Fansided

NBA Awards 2015: 5 reasons James Harden should have won MVP

By Luke Dahlgren

Apr 1, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after making a three point basket against the Sacramento Kings in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 115 to 111. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after making a three point basket against the Sacramento Kings in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 115 to 111. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Apr 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Mavericks 103-94 to win the series 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Mavericks 103-94 to win the series 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Harden has meant more to the Rockets’ success

Stephen Curry ended the 2014-15 season with a very respectable 15.7 win share. James Harden ended the 2015 season with a 16.4 win share. Obviously, there are statistics that can demonstrate the quality of a player over the season that Curry won at, such as Player Efficiency Rating (Curry’s 28.0 to Harden’s 26.7) and Real Plus/Minus (8.87 to 8.30), but the one statistic that truly attempts to measure the value of a player as it relates to the team’s success is win shares.

Whereas Curry was the most talented an dangerous component of the beast that is the Golden State Warriors, everything the Rockets were able to do on offense was reliant heavily on the production of James Harden, whether he was cutting to the basket, drawing fouls or generating points from the perimeter either himself or facilitating to a teammate. There is no doubt in my mind that Curry could have rose to the challenge if he had to, but Harden had to and did.

Next: Houston's inconsistency

Home/Houston Rockets