The NBA is set to return in earnest on Friday night with a massive slate of games, it's first night of double-digit contests in nine days due to the extended All-Star break. This doesn't mark the midpoint of the NBA's season, most clubs still have 30 or so games left to play, but it is as good a time as we can think of to discuss just who has worked a cut above so far in the season. Next up: Who are your award-winners, thus far? *** Dan Devine MVP: James Harden, Houston Rockets On-court/off-court numbers suggest slotting Harden (whose Rockets have been 11.2 points per 100 possessions better in his minutes than when he sits) behind LeBron James (the Cavaliers are +16.7-per-100 ), Stephen Curry ( +15.6 for the Warriors) and Anthony Davis ( +13.7 for the Pelicans). But the degree to which the Rockets' offense implodes when Harden sits and how he's borne the burden of carrying Houston every night earns the Beard my nod. [ Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball ] He leads the league in scoring and ranks second among non-point guards, behind only LeBron, in points created by assist per game, per NBA.com's SportVU player tracking data . These are valuable...