Brooklyn Nets: 3 reasons James Harden can win MVP in 2020-21
By Mike Luciano
No. 2: Harden is both scoring and distributing the basketball
The gaudy scoring totals will always grab anyone’s attention, but Harden did once lead the league in assists with the Rockets, and the decline in passing production came from sharing the floor with two other ball-dominant passers in Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
With Kyrie willingly giving Harden the point guard job, both of them have flourished in their new roles. While Irving is averaging 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game since Brooklyn’s win against the Indiana Pacers in mid-February, Harden has raced out the league’s assist lead, averaging 11.4 per game with the Nets and 11.1 overall.
Nets star James Harden is one of the game’s best passers
What really stands out in regard to Brooklyn’s offense is how lethal their half-court sets have been and how frequently they turn the pick-and-roll into points. It doesn’t take the sharpest of NBA minds to see that Harden has positively impacted the offense due to his elite shot-making ability and keen passing vision.
With Harden not shooting at the volume that made him so dominant in Houston, he needed to add some more dimensions to his game in order to make a run at MVP. Harden has done exactly that with the Nets this year, and a league assists title might be enough to get him some consideration for the game’s top individual prize.