5 Reasons Why James Harden Is The 2017-18 NBA MVP
Through seven weeks of the 2017-18 NBA regular season, the Houston Rockets are the owners of the best record in the West. Yes, the Rockets with an 18-4 record, hold a slim one-game lead over the reigning champions - the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the Conference. In addition, Houston trails the Boston Celtics by just one-game for the best record in the league.
Since the onset of the November, the Rockets have been on a tear. Other than dropping a game against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 14, the team has been unbeaten. And they've been doing it without being challenged, blowing away teams by an average margin of 19.8 points. Not to mention, a majority of those wins came while Chris Paul was still recovering from his knee issues.
However, the Rockets have not been talked about that much with the all the noise that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have made in the East and the attention the Oklahoma City Thunder have garnered in the West.
It might be early with just around 22 games done but here are 5 reasons why James Harden is the MVP:
#5 Engine behind the Rockets' offense in Houston
At the time of writing, the Rockets are second in the league for their offense with a rating of 112.5, second only to the Warriors. They are currently on a run where they've won 13 of their last 14 games and in 11 of those victories, they've scored more than 115 points. They have just dialed up what they did last year.
Just like last year, Houston is decimating the NBA records when it comes to three-pointers attempted and made. A lot of those open shots come because the management has assembled a roster of multiple shooters but the engine of the team's motor is James Harden.
Harden is not only a deadly threat himself but his offensive prowess allows him to create multiple open shots for multiple teammates over the course of a game. Through 22 games this season, he averages 31.7 points and 9.7 assists, which approximately contributes to around 50-60 points per game (depending on nature of assists) while the team averages 114.1 points per game.