Volume 4: Golden State's Golden Age
Chapter 698: Conspiracy Theorist Mark Tatum
Zhang Yu said, "However, Zhang Yu still hadn't given up. The Warriors' final two opponents were the Pelicans and the Lakers. Curry might not be able to rack up triple-doubles, but if he really wanted to pad his stats, 60+ points would be a lock."
Zhang Yu took Mark Tatum's advice. Curry did not play in either of the next two games.
Although Westbrook averaged a 30+ point triple-double, Harden's 29+11+8 stat line was not far behind, while his efficiency was far superior to Westbrook's.
That was also why Leonard's numbers were nearly identical to Curry's.
But Harden still had not given up on competing for MVP.
However, the media's campaign for Curry's MVP candidacy did not stop.
"Put it this way: if not for Westbrook, even if Nike teamed up with Adidas to promote Harden, they still wouldn't have stopped Stephen from winning MVP. This time, they have no room left to retreat."
"They'd certainly like to suppress him!" Mark Tatum sneered. "But Nike isn't omnipotent. MVP is different from Finals MVP—there are too many voters, and interference carries too much risk. Besides, Stephen has performed too well over the past few years. In MVP voting, no one is his match. Nike wouldn't dare make a move lightly."
Most importantly, Harden's team record was far better than Westbrook's.
Whenever the Warriors built a huge lead, Zhang Yu would take the other three starters out in the fourth quarter and let Leonard lead the reserves for a while longer, consolidating the lead while also giving Leonard a chance to pad his stats.
These two games meant nothing to the Rockets. They could not catch the Warriors, and the Clippers behind them could not catch them.
Over the course