well first off im not saying westbrook isnt carrying his team. he certainly is. i guarentee you harden will NOT get MVP if he gets 3rd seed. but to say westbrook is carrying the team MORE than Harden is wrong. first off lets look at the similaraties.
1.Harden has played most of the year without Howard./Westbrook has played Most of the year without Durant.
2.Harden lead the league in scoring./westbrook now leads the league in scoring.
3.Both have to take over the pffensive load.
NOW THE DIFFERENCES.
Harden takes over when he needs to. he gets his team involved and scores at the perfect times. hes more efficient (43.9%FG and 36.9%3pt) to westbrooks (42.7FG and 30.0%3pt). now im not ignoring the fact that westbrook has gotten 17ast twice.. but when he went on the streak of triple doubles, the team was loosing games. they even went into OT to beraly beat the 76ers. his USAGE% is Soo high. he has the ball in his hands which seems like every play. not that im saying this true but it seemed like he just cared about his stats the way he played. it looked like 2006 kobe. he also averages the most turnovers in the league. thunder might not even make the playoffs. ALSO james harden has played 14 games more than westbrook. they both have lead there teams and carried them.. but which team has a better record?. the rockets do dispite having a a bad supporting cast. if russel was here in the beginning of the year and never got injured and they were lets say 3rd or 4th seed then that would be another story, but the reality is that hes an 8th seed and he lost alot of games while putting up big numbers on an EXTREMLY high USAGE%.
EDIT:i didnt read where you said "doesnt apply to westbrook".. in that case my answer has already been said. He leads his team in TOTAL points, blocks, steals, assists, and only 16 rebounds away from D-MO. he IS the team. he WINS GAMES. he is a better closer and takes the smart shots and passes and plays in order to win. the rockets could slip into the 2nd seed even though dwight and t-jones and papanikolou and patrick beverly have been out quite a bit. (Dwight and jones most of the year) if harden doesnt have a good game and starts off bricking then we will loose no doubt about it. if you put a normal 2 gaurd on our team then we would be atrocious. we wouldnt be able to touch the playoffs. he has only missed ONE game this year because of a suspension. he has gotten injurys and still played and dropped 40. he has been better on the defensive side and is having career highs in Points, rebounds, steals, Blocks, and assists. When you look at other good teams what do you see? Hawks, Cavs, Warriors, Prtland, Clippers. they have 2 ALL-STARS. (the grizz have gasol and teague and teagie would arguably be an all star in the east.)he is our team and we are the 4th best team in the NBA without another All-STAR. he is giving his all day in and day out.
this might not change your opinion but i completly respect your opinion that westbrook is your MVP. because he honestly is the BEST PLAYER IN THE NBA RIGHT NOW. but its just that haden has been here from beginning to end. and has won more games. stats are nice but winning is better. westbrook is something eles. he is my second favorite player. i love me some brody. i have high hopes for your thunder team man. i got nothing but respect for your organization. i hope you get 8th seed and beat the warriors.