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James Harden went 33-10-6-3 last night and nailed a game-winning buzzer-beater. Perhaps you've read about it on TheDreamShake dot com.
Every game, it seems Harden does more and more to separate himself from the MVP field. He's the league's leader in scoring, total points and win shares, is averaging damn near 7 assists a game and right at two steals per game. And, oh by the way, the Rockets are 30-14 this year and, if the season ended today, they'd have home-court advantage in the 4-5 series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Without Stephen Curry, the Warriors would have Shaun Livingston, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala. Without Harden -- who leads the NBA in field goal attempts by 40 -- the Rockets might have a losing record.
And yet:
Harden still No. 2 in MVP ranker - SBNation.com
Klay Thompson is at No. 8 on this list, so it continues to boggle the mind that James Harden is behind Stephen Curry. The MVP is not a "best player on the best team award." They give out the No. 1 seed already for the best team. It's a most valuable award, and Harden has been way more valuable to the Rockets than Chicken Curry Masala has been to the Dubs.
How Valuable Is James Harden? | Hoops Habit
A solid breakdown of just how valuable James Harden has been. I'm going to get on my editor's cap here and say one thing:
To new writers on FanSided, B/R or wherever: you don't need 300 words of exposition to get to your point. I shouldn't have to scroll halfway down the page of an article titled "How valuable is James Harden?" for you to start talking about how valuable James Harden is. /end rant
Goran Dragic insists Rockets will have equal chance in free agency | Ultimate Rockets
Good to hear, but I'd prefer him saying "The Rockets have my heart... /tears up... they have my heart."
Q+A: Corey Brewer | SLAM Magazine
The Rockets swingman on adjusting to life in Houston and a new role coming off the bench. A great Q&A that touches on the Florida-NBA Pipeline, the work his foundation does, what it's like playing with Harden and Howard and a bunch of other stuff. He's a good talker. Glad he's in H-Town.
Podcast: Houston Rockets, NBA trades | Sheridan Hoops
In a podcast for the Red & Orange Report, Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops discusses all things Rockets and how they are impacting the rest of the NBA.
Never Underestimate The Heart Of A Warrior | House of Houston
Old friend Brandon Davis (BD34) is now on Fansided. He writes "The Warriors are better than the Rockets. Read that. Commit it to memory. Embrace it, even. In a seven game series, the Rockets most likely don't make it past the Warriors." He also got the title of our site wrong! (It's The Dream Shake, in case you were wondering, not The Dreamshake).