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One-On-One: Who will be the NBA MVP?

Steph Curry
This year in the NBA, the race for the MVP is a tight one. This season has been filled with high scoring action and unbelievable performances. The Western Conference is full of great teams and even better talent including three of the four MVP candidates. The candidates are Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, but Curry is the runaway winner.

The MVP award should go out to the best player on the best team. The Golden State Warriors are that team, and Curry is that player. The Warriors own a 66-15 record, along with an astounding 38-2 home record.

Curry’s stat line is also impressive and has an NBA record to his name. Curry is sixth in scoring and assists with 23.9 points per game and 7.7 assists per game. He leads the league in three-pointers attempted and made, and he broke his own record for most three-pointers in a season. Curry is also fourth in steals, with two per game.

Harden and Westbrook are also having great seasons and are both battling for the scoring title. Westbrook leads the league in triple-doubles, but the Thunder might not make the playoffs and Harden doesn’t provide a defensive presence. As for LeBron James and the Cavaliers, they only own the seventh best record in the NBA.

The Warriors are the best team in the league and have the best all-around player in Curry.

— Cullen Begley

James Harden
What a season Stephen Curry has had. I truly mean that.

He has mastered the unbelievable talent of being able to shoot from anywhere, at anytime, which has become almost like a video game.

However, to the dismay of many Golden State fans, the two guard next to Curry, Klay Thompson, has basically mastered the same talent.

Many talk about Curry and Harden in the same vein for the NBA scoring title, but it’s interesting to point out that Thompson is closer to Curry in the scoring race than Curry is to Harden. Harden is notching 27.5 points per game, while Curry is putting up 23.9.

It’s not just points. Harden has three triple-doubles to Curry’s zero, and has more 50 point (two to one) and 40 point (seven to two) games on the season than Curry. Not to mention that Harden is also recording more blocks and rebounds than Curry, while basically averaging the same amount of steals as Curry.

But stats are stats, and the real impact comes if you imagine each team without Curry or Harden. Take away Curry, and Golden State still has Thompson, David Lee, Draymon Green and Harrison Barnes. Take away Harden, and Houston has the perennial crybaby Dwight Howard, Patrick Beverly, (who has a broken wrist), and Josh Smith, whose basketball IQ is the same as mine was when I was in eighth grade.

It’s simple: Harden means more to Houston than Curry does to Golden State. Ergo, Harden Most Valuable Player of the NBA.

— Chris Kwiecinski

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