Cast your mind back to December 8th, the Houston Rockets were sitting in 14th in the West with an 11-13 record. They were nothing like the 65 team from last season. Less than a month later and Houston are 22-15 and on course to crash the top of the West. The main reason for their great run of form is due to one man. The reigning MVP; James Harden.
James Harden has been pretty good all season but over his last 12 games he is putting up numbers that can rivals some all time greats. Averaging 40,9,6 with 2 steals over his last 12 games with 11 wins have rocketed him (pardon the pun) to the top of the MVP ladder. He has an NBA record 8 straight games with 35ppg and 5apg and its hard to see this streak stopping any time soon.
He really has put this team on his back and with CP3 and Eric Gordon missing time the pressure has really been on him. Over the whole season he is averaging 33.6ppg which would be the highest since Kobe in 2005/06. He leads the league in 40 (10) and 50 (2) point games this season. In my eyes Harden is clearly the best scorer in the league and he has a case to be one of the best playmakers too. His league leading 6 13+ assist games prove this.
Harden gets a lot of stick for getting to the free throw line cheaply but he's crafty, he knows how to get calls and many other players would be praised for this. He is also shooting a ridiculous amount of 3's per games (12.2) and is hitting them at a 39% clip would be a career high for him. Some casual fans see Harden as an inefficient scorer who relies on free throws but in 8 of his last 12 games he has shot over 40% on 3's and if you take away all free throw he would still lead the league in scoring.
The game against Golden State seemed like the turning point in the MVP race, every season the MVP has 'that game' or 'that play' that resonates with the fans, it almost pinpoints the moment the MVP was won. A game winning shot at the Oracle after being down 20 against 4 All Stars (and the Refs) to cap of a 44-10-15 triple double night was one of them moments.
If Harden continues this crazy run while still getting wins I can see him going back to back. It's time to start appreciating one of the best offensive players of this era.