Count new Houston Rockets big man Kenneth Faried among those who think that James Harden already has back-to-back MVP awards on lock.
“Y’all might as well give him the trophy now and get it over with so we don’t have to worry about it later,” said Faried, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Faried may be right.
Harden currently has a streak of 23 consecutive 30-point games going, and during that span, he has scored 40 points 14 times and has notched 50 points four times. Oh, and he also dropped 61 points in a win over the New York Knicks last week.
Most recently, Harden poured in 40 during a victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
In the month of January overall, the 28-year-old is averaging 44.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks over 38.8 minutes per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, 33.5 percent from three-point range and 90.7 percent from the free-throw line.
He has also registered double-digit free-throw totals in nine of his last 11 contests, topping out at 23 free-throw attempts during a 58-point performance against the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 16.
On the year overall, Harden is recording 36.3 points, 8.2 assists, 6.6 boards and two steals across 37.4 minutes a night while making 44 percent of his field-goal attempts, 36.8 percent of his long-distance tries and 86.8 percent of his foul shots.
Not only is Harden aiming for back-to-back MVP awards, but it also looks like he is going to win back-to-back scoring titles. Last season, he paced the NBA with 30.4 points per game, and this year, he is in the process of absolutely shattering that number.
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