NBA Award Updates: Harden A Substantial MVP Favorite After Torrid November Stretch

NBA Award Updates: Harden A Substantial MVP Favorite After Torrid November Stretch

NBA MVP odds are back and The Beard is sitting pretty after one hell of a No-Shave November.

MVP

The first in-season odds update came just a week into the season and the Greek Freak was putting on a hell of a show. However, as he cooled off, James Harden began filling up the stat sheet.

In his first eight games in the month of October, Harden averaged a mere 26 points and the Rockets went 5-3. In November, he averaged nearly 35 points and 10 dimes, leading Houston to a 12-1 record. Before the season began, I was a little weary of how Harden and Chris Paul would play together and how much CP3’s presence would impact Harden’s stats. So far, it has only helped. In the seven games since Paul returned, Harden has averaged 33.9 points, 8.6 assists, and 5.6 rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is still having himself an excellent season, but not good enough apparently. His Bucks are also just 12-9, which doesn’t help his chances. Unfortunately, he’ll likely have to put up even better stats than he currently is to win the award. And if you haven’t looked at his stats, they’re enough to make a DFS player drool. At 29.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.8 steals and blocks a piece, he’s putting up DraftKings points hand over fist.

Though the King’s Cavaliers were not looking good at all in the early going, they’re on quite the streak. With 11 straight wins, the Cavs are pulling off a very nice Celtics impersonation and LeBron is a big reason why, of course. With 28.3 points per game, 8.7 assists, and 7.9 rebounds, James is taking care of business in just about every way imaginable.

Speaking of the Celtics, Kyrie Irving is throwing his name into the hat thanks to Boston’s winning ways. Irving’s stats don’t match up with the other leaders, which is obviously why he is lower down on the list, but he still has a chance with plenty of season left to play.

Rookie of the Year

It’s Ben Simmons’ world and we’re just living in it. With just over a quarter of the season in the books, Simmons’ has locked up the Rookie of the Year in the eyes of the oddsmakers. The only thing that can probably stop him is an injury, but nobody ever gets hurt in Philly, right?