MVP race seems to be heating up. Westbrook and Harden have clearly been the two leading candidates all season long, but with the way Kawhi has been playing and the fact that they're right on the heels of the Warriors for that #1 seed with some big matchups coming up. He's clearly the best two way player in the game right now IMO. If they finish out the season strong, they beat the Warriors a couple of times which they need to surpass them, then I think he should get the award. Thoughts?
Westbrook. That team is in the hunt for a top 5 pick if you take him off. He's '05/'06 Kobe, and I don't want to see him robbed like Kobe was.
Whoever the more popular between Westbrook, Harden and Kawhi is. Who even knows how they actually choose MVP.
Westbrook unless Spurs overcome the Warriors for the number 1 seed . I would take Leonard over Westbrook on my team without a single doubt though . The way Westbrook is perceived and the way he acts with medias will prevent him from winning though So my guess is Haren will get it in a close vote
Westbrook won't win, not because he doesn't deserve it because he does, he won't win because his team isn't good enough. It's between Harden and Leonard at this point.
I think my MVP is Kawhi. Westbrook is a close second though. One primary argument against Kawhi is that he plays for the Spurs. They are the pinnacle of consistency so naturally, most assume that the roster is full of above average, consistent players.. but I think too many people take the Spurs for granted. If you take a closer look at that roster, a lot of players have been on the decline for years. Many of them are old and are having one of their worst seasons ever. Even LaMarcus Aldridge, who is supposed to be their second best player, is having one of his worst seasons. Pau has missed nearly a third of the season. Kawhi really has been carrying that team, and I think it's pretty amazing that they have the second best record in the NBA and are on pace for 60+ wins. Kawhi makes that team work by being the anchor on both ends of the court, which not many players in the history of the game can say.
The definition of MVP has always been fuzzy. "Best player on the best team" is one theory, but then you wipe out a 35 ppg year like Kobe had because his team sucked. Westbrook is having a season for the ages, but according to Cuban, if you don't carry your team to 50 wins, you aren't superstar. (Therefore, can't be MVP) But my gut tells me they randomly change the criteria to fit whatever suits their needs at the time when making that selection. I think the league is perfectly ok with it, because it gets fans talking about the game. Just how like college football was ok not having a national championship for so long. It caused a lot of passionate debate, and the criteria could never be nailed down completely. But if it was so clear, we'd all know who the MVP was before the ballot was cast. This way there is mystery. So there's that.
Last time it was about the Best Player in the Game was when Jordan was on the Bulls. Late 90's - Present its not about that anymore. Instead its about if you take that player off that team how good/bad that team would be determines their MVP ranking. Reason why Kobe only has 1 MVP. If it was about the best player in the game he's certainly have more than one.
i really think leonard is the only player that actually fits all criteria that have ever been used: great individual stats great team record lack of star quality teammates harden has that, but his team's record is worse and he doesn't play one end of the floor. westbrook's team hasn't won enough. lebron is playing with two other allstars. durant is playing with three other allstars.
I thought Kobe deserved it most the years that Nash one. I think Westbrook deserves it most for similar reasons.
If I had a vote I would go with Westbrook for doing something that I did not think was even possible in today's NBA. But Leonard is a very deserving choice. All of which means Harden will actually win.
if it's all individual performance, westbrook. if team performance matters, leonard. if it's a subjective sense of "which player scares the opposition the most", it's lebron. so, yeah, the more deserving candidates will split the votes and harden will get it. yay taco bell.
Since the MVP race is voted on by record, I expect Har_en to win. They'll look at the team around him and the team around Westbrook and remember Oladipo was like a #2 pick in the draft and that Adams is a good player because he got kicked in the junk in a playoff game and they'll be like, "Westbrook has so much more to work with and his record is still worse!"
they should think about the health of his (vs. his rivals') supporting casts, too. gordon and anderson are historically injury prone, and they've been available for almost every game this year. it's really crazy, actually, when you look at their history. houston's having a magic season (like they did a couple years ago). SA and OKC aren't in that department. but leonard and westbrook are both better individually than harden, and leonard's team is as much better than harden's as harden's is to westbrook's, imo. leonard should be the mvp (again, assuming that like in the past, the media is too bored to just give it to lebron every year).
Westbrook currently is averaging a triple double while leading the league in scoring. A season for the ages.