Taj Gibson has looked good in his 23 games for his new team while Domantas Sabonis and Jerami Grant showed promising signs late in the season but we all know that the Thunder's playoff hopes lay heavily on the capable shoulders of Westbrook. How do you, personally, define the phrase "most valuable player" in a sports context? The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has really emerged as one of the game's best. Westbrook vs. Harden will be played out over a fortnight as the Thunder and Rockets meet in a Western Conference first-round series that features the two superstars who have commandeered the spotlight from the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
His assist numbers were a full assist better in the 2015 campaign, but are in line with the 2016 one. A guaranteed lock for first team NBA All-Defense, Leonard is hands down the best perimeter defender in the NBA, and it's not logically arguable.
If Harden and Westbrook do indeed finish first and second in some order in the MVP race, this will be the twelfth time since 1980 - the year the media started voting for the award - that the top two finishers faced off in a playoff series. As good as both James Harden and Kawhi Leonard have been, Westbrook is this year's MVP and honestly, it's not even close.
Harden has hit his stride this season, Houston's offense is playing at a high level and led the league in 3-pointers made with 1,181 for the season. Chiefly that concerns how the Rockets plan to defend Russell Westbrook and stop him from racking up postseason triple-doubles as often as he did during the regular season.
Westbrook acknowledged it will be "cool" to match up against his friend in this best-of-seven series.
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Now one of them will be gone by May. On average overall, the Rockets are 14 of 40 on 3-point attempts.
The Spurs don't have a size advantage down on the block the way they do with most other teams, and the Grizzlies have several players that can create their own shots. ". I'm happy to be a part of it to say I had a triple-double in the National Basketball Association and to say I did it in the same season that Russell and James and LeBron all those guys went insane this season doing it". "We're here now", Wall said. Now looking at James Harden, he averages 29 ppg 11.2 apg and 8.1 rpg. He has improved his offensive game to the point where not only is he one of the most clutch performers in the entire league, but he is also someone that can score in any way and attack you from any angle on the offensive end. They are first (Westbrook) and second (Harden) in scoring. This season will become part of National Basketball Association history as long as people care what triple doubles are. If that's not enough for you, while Harden was on the floor, he assisted on over half (50.7%) of his teammate's field goals.
The workload for Harden changed this season, unlike in previous years. "He dominates the ball, closing in on a 30 percent usage rate while rarely turning the ball over and posting a 61 percent true shooting percentage".
Jackson spoke to the local media Friday for the first time since September, after the Knicks finished 31-51 in their fourth straight season out of the playoffs. If Westbrook wins the award, his team would have the fewest number of wins for an MVP in the modern era.
Some think that it's going to come down to Russell Westbrook and James Harden. His usage percentage was 41.7, which is absurdly high for one player. Westbrook is the be-all, end-all for the Thunder. The San Antonio Spurs finished with the second-best record in the league.
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