I haven't posted anything since December. Early December. So I have a lot on my mind. Kevin Love and LeBron. Steve Nash retiring. Oklahoma City pissing off the basketball gods. Nikola Mirotic. Mitch McGary and his sideline antics. So much NBA stuff.
I'll skip the excuses and get right into one of the most interesting MVP races we've ever seen. Let's start with the candidates, in no particular order:
Steph Curry
LeBron James
Russell Westbrook
James Harden
Anthony Davis
Chris Paul
There's probably at least one name on that list you weren't expecting to see, if not two. I'll explain why each deserves the MVP, but I can tell you right now I can't pick who's going to win. I can see it going two or three different ways. What I will do is break them down from least likely to win to most likely. Here we go.
Chris Paul--CP3 is quietly having a great year. No one is giving him a chance to win the MVP, and rightfully so. Paul did kind of cruise through the first couple of months of the regular season, though you can't blame him. At this point in his career, all that matters in playoff success, and he's got that surgically repaired knee to think about.
But when Blake Griffin went down, Paul stepped up his game. He put a thin Clippers roster on his back and kept them humming along. No one is talking about this enough. When Griffin developed some sort of mutant infection in his elbow, Los Angeles was in the middle of a nine game road trip and had just dropped five of six. Chris Paul puffed his chest out, shook his head and refused to let them go down in flames. In the next seven games, the Clippers beat Dallas, Memphis, Houston, and San Antonio. All because Paul saw what was going on, and did what he had to do.
Up until Griffin's injury, Paul was averaging about 17 points a game. Since then, he's averaging 22 and shooting fifty percent. He's also averaging 11 assists per game and plays defense like a maniac. Deandre Jordan has helped keep this Clipper's ship afloat, but make no mistake--Chris Paul is still the captain.
Anthony Davis--We've known for a couple years that Davis was going to be a force in the league, and this year we're finally starting to see what we've been waiting for. The Brow's stat line for March? 28 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and three assists per game. He's got the Pelicans close to a playoff spot with almost no help. Who's the best player beside him? Omer Asik? Alexis Ajinca?
We all know Davis isn't going to win the MVP. But he deserves to be mentioned here, if only because we're getting to see a glimpse of the future. What he's doing in New Orleans is incredible. And in the next ten years, he'll get a couple of Podoloff trophies. Just not yet.
LeBron James--Here's the problem: we've become so accustomed to LeBron's greatness that we ignore his MVP numbers every year. He makes excellence look ordinary, and he loses MVP votes because of it. LeBron knows he's held to a different standard and pretends like it doesn't bother him. But it does, and it should.
Yes, his numbers are down this year. A little. But he's still averaging 25/5/7, just off his career numbers of 27/7/6. His assists are up, though, which shows he's trying to get his teammates involved and teach this young Cavaliers team how to win. And we can't forget, LeBron has been to four Finals in a row. That's almost like playing an extra season. At some point he's going to wear down, if he's not bionic. He's not, which is why he needed a two week break early this season. Voters will count that against him, along with the usual stuff mentioned above.
Just don't forget that we're watching one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Appreciate it while you can.
Russell Westbrook--Forget about the triple-doubles, and the gaudy scoring numbers. The statistics are crazy, but they're not what makes Westbrook's season special. What he's doing is incredible, and it's for his team. He came back earlier than expected after Oklahoma City started out 3-12 and has been dragging them to the playoffs ever since. Durant has been in and out of the lineup all year (and is now out until next season). The rest of the team has been nicked up, underdeveloped, and shuffled because of trades or benching.
The one constant has been Russell Westbrook ripping through the league like a buzz saw. Nothing has been able to stop him. Not even a broken face. He plays every game like it's his last, and that's not even a cliche. I've never seen someone play as hard as Westbrook has this year. I watch every Thunder game I can just to see him play, and I don't know if there's a bigger compliment to a basketball player than that. I'm just worried he'll spontaneously combust at any moment.
The problem is that Oklahoma City is just barely holding onto a playoff spot, and Westbrook has missed fifteen games this season. That won't help him, just like LeBron's mini-vacation doesn't help him. But the biggest reason Westbrook won't win is because the last two guys on this list are having special seasons.
James Harden--I was watching the Rockets the other day and one of the announcer proclaimed "We knew Harden was good, but we weren't sure he was going to be this good." Well, I think that's crap. I knew Harden was a franchise player, and I'm not even close to a professional basketball scout. Not only can he score at will, but he distributes the ball easily, making his teammates better. That's what you want from a cornerstone player.
That and defense. Last year, Harden was maligned all over the internet for his defense. Vines and memes were circulated, making a washing machine look like a defensive upgrade over Harden. But to his credit, he's put in the effort to become a more complete player and it shows. He still has room to grow, but you can't mock him anymore.
And what he has done in Houston is just short of amazing. Name the next best player on the roster after Harden. Dwight Howard? He's missed most of the season. Undersized Terrence Jones? Josh Smith, who Detroit paid to go away? Trevor Ariza not in a contract year? Corey Brewer?
James Harden has definitely done the most with the least help on his roster. For that, he deserves a lot of MVP votes. But...
Steph Curry--Historically speaking, the best player on a great team wins the MVP. And the Warriors are heading for an all-time season with at least 67 wins. And while there's no denying that Curry's surrounding cast is much more talented than Harden's or Westbrook's, he's the motor that makes this team go.
I didn't see this coming. I knew Curry was a talented shooter and could score, but I was always worried about his ankles. Don't forget, there was serious question about whether those ankles could hold up to an NBA season, much less an NBA career. But with the injury trouble behind him, Curry has turned into a perennial all-star and a complete point guard.
It's the shooting though that is the most amazing. Can you think of anything more terrifying than Curry lining up for a potential game winning shot against your team in an important game? Conversely, if Curry is on your favorite team and he's shooting for the win, you've got feel like it's going in more often than not.
I've seen Curry hit some ridiculous shots this year, some that made me cringe before they went in. I don't know if he's just having one insane season or if he's going to do this for the next ten years. I'm hoping for a decade of transcendent shooting. Curry this season is the reason why we watch sports. We hope to see something new, something we've never seen before, something that leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief. Curry does that once a week. For me, that's reason enough for him to be the MVP.
All these guys could win and I'd be okay with it. Personally, I'd choose Westbrook or LeBron. One for treating every game like a target he was hired to assassinate, the other for doing a pretty good impersonation of a machine that was made to go through four straight Finals. But I understand that Harden or Curry will probably win, and they'll deserve it.
I watch basketball to be entertained, and all these guys are doing a great job of entertaining me. So for me, it's hard to go wrong with the MVP vote.
