[jjj10manParticipant]

First of I would like to say this is an unpopular opinion, so if you’re biased or a hater, you can stop reading now.

To start this season in basketball, fans were expecting a monster season from Russell Westbrook with the "betrayal" of Kevin Durant to the GSW.
And Rightfully so.  He was the clear front runner for MVP even before the season had started (with Kawhi as a 2nd pick), and he is averaging an "esteemed triple-double" as many expected.

Westbrook Stats: Per 36 minutes" 31.0 pts, 10.8 ast, 11.1 trb, 5.7 tov, eFG: 47%, DRtg: 104

Team Record: 25-19 (6th seed)

Perhaps what’s more unexpected is the performance of James Harden, who is putting up a near "amazing triple double" as well. He is having a clear MVP season and his Rockets are performing well over expections this year. Even his defense can be at least seen as above average this year which will really help his MVP chances.

Harden stats: Per 36 minutes: 28.3 pts, 11.4 ast, 8.1 trb, 5.7 tov, eFG: 53%, DRtg: 107

Team Record: 34-13 (3rd seed) 

Now, traditionally the MVP award has been given to the best player in the regular season on one of the best teams (top 2 seeds in either conference) . You may have notice this is a discussion about favoritism in the media. I say all this to say why is the NBA being so hateful toward the Warriors and specifally what Kevin Durant is doing this year. He is going to end the season with the team with the best record and is on pace for over 70 wins. They may even break the wins record this year again. The only record Harden and Westbrook will break is the all time turnover record (which Harden already broke last year)

Durant stats: per 36 minutes: 27.5 pts, 4.8 ast, 8.9 trb. 2.3 tov. eFG: 61%, DRtg: 101

Quick note:You may wonder why I choose to look at the stats I looked at. These are what I usually look at in an intial evaluation of stats, it is by no mean to be biased. Here is a quick rundown.

* pts, ast, trb: (no explanion needed)

*tov: One of the main reasons why Harden/Westbrook are looked at as the MVPs is because of their passing (assist). However, their assist/turnover ratio would make their passing numbers 

 

 

[jjj10manParticipant]

First of I would like to say this is an unpopular opinion, so if you’re biased or a hater, you can stop reading now.

To start this season in basketball, fans were expecting a monster season from Russell Westbrook with the "betrayal" of Kevin Durant to the GSW.
And Rightfully so.  He was the clear front runner for MVP even before the season had started (with Kawhi as a 2nd pick), and he is averaging an "esteemed triple-double" as many expected.

Westbrook Stats: Per 36 minutes" 31.0 pts, 10.8 ast, 11.1 trb, 5.7 tov, eFG: 47%, DRtg: 104

Team Record: 25-19 (6th seed)

Perhaps what’s more unexpected is the performance of James Harden, who is putting up a near "amazing triple double" as well. He is having a clear MVP season and his Rockets are performing well over expections this year. Even his defense can be at least seen as above average this year which will really help his MVP chances.

Harden stats: Per 36 minutes: 28.3 pts, 11.4 ast, 8.1 trb, 5.7 tov, eFG: 53%, DRtg: 107

Team Record: 34-13 (3rd seed) 

Now, traditionally the MVP award has been given to the best player in the regular season on one of the best teams (top 2 seeds in either conference) . You may have notice this is a discussion about favoritism in the media. I say all this to say why is the NBA being so hateful toward the Warriors and specifally what Kevin Durant is doing this year. He is going to end the season with the team with the best record and is on pace for over 70 wins. They may even break the wins record this year again. The only record Harden and Westbrook will break is the all time turnover record (which Harden already broke last year). I say all this to say why is the media so hateful toward KD. I get it, he left OKC. But this by no means disqualifys him from getting the awards he deserves if he earns them. The fact that Westbrook (who plays for a non-contender) is even in the MVP discussion is just a slight toward Durant perpetuated by the fans and the media. Every year, what happens when you see someone performing well on an average team. Everyone says "he is just putting up numbers because he is on a bad team". But when Westbrook – a fan/media favorite since july 4th 2016 – does it "WOW LOOK AT THE PRETTY TRIPLE DOUBLE". 

This isn’t meant to discredit Harden or Westbrook (to a lesser extent than Harden). But a triple double doesn’t mean everything *gasp*

yea I said it. 
When Oscar Robertson got a triple double, I could make a strong case he was the 4th/5th best player in the league at that time.

Durant stats: per 36 minutes: 27.5 pts, 4.8 ast, 8.9 trb. 2.3 tov. eFG: 61%, DRtg: 101

Looking at Durant’s stats He is putting up better numbers scoring (fg%), passing (ast/tov ratio), Defense (Drtg and honestly it’s not even close), record (again, not going to even be close) and 2nd in rebounding to Westbrook (I’ll let him have this even though a 6 , 3 player isn’t going to box out KD and get the rebound)

Now. When you post something like this on the internet. the response look a little something like this:

"F*** you you bandwagon F***** Lebron all day KD is a BI*** F*** the Warriors."  (a whole different topic to discuss)

 
And all little less like this:

*Compellingly disagreeing with explanation*

I hope to see the ladder in this thread. 

Quick note 1: I know what some people will say and I want to avoid a few arguments:

1. Voter fatigue -This is how Rose won over Lebron in Miami. No it’s not, Rose won because he won the 1st seed over Lebron who got the 2nd, and Lebron just put together what was though to be one of the best teams of all time.
2. Steph Curry – he will take votes away from KD. No he will not. Max Kellerman makes this point alot, and while I thought this at the beginning of the year, it just isn’t true anymore. Steph is not the best player on the Warriors no matter how you look at it.

 

 

Quick note 2:You may wonder why I choose to look at the stats I looked at. These are what I usually look at in an intial evaluation of stats, it is by no mean to be biased. Here is a quick rundown.

* pts, ast, trb: (no explanion needed)

* tov: One of the main reasons why Harden/Westbrook are looked at as the MVPs is because of their passing (assist). However, their assist/turnover ratio would make their passing numbers look very average for a PG.

* eFG: This is an amazing stat that really helps show the effectivness of the 3 point line and avoid looking at FG% and 3 point % seperately. The players with the highest FG% will have some of the highest eFGs anyway, so this distintion really doesn’t matter.

*DRtg: Defensive Rating is a good way to get an estimate of how a player is performing on defense. Again, alot easier than looking at steals, blocks, on ball defense, and post defense.

per 36 minutes: just looking at stats if everyone played the same minutes as a starter; 20 points in 20 minutes is way more impressive than 20 in 48 minutes.

 

 

 

 

[SubZeroParticipant]

I see what you’re saying and can actually appreciate hearing a different opinion when it’s actually articulated well and not just screaming at me in all caps (even though I’m a proud OKC fan and vehement KD/Golden State hater). Even still, I disagree.

I can understand why people’s reaction to the love that Westbrook gets for the triple doubles is “yeah triple doubles are great, but they aren’t everything,” and I agree. That’s not why I think he’s above KD in the rankings; same goes for Harden. Take Russell off the team and how good are the Thunder? Without looking the stats up, I’d bet they’d be one of the 3 worst teams in the West at least. Take Harden off the team and how good are the Rockets? They don’t make the playoffs. Take KD off the team, and how good are the Warriors? Still the favorite for the 1 seed; yes, Bogut, Ezeli, and their depth were big reasons for their 73 win season, but they don’t make a 10 win difference.

Yes, I know how amazingly dominant and efficient Durant has been. Seeing him this year is basically torture every minute he’s on the court because I think of how different it could’ve been back in OKC (not to mention everyday it seems like some sports news outlet is mentioning that we once had Russ, Harden, and KD). But when you think about who deserves the Most Valuable Player award, seeing one of the best players in the world join a team that just set the record for most wins and go up 3-1 in the Finals wouldn’t convince many people to vote for him over other guys who break their backs night in and night out by carrying their team, and who are both having some of the best individual seasons ever.

Again, please don’t see this as just blind KD hate/Russell love. I’ll never try to hide my opinions (like how John Wall is the best PG in the East and should be starting; sue me), but I try to be objective when I argue anything sports

[jjj10manParticipant]

 I don’t think the whole "take him off the team" argument matters. If you took Embiid off the Sixers, they would probably be the worst team of all time. Should he get MVP consdieration? Same with Anthony Davis.

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

If you took Embiid off the Sixers, they would probably be the worst team of all time. Should he get MVP consdieration? Same with Anthony Davis.

————————————————————————————————————————-

 If they were leading their teams to the third and sixth seed in their conference, then yeah probably

[MatosParticipant]

 Lebron wins every year then by those standards. Literally took the #1 pick Cavs to the finals.

[SubZeroParticipant]

I think the Cavs now would make (or at least fight for a spot in) the playoffs even without Lebron. They didn’t have KLove before Lebron came and the guys on the team are much better now I think from having played with Lebron.

I don’t necessarily disagree and think that Lebron could definitely win it every year if they just give it to the best player, but he’s just not making as much noise this year

[KingslayerParticipant]

I’ve done a little digging on the defensive rating stat from basketball reference (where you plucked the DRtg stat from for this post), and realized that it’s a poor measure of individual defensive performance.

The formula is complicated, but it’s essentially the team defensive rating (a great stat), adjusted for a player’s steals, blocks and defensive rebounds. If a player does well in those cats, they will always have a better defensive rating than the team average on basketball reference, and vice versa.

The defensive rating on nba.com is a much better indicator IMO, as is ESPN’s defensive real plus minus stat.

As for the thread topic, I think KD is just as deserving for MVP this year.

 

[jjj10manParticipant]

 It’s true that DRtg favors better defensive teams, but the Warriors are the best defense because they have KD and KD is the 2nd best defender on that team. He’s also a way better defender than Westbrook and Harden.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Realistically speaking Harden is pulling away. It seems as though everyone is routing for Westbrook though. I cant seem to vote for a Warrior considering without Curry and Durant they would still have a playoff team. Heres my top candidatrs.

1. Harden

2.Westbrook

3.Leonard

4.James

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