NBA: 10 best games of James Harden's 2017-18 season
James "The Beard" Harden is the MVP frontrunner for the 2017-18 season. There are just no two ways about it. Yes, LeBron James can be ranked a close second and there have been other notable MVP ballot candidates like Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and maybe even DeMar DeRozan.
Multiple narratives change the order of the MVP ballot but a majority of them Harden and LeBron in the top 2 slots. And to make a choice there, how about this - Harden leads the league in almost every advanced stats category that determines the value of the player - Player Impact Estimate (PIE) - 19.4, Player Efficiency Rating (PER) - 29.87 and Win Shares - 15.4.
The Beard has had a spectacular season and before the Playoffs tip-off, let's take a look back at his 10 best from this past regular season:
#10 Against the LA Clippers, 28th February 2018
Stat line: 25 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals on 50% shooting
A huge reason why this game is on the list is that crossover you can see in the image. Have a look at the separation he is able to create, then, of course, he stared Wesley Johnson down and then added insult to injury by knocking down the three-pointer.
For a more in-depth look at this nasty crossover, take it from Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady:
Other than the crossover, Harden's numbers don't break the stat sheet like most of his other game but in his time on the floor, he did enough to lead the Houston Rockets to a comfortable 13-point win. He was +17 in his 33 minutes on the floor and like a lot of the games on this list, he shot above 50% from the field.