In a guest appearance on First Take this morning, Kendrick Perkins made the MVP case for newly-acquired Nets guard James Harden.
It is true that compared to the 6 seasons before this one, the MVP talk for The Beard is on the low side. A major reason for that is that now he’s on a superteam, so he stands out less.
When Harden was on the Rockets, he won 3 straight scoring titles while averaging over 34 points per game for 2 of those years. His role with the Nets is different, however. This time, the 2017-18 NBA MVP is primarily a playmaker and secondarily a scorer.
The results are there for everyone to see. The Nets have been the best 3-point shooting team in the league since acquiring Harden. Joe Harris leads the league in 3-point percentage, having brought up his splits to over 50% now.
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LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry are the major contenders in the public perception right now. Any of these 4 can pull away in people’s eyes over the upcoming month. Perkins, however, has different ideas.
Kendrick Perkins makes the MVP case for James Harden
When the discussion between Stephen A, Max, Perkins and Molly came to this year’s MVP, Perk had an ace up his sleeve. This is what he said about Harden this morning:
“With due respect to GOAT James, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the best player till February 24th has been James Harden. Not only is he the best player, he’s the best point guard in the league.”
“Let me just take you on a short trip down memory lane. The Brooklyn Nets just went on a West Coast trip. First stop, Golden State Warriors. James Harden goes into Steph Curry’s arena and gives him that business.”
“He then takes a bus ride and gives the Sacramento Kings the business. Then he goes back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns without Kyrie Irving, without Kevin Durant and 21 points down at the half. He goes and drops 38 and 11.”
“The best player in the league this year … has been James Harden! Not only is he the best player, he’s the best point guard in the league.”
👀 @KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/egghX0zqjF
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 24, 2021
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