Who Is Your Choice for 2016-2017 NBA MVP?

[Phantom255x]

Westbrook.

He's gonna average a triple double for a freakin' season & its not like he's doing it on a crap team either.  They're a playoff team.

I just really struggle with the fact that at the end of the day I'd be surprised if his team wins a playoff series.  He's an amazing player, but it's not like his presence alone makes the Thunder scary.

I think the reason is that while Westbrook does so many things while he's out on the floor, he doesn't really do it in the context of his team.  He's a one man wrecking crew, and there just happens to be four other guys out there with him.  Basketball is a team sport, and while Russ maximizes his own potential every night on the floor, he doesn't maximize the potential of his team.

The thing is, I've seen quite a few OKC and HOU games, and there were many moments where Westbrook would make a great pass but his teammates still couldn't knock them down. Meanwhile, Harden can give it to Ariza, or Lou Williams, or Gordon, or Beverley, and they can knock down the shots and make plays.

It's to the point where at times, I don't blame Westbrook when he becomes a one man army. Yes, it's a team game and I agree with you that Harden makes his team better too, but without Westbrook I think OKC is legitimately a bottom-5 team in the entire league.

Adams hasn't been as great this season (not horrible but not as great), and with Oladipo you just expect more, but he hasn't really delivered so far, and as a result OKC practically need Westbrook to dictate games.

And that's not entirely on Westbrook not "maximizing" his teammate's potential, but mainly with the way the team set up, having Oladipo as your #2 best player isn't ideal, and the bench isn't that great either.

[Donoghus]

Westbrook.

He's gonna average a triple double for a freakin' season & its not like he's doing it on a crap team either.  They're a playoff team.

I just really struggle with the fact that at the end of the day I'd be surprised if his team wins a playoff series.  He's an amazing player, but it's not like his presence alone makes the Thunder scary.

I think the reason is that while Westbrook does so many things while he's out on the floor, he doesn't really do it in the context of his team.  He's a one man wrecking crew, and there just happens to be four other guys out there with him.  Basketball is a team sport, and while Russ maximizes his own potential every night on the floor, he doesn't maximize the potential of his team.

I try to not to overthink it. I'm pretty simple on this. Years from now, what are going to be the biggest takeaways from the 2016-2017 season?  On the court, its probably going to be the fact that Westbrook averaged a triple double for the season.  Pretty incredible feat, efficiency or not.  Sure, he was probably chasing stats but he also played for team that did make the playoffs.  That counts for me.  If he was playing for a 20 win, lottery bound OKC team?  Then I'd put more thought into going with Harden. 

[BitterJim]

1. Harden.  Incredible stats on a great team.
2. Westbrook.  Unbelievable stats on an okay team.

(Those two could be flipped, but they will definitely be the top two, with a huge gap between them and #3.  Their stats are just ridiculous)

3. Lebron. Great stats and carrying his team to a top 2 seed, but it's the east.  Their poor stretch lately hurts, but he's Lebron, so he'll still be a top finisher.
4. Kawhi. Great offensive stats and a perennial contender for DPOY. Consistently underrated/underappreciated, and MVP voting will be no exception.

[2short]

I went with westbrook but can understand lebron or leonard votes.  Harden does not play defense.  You could argue he works at not playing defense. 

[Denis998]

I gotta go with Harden. First off, he is on the 3rd best team in the league. Also, he is 2nd in the league in scoring and 1st in assists; that's quite a combination. I bet his impact on the game contributes to more wins when compared to that of Westbrook. Yes, Westbrook averages a triple double, all while that is an amazing accomplishment, it probably doesn't contribute as much to winning than does Harden. And lets not forget that Harden averages 8 RPG, only two boards shy of averaging a triple double himself.

[Csfan1984]

Thomas if C's get the 1 seed in the east.

Leonard
Westbrook
Harden
LeBron

[PhoSita]

Westbrook.

He's gonna average a triple double for a freakin' season & its not like he's doing it on a crap team either.  They're a playoff team.

I just really struggle with the fact that at the end of the day I'd be surprised if his team wins a playoff series.  He's an amazing player, but it's not like his presence alone makes the Thunder scary.

I think the reason is that while Westbrook does so many things while he's out on the floor, he doesn't really do it in the context of his team.  He's a one man wrecking crew, and there just happens to be four other guys out there with him.  Basketball is a team sport, and while Russ maximizes his own potential every night on the floor, he doesn't maximize the potential of his team.

I try to not to overthink it. I'm pretty simple on this. Years from now, what are going to be the biggest takeaways from the 2016-2017 season?  On the court, its probably going to be the fact that Westbrook averaged a triple double for the season.  Pretty incredible feat, efficiency or not.  Sure, he was probably chasing stats but he also played for team that did make the playoffs.  That counts for me.  If he was playing for a 20 win, lottery bound OKC team?  Then I'd put more thought into going with Harden.

I think the renaissance of the Rockets, with Harden having his best season yet and D'Antoni reclaiming his title as the NBA's Offensive Mastermind, has got to be one of the biggest takeaways of the season.

Bottom line:

The Rockets were irrelevant last year.  This year, they matter.  They matter because they are a well-constructed team with a good (offensive) coach, and because James Harden is amazing.

The Thunder are irrelevant this year, even though Westbrook is relevant for his individual performances.

[Who]

I read that OKC had a W-L record of something like 30 wins & 7 losses in games where Russell Westbrook got a triple double.

That is pretty incredible. The correlation between triple doubles and winning games for Russ.

[PhoSita]

Westbrook.

He's gonna average a triple double for a freakin' season & its not like he's doing it on a crap team either.  They're a playoff team.

I just really struggle with the fact that at the end of the day I'd be surprised if his team wins a playoff series.  He's an amazing player, but it's not like his presence alone makes the Thunder scary.

I think the reason is that while Westbrook does so many things while he's out on the floor, he doesn't really do it in the context of his team.  He's a one man wrecking crew, and there just happens to be four other guys out there with him.  Basketball is a team sport, and while Russ maximizes his own potential every night on the floor, he doesn't maximize the potential of his team.

The thing is, I've seen quite a few OKC and HOU games, and there were many moments where Westbrook would make a great pass but his teammates still couldn't knock them down. Meanwhile, Harden can give it to Ariza, or Lou Williams, or Gordon, or Beverley, and they can knock down the shots and make plays.

It's to the point where at times, I don't blame Westbrook when he becomes a one man army. Yes, it's a team game and I agree with you that Harden makes his team better too, but without Westbrook I think OKC is legitimately a bottom-5 team in the entire league.

Adams hasn't been as great this season (not horrible but not as great), and with Oladipo you just expect more, but he hasn't really delivered so far, and as a result OKC practically need Westbrook to dictate games.

And that's not entirely on Westbrook not "maximizing" his teammate's potential, but mainly with the way the team set up, having Oladipo as your #2 best player isn't ideal, and the bench isn't that great either.

I think it's really hard to know what Westbrook's teammates might look like if they were playing with somebody who involved them more often, in a system that emphasized more ball movement and a balanced offensive approach.

Basically, yes, Westbrook's team has poor spacing and his teammates often miss shots when he passes them the ball, but it's not like they're in any kind of rhythm or have a lot of practice this year making something happen with the ball.

[PhoSita]

I read that OKC had a W-L record of something like 30 wins & 7 losses in games where Russell Westbrook got a triple double.

That is pretty incredible. The correlation between triple doubles and winning games for Russ.

Is it causation, though?

It may be that Westbrook stays out there in many of the Thunder's wins so that he can complete his triple double in garbage time.

[Big333223]

I went with westbrook but can understand lebron or leonard votes.  Harden does not play defense.  You could argue he works at not playing defense.

I think Harden is better this year than he's been in past years. Certainly better than he was last year. And I also think Westbrook has that manic energy that makes it look like he's doing a lot on defense when he's not all that effective on that side. I wouldn't even call Westbrook a better defender than Harden.

[Donoghus]

Westbrook.

He's gonna average a triple double for a freakin' season & its not like he's doing it on a crap team either.  They're a playoff team.

I just really struggle with the fact that at the end of the day I'd be surprised if his team wins a playoff series.  He's an amazing player, but it's not like his presence alone makes the Thunder scary.

I think the reason is that while Westbrook does so many things while he's out on the floor, he doesn't really do it in the context of his team.  He's a one man wrecking crew, and there just happens to be four other guys out there with him.  Basketball is a team sport, and while Russ maximizes his own potential every night on the floor, he doesn't maximize the potential of his team.

I try to not to overthink it. I'm pretty simple on this. Years from now, what are going to be the biggest takeaways from the 2016-2017 season?  On the court, its probably going to be the fact that Westbrook averaged a triple double for the season.  Pretty incredible feat, efficiency or not.  Sure, he was probably chasing stats but he also played for team that did make the playoffs.  That counts for me.  If he was playing for a 20 win, lottery bound OKC team?  Then I'd put more thought into going with Harden.

I think the renaissance of the Rockets, with Harden having his best season yet and D'Antoni reclaiming his title as the NBA's Offensive Mastermind, has got to be one of the biggest takeaways of the season.

Bottom line:

The Rockets were irrelevant last year.  This year, they matter.  They matter because they are a well-constructed team with a good (offensive) coach, and because James Harden is amazing.

The Thunder are irrelevant this year, even though Westbrook is relevant for his individual performances.

I wouldn't necessarily say that.  They're going to be a 6 seed and around 10 games over .500 a season after losing Kevin Durant. 

You can build up HOU without tearing down OKC.

[Redz]

Nice to have several legit candidates, but my vote goes to Westbrook.

[Ilikesports17]

Harden
James
Leonard
Thomas
Wall
Westbrook

[PhoSita]

  They're going to be a 6 seed and around 10 games over .500 a season after losing Kevin Durant. 

You can build up HOU without tearing down OKC.

The Rockets are 2nd in the league in Offensive Efficiency.  They are 15th in Defensive Efficiency.

The Thunder are 9th in the league in Defensive Efficiency.  They are 16th in Offensive Efficiency.


Basically, the Rockets are an elite offensive team that is average defensively.  The Thunder are a good defensive team that is slightly below average offensively.


So, I look at it this way -- Harden, an offensive superstar, is leading his team to a historic offensive season.  His team is also good enough to contend for a title.

Westbrook, also an offensive star, is leading his team to below average scoring, but the pieces around him are good enough defensively that they can be a solid playoff team thanks to some clutch crunch time scoring by Russ.