Giannis VS Harden: Whose legacy is on the line, Face Masks and Hand Sanitizers are 2020’s MVP
Giannis VS Harden
Two previous MVP recipients who have been questioned for their playoff effectiveness are now being put in the limelight once again. While Houston Rockets’ James Harden and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo have both been praised for their spectacular regular season performances, who has more to prove in the 2020 NBA Playoffs?
Antetokounmpo and Harden are both runners for this year’s MVP race, and it’s a tight race, but this year people have particularly been curious about their post-season reliability, as their respective playoff series this year have raised some eyebrows.
Searches for Harden on September 2nd raised a playoff high, as he got the game winning block in an intense Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He had an abysmal stat-line for his standards though, scoring only 17 points and missing 11 of his 15 shots. Considering the series went to 7 games and down to the final possession, people were questioning who truly won the Chris Paul-Russell Westbrook trade, as the Rockets were only able to edge out the Thunder by 2 points while giving up so many assets.
Antetokounmpo’s search trend tells a bigger story though. After sweeping the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves on the opposite end of the stick, facing elimination down 3–0 the Miami Heat. Say what you want about Harden, but the scoring champion is yet to be on the verge of being swept. As Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent this off-season, people have prompted whether he’s going to leave the Bucks or not, as they’re no longer meeting his criteria. Losing a series is one thing; but being on the verge of getting swept as the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference is another. The nail in the coffin, though, was on September 6th when Antetokounmpo suffered an ankle sprain in the win-or-go-home Game 4. Interestingly enough, the Milwaukee Bucks played their best offense without him.
James Harden is currently having a spectacular series against the Lakers, averaging 32 points per game and 6 assists, and the Houston Rockets have a shot at upsetting the Western Conference favorites. According to Google Trends though, it appears that the rest of the country is more interested in Giannis, and knowing that his tenure with the Bucks is possibly over, fans are exploring the idea that the Greek Freak might just end up landing a spot on their favorite team.
Face Masks VS Hand Sanitizers
In the quarantined reality that is 2020, Americans have been making strides to protect themselves by remaining clean. This includes wearing face masks, wearing hand sanitizers, and taking as many precautions as possible. However, it was not always the first instinct to leave the house with a face mask and apply hand sanitizer whenever possible. Google Trends showcases this interest:
Since March, face masks and hand sanitizer searches have increased, and that is due to the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic. Face masks were not entirely in question at the time though, as it was not the norm. The majority of people naturally tended towards purchasing hand sanitizers as that was the most accessible form of cleanliness that they knew. For this reason, many stores were caught off guard by the sudden demand of hand sanitizers and many had run out of stock.
Face masks entered the conversation on April 4th, following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcing their recommendation for wearing face masks. Although voluntary at the time, it was a much more preventative measure than applying hand sanitizer, as it was discovered that COVID-19 could potentially be spread by breathing and talking with one another. Google searches skyrocketed for face masks on April 4th, overshadowing hand sanitizer searches. Ever since then, face mask searches have always been more frequent than hand sanitizer searches, but hand sanitizer searches increase every now and then.
Both search trends have been declining though. What was first a drastic and quick learning curve, to people protesting the mask and deeming it political, has slowly become a “new normal”. Granted, there are still plenty of anti-maskers and protesters, though it is not as intense as it was in the beginning of quarantine.
When we look back at the year and think about some of the biggest factors that aided us throughout the traumatic year, face masks and hand sanitizers will definitely be in the conversation.