Predicting the NBA MVP
Who ya got? Our staff picks who they think will grab the MVP.
Adrienne Luis: Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving, the Cavalier’s former starting point guard, was traded to the Celtics prior to the start of the season.
“I’ve had the unique opportunity to play with one of the greats. It was awesome. At times, it was all over just like it is in any other team. And when you look back, you’re eternally grateful for the moments that you had and you shared. You’re able to be at peace with that journey and start anew” said Irving on former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James.
“Me leaving there wasn’t about basketball, it was more or less about creating that foundation of me in Cleveland, and then now taking this next step as a 25-year-old evolving man and being the best basketball player I can be,” Irving said (via ESPN).
Until Gordon Hayward’s horrific ankle injury, Irving and Hayward were meant to carry the team throughout the season.
Now, without Hayward, Irving has become the “focal point” he was reportedly seeking to be.
So, with the experience that comes from being a former NBA champion and four-time All Star, Irving led the Celtics through a 16-game win streak.
At one point, he averaged 32.5 points over four games last week, shooting 64.8% from the field while making 12 of 20 (60.0%) three-point attempts.
In the game against the Mavericks, Irving scored 47 points — including 10 in overtime — to lead the Celtics to another win.
Therefore, given his leadership, consistent scoring (especially in clutch moments), and number of wins under his belt, Irving should undoubtedly be a contender for MVP.
Adam Aaronson: James Harden
James Harden is once again deserving of the MVP Award, and it will be hard for the media to come up with a reason to screw him out of the trophy this time. As he did last year, Harden is checking all of the boxes: he leads the league in scoring (31.7 PPG) and assists (9.8 APG), and is shooting relatively efficiently from the field given his volume (45.6% FG on 21.1 FGA) to go with a career-best 40.7% from deep.
Without Chris Paul for almost the entirety of the year, he has carried the Rockets to a 16–4 record, the best in the Western Conference, and the second-best in the NBA. Harden has simply been the best player in the league offensively, has had to carry an unfairly large load (career-high 36% Usage Rate), and has his team winning a ton of games.
Joshua Sutter: Giannis Antetokounmpo
So Giannis Antetokounmpo took a leap this year, and its pretty significant. The Greek freak is playing more minutes then he has in his entire career and building on the back of his impressive end to last year’s Bucks campaign.
One of the most impressive things about Giannis is that he’s already one of the more durable NBA stars so far in his career. That matters so much when talking about a player’s arc over his career and predicting the MVP for this specific season. Knock on wood, Giannis hasn’t had a bad history of injuries so far in his career.
Each year in the league he’s continually improved to the point he’s at now. He’s shooting 55 percent from the field and grabbing over 10 rebounds while dishing out four assists a game. If this sounds like a waste of time just sounding off on his stats, I’m building up to something.
Giannis is doing all of the statistical things this season that people wanted from him. What’s been more impressive about him this season is how it feels and looks watching Giannis do his thing with the Bucks on a nightly basis.
What are you even supposed to do with him defensively? If you hold back and play a flatfooted defensive model, he just drives over you or moves around you in a couple of fluid steps. He’s more adapt at dealing with help defensive schemes and makes opponents pay with the shooters the Bucks have on the perimeter.
He’s making the Bucks so much better then they are in reality in my opinion. Granted, they’re built to play around Giannis so it’s tough to simply say that if you put a generic point guard on the Bucks things would or would not be the same. That’s a tough way to look at his MVP candidacy.
I’m assuming that Giannis will remain healthy and continue his masterful orchestration of the Bucks season. He’s getting better at everything in his game and ruining opponent’s defensive schemes. Its a beautiful thing to watch and he’ll be the league MVP by season’s end.
