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NBA Awards Watch: Can Tim Duncan win Defensive Player of the Year?

By Brad Rowland

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) during the second half at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 101-93. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) during the second half at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 101-93. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 131-106. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 131-106. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Valuable Player

  1. James Harden, Houston Rockets – With an explosive showing against the Indiana Pacers on Monday evening, James Harden has taken the crown… for now. The lefty shooting guard scored 45 points (on just 18 field goal attempts) and dished out 7 assists in a 12-point win over the Pacers, and with that, he has lengthened his lead in the league’s scoring race at 27.1 points per game. Harden is also contributing 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game this season, and more than that, his defense has become largely passable, which is a huge win from where he was just a year ago. Houston is an impressive 29-13 despite some significant obstacles, and with Harden leading the NBA in win shares, he is the right choice at the moment.
  2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors – Curry has been in the mix all year, and he will continue to be as long as his team is playing this well. Golden State is the best team in the NBA by any discernible measure, and their point guard is playing at an elite level. Curry actually leads Harden in PER (27.95 to 27.29) while nearly mirroring him in most advanced metrics, and only a slight dip in scoring and rebounding gives Harden the edge. Curry’s efficiency is staggering by nature of a 63.6% true shooting (50/40/92 shooting splits), and as a point guard, he has fully arrived as a distributor.
  3. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – I continue to believe that Anthony Davis should be in the MVP mix. Perhaps it is a philosophical difference, but when considering where the Pelicans would be without him, it is difficult to deny his “value”. For instance, New Orleans has now lost to both the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks over the last week in games where Davis did not appear, and it is borderline amazing that the 21-year-old continues to drag that roster to a near .500 record. It helps that Davis leads the NBA in PER (31.55) by a wide gap to go along with his per-game averages of 24.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, but it is short-sighted to exclude him from the running because of his team’s shortcomings.

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