To anyone who's ever met James Harden, one thing is clear — the man is not lacking confidence. So his choice for MVP early in the season didn't come as a surprise to Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver.

“The Beard,” Harden said before making his case. “Look at our record. Obviously the numbers, historic numbers. Just my performance overall.”

His Houston Rockets are 7-3 in their last 10 games (not particularly the flashiest record as Harden mentioned) and sit fourth in the West thanks to Harden's explosive playmaking on a night-to-night basis.

“We all have down seasons, bad games, bad plays or whatever,” Harden said. “It’s how you bounce back. Bad things are going to happen, things aren’t going to always go your way, but it’s about how fast you can get back up. I’m not surprised how quickly [playing point has] come together . I was already a playmaker, I was already unselfish. Having the basketball in my hands at the beginning of the game just makes my job easier.”

The team has benefitted greatly from the additions of proven sharpshooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson. Gordon is second and Anderson is third on the team in scoring, coupled with swingman Trevor Ariza, the trio make for a devastating array of knock-down three-point shooters available at Harden's disposal, as he has racked up an eyelash shy of 12 assists per game thus far this season.

If the Rockets can indeed clinch a top-four seed by season's end, Harden will have a very strong case for MVP considerations if he's still leading the league in assists as he does now.