NBA MVP Race: 3 keys to James Harden’s MVP case
By Duncan Smith
Key No. 2 to James Harden’s candidacy in the NBA MVP race: Doing it without KD
James Harden wanted to come to Brooklyn in the first place to play with his friend and former teammate Kevin Durant, but things haven’t worked out the way they planned. Thanks to Durant’s absences due to injury and health and safety protocols, Harden and Durant have played just 268 minutes together.
It’s not conducive to future playoff success, but it’s helpful for James Harden’s MVP campaign. It’s hard to win MVP with a top-five player like Durant on your team, but the remarkable success that Harden and the Nets have had without him tells the story of just how good he’s been this season.
The Nets won’t win an NBA championship without Kevin Durant, who has played only 19 games this season, but Harden has made the most of this critical stretch in his absence. Hopefully, Durant is able to make it back into the lineup soon with a clean bill of health, but until then expect Harden to continue to rack up more potential MVP votes as this season goes on.