Written by Rohit Ghosh
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Westbrook vs Harden: Who is the REAL MVP?
Despite the superb regular season campaigns put together by Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James, the fact of the matter is that this season's MVP race has largely been a two-man battle between James Harden and Russell Westbrook. One leading his team to a top-3 seed in the West while putting up big-time stats, the other averaging a 30-10-10 triple-double.
Now that the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are matched up in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the question must be answered: who has more of an impact on their team?
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Winning Matters
If you're looking at team success, it's tough to look past the impact Harden's made on the Rockets. He finished the regular season No. 1 in win shares, with Westbrook at No. 5.
But what about individual efficiency?
Against the Spread, Moneyline, Totals & Player Projections: AccuScore’s NBA Playoffs Expert Picks
PER
Westbrook led the league in PER at 30.9, while Harden finished at No. 5 with 27.4.
Efficiency can often be situational and there are certain critics of the stat who put more weight on true production.
Since the NBA began tracking possessions in the 1973-1974 season, Westbrook's 2016-2017 year is head and shoulders above his historic counterparts when it came to total combined points, rebounds, and assists per 100 possessions.
James Harden makes the list, too.
AccuScore
With all this debate about the MVP race and the two players facing off in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, AccuScore decided to run some simulations to gauge how their teams would do without them.
What stands out in the data is that Houston is simply a better team than Oklahoma City. Let's say both Harden and Westbrook are out - Houston's winning percentage for the series goes from 81 percent up to 86.
If Westbrook missed the series, the Thunder’s probability of advancing goes from about 19 percent down to 10 percent. Conversely, if Harden missed the series, Houston still remains a strong favorite to advance. According to the computer, Westbrook is more valuable to his team than Harden, even if Oklahoma City is looking at long odds of advancing.
Game 2 featured a 50-point triple double from Westbrook in a 115-111 loss.
What'd we learn? OKC needs to get Westbrook more help.
