 2 metrics are closely correlated). The number of triple doubles also helps his case in the eye of many casual NBA fans, but certainly impressive nonetheless. The case for Harden is that he's drastically improved not only as a player (compared to last year) but has also elevated Rocket's offense, overcoming the infamous preseason prediction of "Rockets: a mere lottery team". But most importantly, the biggest case for Harden is that he fits the traditional context of how the MVP award has been given for many years, and certainly it would be unfair to take that away from him this year solely because we have more advanced metrics.
As a basketball fan, I personally would like to see both Harden and Westbrook, each win an award without splitting the MVP award - which to me would be absolutely ridiculous. I think one solution is to create the "Offensive Player of the Year". The MVP award can remain as a misnomer and be given to the best player from a top 2-3 seed team (so for this year it will be James Harden), and then you have the Offensive Player of the Year, which goes to Russell Westbrook for his exceptional individual offensive production.
Re: Are we making too much of the MVP race?
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inquisitive
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Re: Are we making too much of the MVP race?
Mr. E wrote:Don't get me wrong, the Bearded One is who I think should be the MVP of the NBA this season. That said, is too much importance being placed on that honor?
Many still believe that Harden should have won a couple years ago; and I read that the guy who beat him for it that year is endorsing him for it this year.
Bottom line is that at the end of the day, as much as I want Harden to win, I would not have a problem with Westbrook or Kawhi getting the vote. I do not think that Isaiah Thomas is on the level of those three; and no matter how great LeBron may be, I can't give it to him just for the scheduled days off.
I think that there is going to be some voter backlash across the board just because so many Rockets will be heavy favorites in several categories. One could make the argument that they could be awarded MVP, Coach of the Year, 6th Man of the Year and Executive of the Year and it would be hard to argue against it.
If Harden wins the MVP (as I believe he should) then that is fantastic. If he does not then I hope that his attitude is similar to one Hakeem Olajuwon back in the 94/95 playoffs where he went out and made his case against the person who did win the award!
What I am seeing this season is 4 guys with legit arguments, and one extremely strong dark horse candidate. What I could see happening is Harden & Westbrook splitting a lot of first place votes only to see Kawhi or LeBron win with a majority of second place votes.
Whatever happens we have, as Rockets fans, been treated to a truly special season of basketball by the Beard!
pop giving kawhi days off should eliminate him too.