2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread

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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1821 » by Johnny Firpo » Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:13 am

jangles86 wrote:John Wall will have to be considered if Wizards continue this pace and finish 2nd in the east.


The Raptors - a vastly better and deeper team - has a five game lead on you, even after today. They will not play this abysmal for long. Even if it happens though, Wall has no case over Harden, Westbrook, or even Durant.
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Re: RE: Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1822 » by michaelm » Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:42 am

bondom34 wrote:
michaelm wrote:
bondom34 wrote:Because he has no narrative for him. They're massive title favorites expected to run over the league, they're doing that. He's not winning it, zero chance.

Sure, I don't think he would get MVP even if GSW won 76 games for exactly that reason, but misinterpreted your argument as being that GSW would need to win 74 for KD to deserve the award because GSW won 73 last year; whether or not he could possibly deserve the award was a question I thought, perhaps wrongly, had been raised by a previous poster. I think it is quite likely he will be the best regular season player in the NBA this season, rather than that he will be given the actual MVP award.

To be honest, I'm not sure. I wouldn't say he deserves it either way, as what he's doing isn't more valuable than what others are.

In which case the likes of Giannis or Embiid should be more prominent in discussions.

I don't really care who gets it to be honest, historically it has been narrative dependent as you put it and not infrequently gone to neither the best player nor the biggest difference maker, but would have no problem with Harden or Westbrook being given the award should they continue their form thus far this season.
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Re: RE: Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1823 » by bondom34 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:45 am

michaelm wrote:
bondom34 wrote:
michaelm wrote:Sure, I don't think he would get MVP even if GSW won 76 games for exactly that reason, but misinterpreted your argument as being that GSW would need to win 74 for KD to deserve the award because GSW won 73 last year; whether or not he could possibly deserve the award was a question I thought, perhaps wrongly, had been raised by a previous poster. I think it is quite likely he will be the best regular season player in the NBA this season, rather than that he will be given the actual MVP award.

To be honest, I'm not sure. I wouldn't say he deserves it either way, as what he's doing isn't more valuable than what others are.

In which case the likes of Giannis or Embiid should be more prominent in discussions.

I don't really care who gets it to be honest, historically it has not infrequently gone to neither the best player nor the biggest difference maker, but would have no problem with Harden or Westbrook being given the award should they continue their form thus far this season.

I think Giannis should be somewhere in the discussion. Embiid's doing well, but on a minutes restriction. And missing games. I'd call them very valuable.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1824 » by scrabbarista » Sat Jan 21, 2017 2:06 pm

On my "ballot," Durant squeaked ahead of Harden with this game. Not because I'm a prisoner of the moment, but because they're now tied in WS and Durant holds both tiebreakers in PER and team record.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1825 » by Gibson22 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 3:22 pm

Damn, now KD is very close. Still harden first, but very very close. LBJ and Rw close to kd. This performance hurts James harden a lot.
Now the cavs have an easy schedule for the next 35 days, after the game vs the spurs tonight. We'll see.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1826 » by PizzaSteve » Sat Jan 21, 2017 6:19 pm

I see a strong case for all 4.

For me:
1 Harden: significantly improved game (defense and passing). Great stats. Team performing top 4 level. Team much worse when he rests
2 KD: best player on best team. Improved game (defense). Excellent stats. Superior consistentcy in effort and performance
3 LBJ: superior leadership. Most dominant player, best all around player, team performing at top 4 level. Team play drops significantly when he rests
4 RW: stats, leadership, high entertainment value - fan interest in 3D record as novelty
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Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1827 » by K_chile22 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:12 pm

Ballerhogger wrote:
K_chile22 wrote:
Ballerhogger wrote:Too add this harden not doing any favors for himself right now. 17 pts. .. not enough for mvp. These big match ups always play factor into these awards.

Yes, I'm sure the voters will go 'remember that time Harden scored an efficient 17, with 11 assists agaisnt a vastly better team in the middle of January? Definitely not MVP'

This was shalacking it wasn't even close. So yes they will remember these types of games. We will see where rockets end up and Harden performance and KD performances winds up being after the ASB.

I would argue that the 2 overtime win in oracle will stick in voters minds more than a blowout, because blowouts aren't particularly memorable, and Harden had a 29 point triple double in that game
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1828 » by GSP » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:53 pm

FTR basketball reference basically has it as a two man race b/w Harden and Kd right now

http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/mvp.cgi
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1829 » by inquisitive » Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:21 am

Kawhi keeps this up and he is in the thick of things, but the MVP is RW's to lose. I just don't see these voters voting for KD because he went to the best team. His stats certainly is deserving of the MVP, but i can only see the west coast sportswriters voting for him only. I could be wrong, but if you listen to the national media, i don't hear anyone talking about KD as being considered for MVP. You only hear mostly of RW and a bit of Harden and LBJ.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1830 » by Kabookalu » Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:12 pm

inquisitive wrote:Kawhi keeps this up and he is in the thick of things, but the MVP is RW's to lose. I just don't see these voters voting for KD because he went to the best team. His stats certainly is deserving of the MVP, but i can only see the west coast sportswriters voting for him only. I could be wrong, but if you listen to the national media, i don't hear anyone talking about KD as being considered for MVP. You only hear mostly of RW and a bit of Harden and LBJ.


Yeah, the media never talks about Durant as a serious candidate for MVP. It's all Harden or Westbrook.

Kawhi Leonard will be in the mix of things on virtue of his team's record, though he'll need to keep scoring the way he has this month for the entire season. The stats Leonard is putting up are more than fine, though he'll need to do more to usurp the ridiculousness Westbrook and Harden are putting up on a nightly basis.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1831 » by laika » Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:15 pm

A funny thing is happening on the way to the MVP coronation. Curry has zero chance to win but he is
still clearly the MVP according to the most important stat out there.

If a player has only the best On/Off then you can argue that a player with a better Oncourt is leading their team more despite having a better bench. If a player has only the best Oncourt then you can argue that the better On/Off player is more important to their team. But if a player has the best Oncourt and On/Off then it gets really difficult to argue that they aren't the actual MVP.

Curry crushes every non-Warrior in Oncourt. Durant has decent numbers until you adjust for the fact that Curry is making his numbers look good and is clearly the most valuable Warrior. James and Westbrook are sort of close if you want to only look at On/Off. Harden and Leonard aren't even in the discussion no matter how you interpret things.

-----------------On----Off----On/Off
Curry---------18.2--+0.6----17.6

big gap

Westbrook----5.5--11.2---16.7
James----------9.2---6.1----15.3
Durant-------16.4--+4.1----12.3

big gap

Harden--------8.2--+3.4-----4.8
Leonard-------8.9--+8.2-----0.7
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1832 » by RaptorsLife » Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:27 pm

laika wrote:A funny thing is happening on the way to the MVP coronation. Curry has zero chance to win but he is
still clearly the MVP according to the most important stat out there.

If a player has only the best On/Off then you can argue that a player with a better Oncourt is leading their team more despite having a better bench. If a player has only the best Oncourt then you can argue that the better On/Off player is more important to their team. But if a player has the best Oncourt and On/Off then it gets really difficult to argue that they aren't the actual MVP.

Curry crushes every non-Warrior in Oncourt. Durant has decent numbers until you adjust for the fact that Curry is making his numbers look good and is clearly the most valuable Warrior. James and Westbrook are sort of close if you want to only look at On/Off. Harden and Leonard aren't even in the discussion no matter how you interpret things.

-----------------On----Off----On/Off
Curry---------18.2--+0.6----17.6

big gap

Westbrook----5.5--11.2---16.7
James----------9.2---6.1----15.3
Durant-------16.4--+4.1----12.3

big gap

Harden--------8.2--+3.4-----4.8
Leonard-------8.9--+8.2-----0.7

Warriors are 25-3 in the games decided by 10+ if curry sits out the 4th during a blowout and the other team makes a fake run. It's makes step curry off court stats look better. Using that to determine the mvp and saying it's the most important stat makes little sense
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1833 » by laika » Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:43 pm

RaptorsLife wrote:Warriors are 25-3 in the games decided by 10+ if curry sits out the 4th during a blowout and the other team makes a fake run. It's makes step curry off court stats look better. Using that to determine the mvp and saying it's the most important stat makes little sense


You are using a logically invalid argument. Pointing out a minor objection does not mean that the whole argument makes little sense.

Curry is well ahead using my method. Even if we make your adjustment to his offcourt rating(ignoring that other teams have blowouts also) then Curry would still be leading.

No, Curry hasn't been as good as last year. But last year he had a historically great year and was by far the MVP. This year Curry is still the most valuable player despite the gap closing.
People refuse to believe it, but the "superteam" Warriors really do collapse when Curry is on the bench. And they don't use a platoon system like the Clippers so Curry's great On/Off is a reflection of his real value.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1834 » by RaptorsLife » Sun Jan 22, 2017 4:54 pm

laika wrote:
RaptorsLife wrote:Warriors are 25-3 in the games decided by 10+ if curry sits out the 4th during a blowout and the other team makes a fake run. It's makes step curry off court stats look better. Using that to determine the mvp and saying it's the most important stat makes little sense


You are using a logically invalid argument. Pointing out a minor objection does not mean that the whole argument makes little sense.

Curry is well ahead using my method. Even if we make your adjustment to his offcourt rating(ignoring that other teams have blowouts also) then Curry would still be leading.

No, Curry hasn't been as good as last year. But last year he had a historically great year and was by far the MVP. This year Curry is still the most valuable player despite the gap closing.
People refuse to believe it, but the "superteam" Warriors really do collapse when Curry is on the bench. And they don't use a platoon system like the Clippers so Curry's great On/Off is a reflection of his real value.

Well let's see. I doubt you can win mvp when you aren't even the best player on your team. Harden Is the clear frontrunner
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1835 » by laika » Sun Jan 22, 2017 5:43 pm

RaptorsLife wrote:
laika wrote:
RaptorsLife wrote:Warriors are 25-3 in the games decided by 10+ if curry sits out the 4th during a blowout and the other team makes a fake run. It's makes step curry off court stats look better. Using that to determine the mvp and saying it's the most important stat makes little sense


You are using a logically invalid argument. Pointing out a minor objection does not mean that the whole argument makes little sense.

Curry is well ahead using my method. Even if we make your adjustment to his offcourt rating(ignoring that other teams have blowouts also) then Curry would still be leading.

No, Curry hasn't been as good as last year. But last year he had a historically great year and was by far the MVP. This year Curry is still the most valuable player despite the gap closing.
People refuse to believe it, but the "superteam" Warriors really do collapse when Curry is on the bench. And they don't use a platoon system like the Clippers so Curry's great On/Off is a reflection of his real value.

Well let's see. I doubt you can win mvp when you aren't even the best player on your team. Harden Is the clear frontrunner


Curry is definitely the best player on his team if you define best as "helps win". I'll agree that Harden is quite likely to win but he isn't the most deserving. Harden is a much greater beneficiary of Houston's system than people think.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1836 » by red96 » Sun Jan 22, 2017 7:47 pm

laika wrote:
RaptorsLife wrote:
laika wrote:
You are using a logically invalid argument. Pointing out a minor objection does not mean that the whole argument makes little sense.

Curry is well ahead using my method. Even if we make your adjustment to his offcourt rating(ignoring that other teams have blowouts also) then Curry would still be leading.

No, Curry hasn't been as good as last year. But last year he had a historically great year and was by far the MVP. This year Curry is still the most valuable player despite the gap closing.
People refuse to believe it, but the "superteam" Warriors really do collapse when Curry is on the bench. And they don't use a platoon system like the Clippers so Curry's great On/Off is a reflection of his real value.

Well let's see. I doubt you can win mvp when you aren't even the best player on your team. Harden Is the clear frontrunner


Curry is definitely the best player on his team if you define best as "helps win". I'll agree that Harden is quite likely to win but he isn't the most deserving. Harden is a much greater beneficiary of Houston's system than people think.
How much success did Curry have before Kerr's system? What about Jordan before Phil's system? What did Kobe do without Phil? Look at the Spurs right now, still elite without Duncan or Robinson, is it all because of Pop? MDA's system hasn't worked since PHX, not until now. Using a system to discredit Harden's success, but not others is very hypocritical.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1837 » by laika » Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:19 pm

red96 wrote:
laika wrote:
RaptorsLife wrote:Well let's see. I doubt you can win mvp when you aren't even the best player on your team. Harden Is the clear frontrunner


Curry is definitely the best player on his team if you define best as "helps win". I'll agree that Harden is quite likely to win but he isn't the most deserving. Harden is a much greater beneficiary of Houston's system than people think.
How much success did Curry have before Kerr's system? What about Jordan before Phil's system? What did Kobe do without Phil? Look at the Spurs right now, still elite without Duncan or Robinson, was it all because of Pop? MDA's system hasn't worked since PHX, not until now. Using a system to discredit Harden's success, but not others is very hypocritical.



Every player on a good team has decent support. It's not that they don't have a system, but that Houston's success is much less dependent on Harden than it is for the stars on those other teams(except the Spurs). To make it less confusing I should have said "supporting cast" rather than system.

To an extent much greater than people acknowledge, Curry is the Warrior system. Not once ever have the Warriors been good without Curry. On a related note, Curry had an MVP level year the year before Kerr arrived but no one noticed because the rest of the Warriors were too lousy.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1838 » by Impuniti » Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:40 pm

RaptorsLife wrote:
laika wrote:A funny thing is happening on the way to the MVP coronation. Curry has zero chance to win but he is
still clearly the MVP according to the most important stat out there.

If a player has only the best On/Off then you can argue that a player with a better Oncourt is leading their team more despite having a better bench. If a player has only the best Oncourt then you can argue that the better On/Off player is more important to their team. But if a player has the best Oncourt and On/Off then it gets really difficult to argue that they aren't the actual MVP.

Curry crushes every non-Warrior in Oncourt. Durant has decent numbers until you adjust for the fact that Curry is making his numbers look good and is clearly the most valuable Warrior. James and Westbrook are sort of close if you want to only look at On/Off. Harden and Leonard aren't even in the discussion no matter how you interpret things.

-----------------On----Off----On/Off
Curry---------18.2--+0.6----17.6

big gap

Westbrook----5.5--11.2---16.7
James----------9.2---6.1----15.3
Durant-------16.4--+4.1----12.3

big gap

Harden--------8.2--+3.4-----4.8
Leonard-------8.9--+8.2-----0.7

Warriors are 25-3 in the games decided by 10+ if curry sits out the 4th during a blowout and the other team makes a fake run. It's makes step curry off court stats look better. Using that to determine the mvp and saying it's the most important stat makes little sense

There's still a few months off before the mental gymnastics competitions begins. While I agree Curry definitely doesn't deserve MVP this year, this is a ridiculous attempt at an argument.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1839 » by red96 » Sun Jan 22, 2017 10:24 pm

laika wrote:
red96 wrote:
laika wrote:
Curry is definitely the best player on his team if you define best as "helps win". I'll agree that Harden is quite likely to win but he isn't the most deserving. Harden is a much greater beneficiary of Houston's system than people think.
How much success did Curry have before Kerr's system? What about Jordan before Phil's system? What did Kobe do without Phil? Look at the Spurs right now, still elite without Duncan or Robinson, was it all because of Pop? MDA's system hasn't worked since PHX, not until now. Using a system to discredit Harden's success, but not others is very hypocritical.



Every player on a good team has decent support. It's not that they don't have a system, but that Houston's success is much less dependent on Harden than it is for the stars on those other teams(except the Spurs). To make it less confusing I should have said "supporting cast" rather than system.

To an extent much greater than people acknowledge, Curry is the Warrior system. Not once ever have the Warriors been good without Curry. On a related note, Curry had an MVP level year the year before Kerr arrived but no one noticed because the rest of the Warriors were too lousy.
When you say Houston's system, are you refering to MDA or Morey? If you're speaking on DAntoni's system, Harden played at a star level and had an MVP season before him. If you're refering to Morey's Philosophy, Harden was a rising star before he was a Rocket and much of the league has adopted that philosophy. Morey recognized the potential of the just made 22 year old and traded for him on Oct. 27. On Oct.31 before any practice with his new team and in his 1st game he went for 37,12,6,with 4stl, 1 blk. Harden isn't just a product of the system and Morey's system doesn't make Harden a star. In the system who was the Harden before Harden? Harden practiced and developed his craftiness, footwork, vision, and shooting without MDA and Morey and wouldve been a star anywhere, same as Curry, KD, Westbrook, Kobe, ect. Anyone whose watched the Rockets before and after Harden's arrival recognizes his monumental importance to the Franchise's success. Les Alexander and Morey must believe in his importance, they where among the individuals who spearheaded for the new super-max extension when they already had Harden locked into a deal.
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Re: 2016-17 MVP Discussion Thread 

Post#1840 » by PeptoKlepto » Sun Jan 22, 2017 11:49 pm

As good as Durant has been (and he's been unbelievable), Curry is the MVP of the Warriors. You just can't measure what he does to this team on a game to game basis by just looking at the box scores. The only thing that captures his impact a little is +/- as Laika stated earlier.

That said, this is still Harden's MVP to lose.

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