It wouldn’t be April in the NBA without the Houston Rockets distributing a video yearbook in hopes of swaying some opinions during NBA awards season. This year, the Rockets have an undeniable MVP candidate in James Harden, and the team is doing everything it can to remind the voters that there are people out there not named “Stephen Curry” worthy of a first place vote. Here’s a little sample of what Daryl Morey & Co. sent out, courtesy of Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears:
Unfortunately, Harden’s stellar season just happened to coincide with the Golden State Warriors submitting one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history, and their leader (Curry) is closing out his MVP campaign with absurd efficiency. During the Warriors’ recent 11-game winning streak, Curry is shooting 48% from the field, including 53% from three-point range. On top of that, Curry is a perfect 51/51 from the free throw line.
The case for Harden: The Beard just submitted his second 50-point game in the past week, and has carried the Rockets — often without Dwight Howard — to the second-best record in a tough Western Conference. He leads the team in points, assists and steals per game, and is just shy of the team lead in total rebounds and blocks. That would be a slam dunk case in most seasons. This isn’t “most seasons” though, as evidenced by the tough decision the voters have in front of them.
It’s horrible across the entire ballot. Agony. RT @tomhaberstroh: MVP note: this is really hard.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 3, 2015
[Instagram, photo: AP/Jeff Chiu]
