The Houston Rockets had a rough start to the season but they have caught fire of late. They were 11-14 on December 8th but have won 11 of their last 12 games to climb up to the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. They’ve been playing without Chris Paul but that hasn’t mattered as James Harden has taken his game to another level in the last month. That’s led the BetDSI oddsmakers to post him as the odds-on favorite to win the 2018-19 MVP Award:
2018-19 NBA MVP Odds
James Harden +250
Giannis Antetokounmpo +450
LeBron James +500
Anthony Davis +750
Kawhi Leonard +1000
Stephen Curry +1200
Kevin Durant +1200
Joel Embiid +1500
Paul George +2500
Russell Westbrook +3000
Nikola Jokic +5000
Damian Lillard +7500
Kyrie Irving +7500
Ben Simmons +20000
Donovan Mitchell +20000
Victor Oladipo +20000
Blake Griffin +30000
DeMar DeRozan +30000
Throughout most of the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the favorite as he’s led the Milwaukee Bucks to the top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, Harden’s numbers recently are simply unparalleled — not only this season, but ever.
Related: NBA MVP Betting
To start, Harden is now the first player in NBA history to record at least 35 points and five assists in nine straight games. On Thursday, he scored over 40 for the fifth straight game while posting his second straight 40-point triple-double. The only other players to have scored 40 or more in five straight games are Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. Over his last 11 games, he’s averaging a ridiculous 41.1 points per game along with 9.5 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 6.1 threes. The Greek Freak is having a nice season with 26.3 points per game, 12.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals but Harden is on a whole other planet right now.
What has helped Harden’s case to move up into the role of the favorite is a few things. To start, he plays in the Western Conference, which is viewed as the tougher of the two conferences. Secondly, a chunk of his team is injured as Paul is out and even Eric Gordon missed Thursday’s game. Lastly, Harden just led the Rockets back from a 20-point deficit on the road in Golden State — against the two-time defending champions — while hitting the game-winning three-pointer. That all happened on live television, so he’s squarely in the spotlight right now. As well as The Greek Freak has played, not many of his games are viewed nationwide as the Bucks just aren’t that type of an attraction.
We’ve still got a long way to go in the season but Harden is now the clear-cut favorite. With LeBron James nursing an injury, Anthony Davis’ New Orleans Pelicans slumping and Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors getting beat in San Antonio on Thursday, it seems like this will be a two-horse race for the time being. As of now, Harden leads and Antetekounmpo will have to catch up down the stretch or hope that Harden cools off.
