NBA MVP: Would the Real MVP Please Stand Up? Why Dwight Howard Should Win

Most people think the MVP is a runaway and probably will be a runaway win for Derrick Rose, but is he really deserving?

I'm not taking away that he has had and is still having a phenomenal season. He has improved both at the defensive and offensive end so much and has led the Bulls to a No. 1 seed. But let's be rational, the Bulls would still be a solid playoff team without him. With guys like Boozer, Deng and Noah they could take a No. 6 or 7 seed in the East.

But lets take a look at the Magic. Besides Dwight Howard, they have washed-up Gilbert Arenas, old man Hedu Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson. That, at best, would get them a No. 8 seed, and in the East, that's not saying much.

Sure, maybe Chicago has eight more wins than Orlando, but as you can tell Chicago has a much better team than Orlando.

Let's take a look at the basic stats for each player:

Derrick Rose

PPG: 25
RPG: 4
APG: 8
EFF: 23.05
FG%: 44 percent
3P%: 33.5 percent
SPG: 1.1
BPG: .6 

Dwight Howard

PPG: 23
RPG: 14
APG: 1
EFF: 28.55
FG%: 60 percent
SPG: 1.3
BPG: 2.4

The only stats Howard is behind Rose in are points and assists (I think it's a gimme that Howard would have more rebounds and Rose would have more assists). But Howard is so much better in every category excluding points and assists.

He shoots 16 percent better from the field and is first in the league in efficiency while Rose is 13th. In efficiency for 48 minutes, Howard sits at third and Rose sits at a lowly 28th. Howard also gets more blocks and steals per game, making a much bigger impact at the defensive end than Rose.

Now we get into some advanced statistics kids, enjoy.

First thing we get into is true shooting percentage (TS%). The definition of TS%, according to basketball-reference.com: "The formula is PTS / (2 * (FGA + 0.44 * FTA)). True shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, three-point field goals and free throws."

Rose: 53 percent

Howard: 60 percent

Next up, win shares. The definition to win shares according to basketball-reference: "An estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player. Please see the article Calculating Win Shares for more information."

Rose: 11.7

Howard: 13.6

Although Rose (7.3 OWS) does have more offensive win shares than Howard (6.4 OWS). Howard's (7.2 DWS) dominance at the defensive end pushes him ahead of Rose (4.5 DWS) by a substantial margin.

Howard tops Rose in most major statistical categories and he has led a team with much worse personnel than Chicago to a No. 4 seed. Howard has made a much bigger impact on his team than Derrick Rose has.

My top for the MVP award:

1: Dwight Howard

2: Derrick Rose

3: LeBron James

4: Dirk Nowitzki

5: Chris Paul

Feel free to comment down below on what you think about Howard, Rose and the MVP race.

This is an article by John Hollinger agreeing with me http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-110331

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