Don’t look now, but James Harden is a real MVP candidate.
The Houston Rockets star entered the season as a bonafide candidate, and he’s answering the call early on. The arrival of Mike D’Antoni and his positional change to point guard has done nothing but good things for him. Harden is pacing the league in assists (12.7) and ranks near the top in scoring (31.6 PPG), so he clearly fits what D’Antoni wants. He also averages 7.1 rebounds per contest. And the fact that he moved to the point guard role allows him to have the ball at all times.
It’s clear Harden needs to have the ball consistently to succeed, and he does exactly that in D’Antoni’s offense. Harden operating at the PG role gives him total control of the offense, and much like Steve Nash in the Phoenix Suns 10 years ago, Harden thrives in D’Antoni’s “seven seconds or less” offense.
If you need any proof, here’s what Harden has done this year. He dominated against Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener, where he finished with 34 points, 17 assists and eight rebounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KC5bn74l8&w=854&h=480
That game against the Lakers was a sign of things to come, however. The versatile guard put up 41 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the reigning NBA champions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgvfc2rkxj4&w=854&h=480
Need more proof? Against John Wall and the Washington Wizards, Harden finished with 32 points and 15 assists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3DVd5Thq0Y&w=854&h=480
If there’s one knock against this Harden this year, it’s his lack of effort on defense. But knowing that D’Antoni’s system isn’t dependent on defense, Houston was expected to struggle. And even considering that scenario, Harden has looked better than expected. He looks far more committed when compared to previous seasons.
Players like Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and LeBron James are candidates to win the Award as well. But Harden’s growth, improvement and value to the Rockets is evident, and fans can’t overlook it. After all, the MVP should go to the player that is essential to the team’s success. And the Rockets wouldn’t be where they are if Harden wasn’t on the roster.
Let’s see if he can keep this up throughout the reminder of the season. But after the first two weeks, the Rockets star is certainly one of the top candidates to win the award.