Preview: The OKC Thunder face conference rival the Houston Rockets in home finale
By Alex Mcewen
Stopping the back-to-back MVP
On December 10, 2018, the Houston Rockets sat at 11-14, three games under .500, positioned 14th in the Western Conference. In their next 56 games, the Rockets have only dropped 14 contests, possess the best record in the West, and the second-best record in the entire NBA, trailing only the league-leading Bucks.
After scoring 31-points in his squad’s blowout victory over the Devin Booker-less Phoenix Suns, James Harden only needs to score a pedestrian 17-points tonight. Then he will have scored more this season: 2796, than in his entire Oklahoma City Thunder career: 2795. Spoiler alert baring something unforeseen or unfortunate Harden will eclipse the 17-point threshold.
Tomorrow night, the Thunder will face the runner-up for MVP, the Greek Freak aka Giannis Antetokounmpo. But, tonight they will face the soon-to-be winner of the leagues most coveted award.
What Giannis accomplished this season was special and should be properly recognized, earning the NBA’s best overall record is no small feat. However, when Westbrook won MVP I did not hold team success against him, therefore doing so for Harden is somewhat hypocritical. His offensive season was sensational and will earn him back-to-back MVP hardware.