MVP Race(All-Star Break)
5. John Wall
4. Anthony Davis
3. LeBron James
2. James Harden
1. Steph Curry
Not listed: Russ Westbrook
MVP Race currently(Mar. 5):
5. Anthony Davis
4. LeBron James
3. Steph Curry
2. James Harden
1. Russ Westbrook
First things first, I’m not gonna talk about The Vine. Chances are you’ve probably seen it. If not, watch it at the bottom. It’s awesome.
Secondly, I fudged up fellas. A little more than two weeks ago, during the All-Star Break, I declined to put Russ Westbrook in the top five of my immensely meaningful MVP ballot. My reasoning primarily centered around my worry that with his 1st half injury troubles it would be hard for him to accumulate enough games to challenge the remarkably healthy Steph Curry and James Harden.
I didn’t put him on my ballot, despite his being my preseason MVP pick, so some of you may look at him being #1 on my new ballot today and determine I’m just jumping on the Westbrook bandwagon that’s taken off in the last two weeks. On the surface this seems fair, but c’mon, would a person jumping on a particular band’s wagon really have this to say two weeks prior…
“Westbrook is an interesting player here, because it’s not inconceivable to think Russ is about to do something we’ve never seen before in the second half of the season and steal the MVP. I didn’t even include Russ on my top 5 MVP list, but not only would I not be surprised to see Russ make an MVP hero run, I’m rooting for it and half-expecting it…Russ without a doubt has the least chill of NBA player in history. He has no idea what chill is. That’s why Russ is so awesome man. He’s made up of the four main ingredients that any great person must consist of; he’s Cool; he’s Classy; he’s Bold; and he’s Hard…ok maybe Russ isn’t all that hard, but we’ll cheat a little bit here because he has more Boldness in him than any human being can possible handle.”
(I’ll pause while you consider the possibility of me being a psychic)
(Still pausing)
(I’m not a psychic dummies, just a Basketball Baby Jesus)
(Unpause)
For those of you living under a rock(includes: work, school, homework, family obligations, sleeping, and literally living under a rock), Russ is doing something many of us have never been alive to see. He just became the first player since MJ 26 years ago to have 4 straight triple-doubles. I’m 23. He also became only the 3rd player ever, after MJ and Pistol Pete Maravich, to record consecutive triple-doubles while scoring over 40 points. He fractured his cheekbone, missed one game, and came back to put up 49 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists last night. Yes, it took overtime to beat the 76ers, but imagine how bad it would have been WITHOUT Westbrook. OKC is 6-1 with Westbrook since the All-Star Break, and 8-2 in their last 10, all without the man normally considered to be the alpha dog of the team, reigning MVP Kevin Durant. Reggie Jackson is gone, which is meaningful. Kendrick Perkins as well, which isn’t. Sometimes fans like to lash out when they see a player dominating 40% his team’s percentage of possessions like Westbrook has since the Break, and sometimes fans are right. But Westbrook’s run seems different. There are only a handful of players in every generation that can play full-on “hero ball” while still leading his team to victories.
Hero-ball, by my definition, should not be confused with a “heat check”. Plenty of players in the NBA are capable of taking over any single game scoring wise; guys that once they get hot, they stay hot and everything falls. These are “heat-check” guys. Lou Williams is one of these guys. Bradley Beal is one of these guys. Shit, even Nick Young deserves the moniker, though not as often as he thinks. Every single team has one of those guys that goes off for 30+ five to ten times a game, leading their team to victory or at least keeping them in the game. These guys are important, but they are prone to disappearing for long stretches, and ultimately are rarely the kind of guys you want to be “THE GUY” on your team.
“Hero-ball” players on the other hand are the guys that can lead their teams to victory every single night. They’re the guys that can look the rest of their teammates in the eyes and say, “get the fuck out my way” and his teammates actually listen. And it works! How many players can lead an otherwise mediocre team to the playoffs, or keep their team afloat when their teammates go down for long stretches? Kobe was obviously one of those guys back in the day.
LeBron is one of those guys, and so is James Harden. Steph has never had to play hero-ball because Klay stays healthy. Kevin Durant should be one of those guys, but after the 2013 Playoffs, I’m not so sure. Westbrook, though the sample size is small, is absolutely KILLING the hero ball game right now. He reset his single game scoring record three times in the month of February alone, and the Thunder won every game. He averaged 31/9/10. Geezus.
So why does Westbrook seem entirely more capable of carrying a team on his own than Durant? Sometimes, it’s a matter of want. Even when Durant is on the court, Westbrook has the “hero-ball” mindset. No other player in the NBA appears to care more about winning than Westbrook. He’s not the most skilled player, but he will rip your throat out to beat you. Planet Earth does not currently have a tool large enough to accurately measure the chip on Westbrook’s shoulder.
One can imagine that when Westbrook goes down, Durant feels the pressure and begins to put too much weight on his shoulders. When Durant goes down, one can imagine Westbrook smiling in the mirror, licking his pinkies and slicking back his eyebrows before quietly whispering to himself, “It’s showtime, Russ” followed by going off for 40/20/10 and most importantly, winning.
Maybe, Russ has just gotten hot. He’s had chances to lead before and fallen short. But now Russ has gone Super Saiyan, and for all my DBZ fans out there, you understand that this is a very good thing for the Thunder and a very bad thing for other teams. He’s turned that corner, and I suspect that even when Durant returns, this will remain Westbrook’s team, for the better.
Ultimately, the idea of what an MVP should be depends on the person. Personally, I’m not into this idea that the player has to play on one of the top teams in the league, but I do think they should make the playoffs. My thinking is, you can’t be the most valuable player in the league if you don’t make the playoffs, even if your team would have finished 5th in the Big Ten, let alone the NBA, without you. Steph has been great, but his MVP candidacy is unquestionably boosted by his team’s success. Harden is incredible, but has struggled after the All-Star Break and his body may be wearing down from the pressure of having to pantomime getting fouled 30 times a night. As refs catch on to Harden’s antics, he’s decided to simply up the performance art of his game rather than stop acting. Last time I compared Harden to a tuba player in a jazz band. Today, I’m going to compare him to Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, a movie I have not seen BTDUBS. You respect the acting, but it’s not very fun to watch each person do his thing. It feels dirty.
Russ is the drummer from Whiplash, I think(also have not seen). Russ is Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler. He’s a tour de force. A person so determined and good at what they’re doing that you can’t help but laugh. It’s uncomfortable because you’re pretty sure someone is going to die trying to stop them, but you can’t look away, it’s just that captivating.
That’s really the best word for Russ: captivating. He’s still a long-shot for the “actual” MVP award, and he needs to continue to keep OKC on the right side of the playoff picture, but I consider myself “captivated” enough by Russ Westbrook to consider him my MVP on March 5. Keep captivating Russ.
Zane Writes Well 