LeBron James And James Harden Duel In The “Battle For MVP”
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Houston Rockets in a nail-biter. In the “Battle for MVP”, LeBron James and James Harden squared off in what made for a classic game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Houston Rockets, 112-117, in what was one of the best regular season games of this season. Lead changes, MVP-candidates putting up MVP performances, clutch baskets – this game had it all! However, in what I will call the “Battle for MVP”, how did last night’s performance effect voters decisions on who should win the NBA MVP award? Did LeBron James one-up James Harden, or vice-versa?
Player A: 38 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers
13-28 from the field, 4-14 from three-point range, 8-12 from the free-throw line
Player B: 30 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 8 turnovers
12-20 from the field, 4-11 from three-point range, 2-3 from the free-throw line
Player A is Harden, Player B is James.
Harden had a better game than James by a fair margin, especially down the stretch.
LeBron turned the ball over time and time again, failed to assert himself as a scorer and ran out of energy by the end of the game.
This after playing his typical brand of bruising, cerebral basketball for the first three quarters. The two big stats from this game for James are his 8 turnovers and 3 free throw attempts. Both numbers are indicative of James’ passive plays as he, at times, refused to take over in a close game against a team they could meet in the NBA Finals and instead tried to attempt a long pass to a three-point shooter that was picked off in the lane or avoiding trying to score in the paint.
Of course, James’ size still causes refs to make calls against James as his muscular frame knocks over opponents on the way to the rim. Nonetheless, James didn’t assert himself enough down the stretch and he knows it. The most impressive part of James’ play was how he stepped up to hit threes to keep them in the game.
Harden played a strong all-around game on both ends. It’s clear that Harden has a high basketball IQ and a real knack for drawing fouls. Harden did take more tough threes than he needed to but that’s just nitpicking his performance. The Beard did work in the third quarter, scoring 11 points and taking advantage of poor pick-and-roll defense (as well as knee tendinitis) by Tristan Thompson.
When looking at the game, one could easily see why Harden should be the MVP. He was certainly the MVP in last night’s game, a head-to-head matchup in a nationally televised game that fans will certainly remember when they cast their votes for the most coveted award of the regular season.
However, there are other stats that stick out.
Cleveland had two players with an offensive rating 77 or below in Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. Shumpert and Smith were a combined 3-15 from the field and 1-10 from three-point range. The problem isn’t just that these two played 52 minutes combined, it’s that by missing so many shots James became less effective as a facilitator. Unfortunately, the Cavs don’t have many players who attack the rim off-ball, they have players that shoot from distance.
The Cavs best off-ball cutters, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams, were a combined 8-8 from the field and 5-5 from three-point range. Yet, Williams only played for 10 minutes and Jefferson was placed in lineups with poor spacing in the second half, hindering his ability to attack the rim.
One other stat to consider, the Cleveland Cavaliers had 4 offensive rebounds. The Houston Rockets had 20 offensive rebounds.
Choosing to play small for most of the game, Lue curiously played Shumpert (6-foot-5) for 30 minutes and Frye (6-foot-11) for 14 minutes despite the Cavs being outrebounded all game. As previously mentioned, Williams (6-foot-8) played for 10 minutes as Deron Williams (6-3) played 23 minutes. 6-foot-10 power forward Kevin Love, who averages 11.1 rebounds per game this season, is still out while he recovers from knee surgery. Thompson, who is dealing with knee tendinitis, played 33 minutes.
Harden is MVP-worthy but he’s also playing what’s on a very talented and healthy team with an experienced coach. They’ve been relatively healthy all season.
James is MVP-worthy and he’s playing with a team whose best players have been hurt for the better part of the season. He’s playing for a rookie head coach.
Lue never rested James in the fourth, which would obviously have James tired as they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back on the road. D’Antoni smartly sat Harden at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Substitution patterns and the cognizance to manage the best player’s minutes so he can maximize his playing ability will come with experience perhaps. Nonetheless, Lue’s substitutions and minute management leave a lot to be desired.
Harden may very well end up as the league MVP and it would be well-deserved. I’m a Texas-native and Harden is actually one of my favorite players in the league. I was exciting about his quick rise to superstardom after he was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets.
Still, James is my favorite player of all-time and his greatness, like his size, plays against him. His talent level is so high, people may be unwilling to think that James has had to overcome injuries to two starters and the many, many grievances that can voiced about Lue.
As far as most valuable player goes, I still have to say it’s James. Put James on the Houston Rockets and Harden on the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. James would be a tailor-made point forward for D’Antoni, a veteran head coach, and be playing on a healthy team night-in and night-out.
Harden would be able to play James’ role offensively. However, Harden couldn’t play 1-5 on any given night and be expected to make a defensive impact on a nightly basis. He would have to overcome injuries to two starters. He would have to play for a coach that rarely rested him in any game and mismanage his minutes while playing favorites with the others.
Who’s the real MVP? Who has overcome more but has still dominated and has his team poised to make a run to the NBA Finals for the seventh time in as many years?
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Who do you think is the MVP? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.