By Bailey Biddle
We all saw what James Harden did to the Golden State Warriors last Thursday night at Oracle Arena. He looked like an unstoppable force out on the court, and the beard was cooking. It looked like the Warriors were going to blow out the Rockets, but James Harden single-handedly carried the Rockets back into the game. James Harden then hit a clutch shot to send the game into overtime and then he hit a buzzer beater to win the game, despite being tripled teamed and fouled by Kevin Durant. I can now get to my point, I think James Harden is the MVP and the race isn’t even close.
In James Harden’s last ten games, he has averaged 40.2 points per game and has 3 triple doubles and 2 double-doubles. Harden joins Kobe and Jordan as the 3rdplayer in the last 30 games to score at least 400 points in a ten game span. The Rockets are now 9-1 in their last ten games and have moved to the 4thseed in the west, after a lot of people said the Rockets were trending downward fast. James Harden has elevated his teammates around him by attracting a lot of double teams which opens up a lot of space for his teammates and especially Clint Capela. Because of the double teams, Harden has helped Clint become one of the best big men in the league. James Harden should win MVP this year if he keeps this up, yes his play will slow down a little, but no one can slow down one of the best one on one basketball players in the league.
We need to look at the MVP trophy as a whole and how valuable a player is to his team and does he make players around him better. We look at Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khawi, they are phenomenal players, but have outstanding pieces around them. If we compared the Rockets roster to the Raptors or Bucks roster, the Raptors and Bucks roster is better. The Raptors were the number one team in the East without Khawi, and the Rockets lost significant role players in free agency. It is very impressive to look at James Harden’s stats right now, but I want everyone to understand just how important he is to the Rockets. If the MVP award was given out today, James Harden should win the MVP for 2 consecutive seasons, and it shouldn’t be close.
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