CP3-MVP: Chris Paul Worthy of Accolades

Let's say the commitee wants to take the Nash route instead, however.  This would mean that more variables would be added to the equation, no doubt.  You could look at how much help a player has around him, the perception as to how that one player effects the players around him, for the good or bad, and how good would the team in question be WITHOUT your MVP candidate.  Well, let's start the comparison machine up again and go back to Garnett.  KG came to the Celtics and brought an energy that has not been seen or felt in Beantown since the days of Larry Bird in the 80's.  Garnett lays it all out on the floor everytime he plays, and is the one player who holds others accountable when they don't hold up their end of the bargain when contributing to the team winning.  His positive and self-confident attitude brought a swagger back to the Celtics that became absolutely infectious, and is a key reason why the Celtics are where they are at this point in the season.  He also brings outstanding, all-NBA first team level defense, and along with Tom Thibodeau and Doc Rivers, have isolated the Celtics as BY FAR the best defensive team in the NBA.  The Celtics are having a truly special season, leading in almost every defensive category, and have lost only two games by twelve points or more.  To boot, they have a 24-5 record against the superior western conference for the season.  Now, to the detriment of Kevin Garnett when using the Nash method, the Celtics have a 7-2 record with KG out of the lineup.  That is one major stat that can and probably will hurt his chances in the MVP voting.

The next candidate we look at with the Nash method is New Orleans Hornets point guard Chis "CP3" Paul, who averages 21 points per game, 11 assists per game, and his assist to turnover ratio is 4.5, another outstanding stat.  No one expected the New Orleans Hornets to make the jump from a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year, to a team that is the potential number 1 seed in the so dubbed "wild wild west".  Paul is without question the best player on the Hornets, and does not have nearly as much around him as the likes of other MVP candidates Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, or Dwight Howard even!  Tyson Chandler is a fine defensive player, but not a great big man by any stretch.  David West is indeed a 17-foot assasin, as CP3 likes to call him, but he is by no means a star either.  Despite his age, Paul has a very good shot at being the MVP for this season for his consistently spectacular play.  Quite frankly, the New Orleans Hornets without Chris Paul are not much of a team, and to me that is what shows true value as a player.  Chris Paul is so special because he knows the game so well, and his teammates he knows better than that.  When, where and how to get his teammates the basketball is what Chris Paul excels at.  He also averages 2.7 steals a game, so he is no slouch on the defensive end either.  I don't know what kind of Wheaties Byron Scott feeds his point guards, but whatever it is, it's working.  Just ask CP3 and Jason Kidd. 

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