| Chris Paul (left), Kobe Bryant (middle), and Steve Nash (right) are all being talked about for the NBA's MVP award. |
The NBA's Most Valuable Player award is one of the league's most prestigious honors.
Whenever a player wins the MVP, it isn't just based on his numbers, but the impact and value that player has on a team.So if you had to chose an MVP for the first half of the season, who would you choose?
The decision hasn't been that easy, which is why I turned to six of Bleacher Report's most knowledgeable NBA writers—Erick Blasco, Dave Metrick, Dave Finocchio, Andrew Ungvari, Aaron Keel, and Scott Serles.
Michael Whittenberg
When choosing a MVP, I always look at the key word in that term. Of course the key word is valuable.
So with that said, What is the actual meaning of valuable anyway?
Dictionary.com gives three separate meanings of the word:
1. Having considerable monetary worth; costing or bringing a high price
2. Having qualities worthy of respect, admiration, or esteem
3. Of considerable use, service, or importance
To me, those three meanings have only applied to four guys the first half of the season.
Those guys are Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and LeBron James.
But since only one guy can win the award, I have to go with Chris Paul.
Paul has been the best player on the best team this year (Sorry Boston).
No disrespect to Kobe and Nash, but this guy has taken his game along with his team to another level this year.
Paul is one of three point guards averaging a double-double (Nash and Jason Kidd the others) and leads the league in steals.
Not only that, but the Hornets are (surprisingly) in first place in a division featuring both San Antonio and Dallas.
Take Paul away from the Hornets, and I can't even begin to imagine where they would be standing right now.
His stat line: 20.7 PPG, 10.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG
Erick Blasco
Picking an NBA MVP is always difficult due to the undefined subject of what constitutes an MVP.
Is it the “best player” in the league? Then Tim Duncan gobbles the award up.
Is it the most talented? Then Kobe gets it without a blink of an eye.
Is it the best player on the best team? Then David West (sorry Chris Paul) is the midway point’s MVP.
Is it the player with the best numbers? Then LeBron soars above his competitors.
Or is it the player most important to his team’s ability to win? Then Al Jefferson is the league’s MVP—can you imagine the T-Wolves without him!?!?!?
None of those descriptions accurately define what an MVP really is, but I’ll try my best.
An MVP should be a dominant player that is the driving force of his team’s greatness. An MVP should be able to enforce his skills against even the most skilled of opponents.
An MVP shouldn’t just be a player who plays at a high level, but one who has his team play at a high level because of him.
An MVP should only play for a team that has matched or exceeded expectations as MVP’s don’t disappoint.
MVP’s should be able to dominate weaker teams because of their presence, and should be able to beat elite teams because of their tremendously talented and clutch play in close games.
Numbers should not matter in determining an MVP. Players are great on basketball courts, not stat sheets.
The Spurs and Tim Duncan have not played inspired ball for a month and a half and only Manu Ginobli is playing anywhere close to MVP level.
Dwight Howard is still too limited offensively and very immature defensively. Dirk is little more than a jumper shooter whose tricked voters into giving him the award last year.
The Cavs haven’t won enough for LeBron to be mentioned, and with Andrew Bynum out, neither has Kobe’s. Baron Davis is too erratic.
The Celtics “big three” have been so good that none of their players have needed to play at MVP levels—as paradoxically as that sounds.
Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy all are exceptional but don’t quite have the talent or the impact of my pick for MVP.
And that’s because my pick for MVP is Steve Nash.
Despite his teammates’ bickering, Nash continues to get the most out of the Suns every single night and terrorizes opponents with his creative brilliance.
Nash sees the court better than anybody since John Stockton, can make any pass at anytime, is a very crafty finisher, has a lethal jumper, always puts his teammates in the best position to succeed, and only looks to score to keep defenses honest, though he’s a nearly unstoppable scorer when he wants to be.
Plus, the entire Phoenix offense thrives on Nash.
Shawn Marion is okay at creating his own shot, but every other player on the roster is a gunner, or a cutter that becomes virtually useless when Nash is on the Phoenix bench.For sure, Nash is an awful individual defender—not by lack of effort, but because he’s a step slow laterally, and because he’s incredibly frail. However, Nash’ help defense never gets the credit it deserves.
Nash is virtually indefensible, incredibly clutch, and most importantly, he’s built the careers of nearly everyone on the Suns.
He’s a great player who begets other great players.
Sounds like the characteristics of an MVP.
Dave Metrick
Kobe for MVP
For the past three seasons, Kobe Bryant has been widely regarded as the best player in the NBA. But the MVP award isn’t given to the best player in the NBA.
If it were, Mr. Bryant would probably spend his free time polishing the three trophies he’d already been awarded.
Instead, the prestigious award is rightfully given to the best and most valuable player on one of the league’s best teams. And over the last three seasons the Los Angeles Lakers had no claim to being one of the best.
But this year is different.
After a summer that saw Kobe publicly calling for his trade, he’s done an amazing job leading the Lakers on and off the court. And the result has been a surprising first half for the Lakers as they’ve posted one of the best records in the Western Conference.
| "Despite his teammates' bickering, Nash continues to get the most out of the Suns every single night and terrorizes opponents with his creative brilliance." -Erick Blasco |
When LA fans booed Kwame Brown at a recent home game, it was number 24 who had his back, telling those fans what they did was “terrible” and if they wanted to do that “they can stay home.”
It appears that Kobe Bryant is maturing before our very eyes and if his Lakers can survive a long, upcoming road trip and Andrew Bynum’s knee injury and finish as one of the West’s top teams, I think Bryant should be hoisting that Maurice Podoloff over his head in May.
Dave Finocchio
Just a hair under 50 games into the season, I think we're looking at four legitimate MVP candidates: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul.
Bryant is the most likely benefactor of the "Dirk Nowitzki award" (formerly known as the "Karl Malone award"), going to the player who's built up sentimental momentum from the "media" resulting in a "no, he probably didn't deserve it" consensus two months after the fact.
Why all the expected compassion? Because Bryant is in his 12th year in the NBA, and too many people can't expect him to "justifiably" outshine the likes of LBJ for much longer.
Kobe's having another great year, but statistically, nothing he's doing stands out from his past 3-4 seasons. Of course, basketball is a team game, and Bryant's case is also compelling from an ashes to grace perspective.
Talk about stats, Lebron James is averaging 30 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds, and the room for improvement in his game is still so apparent.
Simply put, he's the most dominant penetrator in league history, which begs the question, why is he still shooting under 50%? Picky, I know. Lebron is beast of an individual, but in my eyes, the Cavs have to continue this run if he's going to win out over the best of the West.
Steve Nash is having his fourth straight remarkable season, and his second straight season where it's hard to distinguish the now from what he did during his two MVP awards.
As we know, there's a certain "we've had yours" in sports MVP decisions, and though I'm generally not a supporter of this notion, I do feel that Nash has been amply recognized from a historical perspective for what he does so well. What he doesn't do is play defense.
There's another top-notch point guard in the West that does play defense, and his name is Chris Paul. Paul is the clear-cut driving force on a team with almost no fan support, which has managed to run up a 32-14 record in the same league with the Spurs, Mavs and Rockets.
He's the best defensive point guard, with the most active hands that the lead has seen in years, and he's a model of efficiency on offense.
Paul is also emerging as one of the great "end of game assassins" in the game. It's so impressive for pass first point guard to change gears when his team needs him (reminds of John Stockton in this sense).
After watching Paul for 2 years in college, and now three years in the NBA, I think you're selling him short to call him "one of the league's great young players".
In my eyes, Chris Paul is a point guard for the ages—and I think he has a chance to be considered one of the best players to ever play the position. By the end of the year, I expect his to have fully emerged in the NBA's marketing package as the league's youthful mega stars (alongside Lebron James).
While we're on the subject, Paul should clearly get the nod over Jason Kidd as of the U.S. Olympic Team's starter this summer.
Rundowns in place, here's my list at the break:
1. Chris Paul
2. Lebron James
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Steve Nash
Andrew Ungvari
What Chris Paul has done this season is nothing short of amazing. The Hornets are atop what could be considered the toughest division in all of sports. They have no real home-court advantage and yet they’re 23-9 against the Western Conference and 6-2 within their own division.
Paul is averaging close to 21 points and 11 assists per game. That means he’s responsible for at least 43 points per game.
The Hornets average 99 points and seven 3-pointers per game. So if just two of Paul’s assists result in 3's then he’s responsible for more than half of their points. He’s also had double-digit assists in fourteen of the Hornets last 15 games.
I don’t know what other people’s definitions of the word “valuable” are but those are pretty valuable numbers.
Paul also leads the league in steals and is third in assist-to-turnover ratio.
I can only imagine where the Hornets would be without Paul.
You can always make a case for Steve Nash winning the MVP. His averages this season in points, rebounds and assists are all actually better than his career numbers.
The reason I’m not picking Nash is because the Suns have struggled in games against the Western Conference’s top teams. They are 2-7 against the Mavericks, Lakers, Jazz, Warriors and Hornets this year and in those two victories the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum and the Jazz were without Mehmet Okur.
Kobe Bryant is a candidate too but the injury to Andrew Bynum has proven that Bynum might actually be this team’s most valuable player.
The Lakers are 3-4 since Bynum went down with a knee injury. For a team with only 15 losses in 43 games, those four they’ve lost without him account for more than a quarter of their season loss total in just seven games.
I’ll reconsider if the Lakers go 7-2 or better on this 9-game road trip that includes stops in Detroit, Toronto, Washington, and Orlando.
Until then, Paul is not only the Western Conference MVP; he’s also the league MVP.
When it comes to the mid-season MVP of the league, for me it’s a no-brainer.
Garnett, Bryant, and Nash?
Psshh.
You can have them.
The guy I want running my team is none other than Hornets PG Chris Paul.
I know most people will go with Garnett because of Boston’s record this season so far, and there’s nothing wrong with that logic.
But let’s be honest, Boston has done exactly what Boston was expected to since day 1 of the season.
Beat up on lesser talented teams in a weak conference and coast to the East’s number 1 seed.
When you have Garnett, Pierce, and Allen on your team you should be in first place, anything less would be a disappointment.
But when I take a look at the numbers and the play for me it’s just too hard to not go with Paul.
At the very young age of just 22 Paul has, at least in this writer’s opinion, established himself as the league’s top PG.
Forget about Steve Nash, take a look at the numbers and you will find that Paul is the better player.
While Paul is averages less than 1 assist less a game then Nash, he leads Nash in points, steals, and rebounds per game while averaging less turnovers per.
Paul has also gotten the better of Nash in their head to head meetings, with Paul’s Hornets 2-0 against Nash’s Suns this season and with Paul besting Nash in both points and assists averaged.
And oh yeah, the Hornets are mere percentage points behind the Suns for the best record in the West.
All this with a supporting cast that most people would be hard pressed to name.
There is also something about Paul when he plays that you don’t see in a lot of other players in the league, with the exception of a few.
That is his leadership on the floor during the game.
It’s nothing in particular that you can point at, he doesn’t show the same kind of intensity that someone like Garnett does, it’s just the way he goes about his business that tells you this guy is a leader.
Now all this may change as the season goes on, the Hornets could end up just barely making the playoffs or missing them altogether.
Paul may not be able to continue this incredible pace he is on, there are a number of possibilities that could change my opinion.
But for me right here, right now I say forget the rest and give me the best.
Chris Paul in ’08.
Scott Serles
New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul gets my vote for first half MVP.
The Hornets finished the 2006-2007 season a mediocre 39-43.
Paul has led the Hornets this season to already 32 wins as they sit atop the Southwest Division a game and a half ahead of Dallas.
If the playoffs began today the Hornets would also be the second seed in the tough Western Division.
CP3 leads the league in steals, and is second in the NBA in assists. He is no where near the top twenty in turnovers as are his point guard counterparts Kidd and Steve Nash, throw in 20 points a game and I think you have yourself an overwhelming argument for Paul as MVP.
He has also made the players around him better as you would want the point guard of your team to do.It is no mistake that David West and Tyson Chandler are enjoying their finest seasons as a pro. Paul is the leader of the best team, in the toughest division in basketball.
There will be others that will argue, well, what about KG? What about Kobe?
While there is no denying the contributions that those two have made for their team, Paul has put the Hornets on his shoulders are are making a surprising run at an NBA title.
Before the season, if you would have mentioned the Hornets and NBA Champs in the same breath, you might have been laughed at.
I know there is a lot of basketball to be played, but right now Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets are serious contenders.
To view Michael Whittenberg's previous roundtable column click here.
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5 months ago
So we talked about who "should" win the mid-way MVP award. But who do you think is ahead in the media circus race? I'd say Lebron is in the one slot, with Kobe as a close second.
5 months ago
One of the main reasons why I didn't pick Chris Paul is because Deron Williams is so much more of a complete player than Paul that it isn't even funny. And Williams always takes the freindly little rivalry to heart by dominating every game the Jazz play against the Hornets. I didn't watch the Jazz-Hornets game tonight but at least on paper, it looks like Williams brought his A-game and Paul struggled. Paul still hasn't proven he can excel in the games where he gets beat up and pushed around while nobody pushes around Deron Williams.
from 5 months ago
The Jazz are 21-3 at home this year. Both games against the Hornets were in Utah. Is Williams a more complete player? Sure. But it's the MVP. Not the MCP. Which games did he get beat up and pushed around in?
from 5 months ago
So MVP's are only supposed to have big games against big teams at home? That's taking the easy way out. The only game Paul played at home against Utah last year, the Hornets got blasted by 14 anyway.
How can a person vote for an MVP when there are players in the league indisputably better than the MVP candidate. Better, not just by scoring, but better by implementing their will on a basketball court. Scoring, passing, defending, setting screens, allowing teammates to succeed...
Nash may not be a good individual defender, but he plays smart help defense and his ability to run an offense is otherworldly. And Nash' brilliance as a distributor far and away makes up for his other flaws. And unlike a player such as Kobe, Nash simply can't play good defense because his lateral quickness is slow, and he's so scrawny while Kobe in the past has flat out not cared about playing defense.
How can people vote for Paul ahead of Nash?
from 5 months ago
I'm saying that it's not uncommon for any superstar player to have a bad game in the high-altitude of Utah.
It's unfair to compare what Paul did last year when you consider that it wasn't the same Hornets team. Why don't you look at the head-to-head meetings between Nash and Paul this year. The Hornets won both games, one on each home court. In the first meeting, Paul had 21 and 10 to Nash's 12 and 7. By your Deron Williams logic, doesn't that make Paul better. In the second meeting, Paul had 28 and 10 to Nash's 23 and 11. Would the Hornets have won those games without Paul? No. Would the Suns have lost both games without Nash? They couldn't win with him so I'm assuming the answer is yes.
You asked "How can a person vote for an MVP when there are players in the league indisputably better...?"
I told you it's because the award isn't awarded to the league's best player. It's awarded to the league's most valuable player.
The guy is responsible for more than half of the points per game on a team that's a game and a half out of the best record in the best conference and 6-2 in the best division. The Suns are ahead of them in the standings because they've played the easiest schedule in basketball. Check it out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi?season=2008&sortColumn=sos
You asked "How can people vote for Paul ahead of Nash?"
I told you it's because, in addition to playing the easiest schedule, the Suns are 2-7 against the cream of the west, including 0-2 against the Hornets. You've yet to respond.
Don't tell me I'm taking the easy way out when you keep ignoring the facts I'm giving you.
from 5 months ago
The only "easy way out" comment I made involved the fact that Paul and the Hornets didn't play well in Utah. That shouldn't be an excuse at all. MVP's win games even in ridiculously hostile environments, just as Jordan did while puking his brains out in Utah that memorable Game 6. MVP's should transcend being anything common. Dirk Nowitzki is a common superstar. True MVP's are above that.
I just think that Nash is so much more valuable to what he means to the Suns. If you take him off the Suns, they're a completely inferior team. With the Hornets, you still can start your offense through David West and have it run very successfully. You don't have that in Phoenix at all.
The breakdown of the Suns-Hornets matchups is very much respected, especially as Paul had a huge 2nd game down the stretch against the Suns. It definitely adds strong weight to the argument.
You mention the SoS but you don't add in that the Hornets have played the 7th easiest schedule themselves, and the second easiest Western Conference schedule. That's a slight bit misleading. When I wrote my submission, the Hornets and Suns were virtually tied for the top spot so I didn't weigh the fact that the Suns had a better record via percentage points.
One of the Suns losses to the Jazz came when Nash, Marion, and Hill all sat out for the Suns.
The Suns record looks awful against those teams you mentioned, but when you compare the teams against the Cavs, Spurs, Pistons, and Nuggets (neither team has faced Boston), New Orleans is 4-3 while the Suns are 4-2. So the Hornets have a worse record when matched up against last year's champion, the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the East, and a talented Nuggets squad.
And every fact you've given me is numbers related and numbers can always be skewed. Does Paul pass simply so he can add assists to his stats a la Allen Iverson? Does Paul score because he looks for his shot instead of implementing an offense? Did the Suns lose those games because of Nash' poor play or because of his teammates? These are things that wont show up in any stat sheet.
And the purist in me still doesn't want to give a player an award when another player is better, and more complete usually does mean better to me. Nash is a rare exception because he isn't at all complete, but his passing and playmaking is an art form and the total reason for Phoenix' success. All of his players are complementary but all end up looking spectacular because of Nash.
And physical point guards like Williams, Baron Davis, Jarrett Jack, and Chauncey Billups give Paul a very tough time, especially on defense. Is it any surprise why some of Paul's worst games have come against thos eplayers, while those players and/or their teams have had success against the Hornets?
And, lol, the only facts you gave me in the comment are that the Jazz are 21-3 at home and that the Jazz-Hornets games were in Utah.
from 5 months ago
I gave you facts about the Suns record against the West's best teams. I gave you facts about their record against the Hornets. I gave you facts about their strength of schedule. You responded with records of common opponents. What has more value, records vs. each other or records vs. common opponents?
The only thing that should make you LOL is that you think David West is the best player on the Hornets even though is stats before CP got drafted were horrible. He averaged 3.8 and 4.2 his rookie season and 6.2 and 4.3 his sophomore season. Since Paul joined the team his scoring average has increased each year from 17 to 18 to 19 and his rebounding totals have jumped from 7 to 8 to 9. Paul made West an all-star. He also made Tyson Chandler an Olympian.
Marion was an all-star before Nash got there. Stoudemire averaged 21 and 9 the year before Nash got to Phoenix.
For every impressive win the Suns have this year, there's an equally unimpressive loss like the ones at home to the Heat and the two on the road against the Timberwolves.
If Nash doesn't play in those 9 games they went 2-7 in, they would have gone 0-9 at worst--only two games worse.
If Nash is the MVP then why are the Suns trying to trade for Shaq? Why is there a problem in the locker room that would cause them to trade for Shaq's horrible contract?
The Hornets might have the 7th easiest schedule but they're at least winning the games they should be winning. That's with the worst home-court in the NBA. The only horrible losses they have are to Indiana and Minnesota. Losing at Sacramento isn't as embarrassing as losing to Miami at home.
The Suns are 2-3 against the two worst teams in the NBA.
from 5 months ago
About West, can we please give a player a chance to develop please? Please? Should we write off Nash as a player because he only averaged 3.3 points and 2 assists his rookie year?
You gave me the Suns having the easiest strength of schedule in the Western Conference when the Hornets have the second easiest. You gave me facts about their record against the Suns as if comparing records between each team is the only determining factor on whether a team is better than another or not. You know what other team has lost at home to Minnesota this year? The Hornets on November 26th.
Every team in the NBA has off nights where they are prone to losing to bad teams. Even the 72-win Bulls team lost to the expantion Raptors twice that year. The Spurs lost to the Sonics before beating the Suns. Should we completely dismiss the Spurs this year?
West is a better defender for his position than Paul is, is a patient passer, will bang in the post and hit jumpers, is a great rebounder, will set screens, and can center the Hornets offense from the post. He has very few glaring weaknesses in his game and a lot of strengths, while Paul is assumed to be a brilliant defender and therefore a 2-way player because of his number of steals, when in reality he's a hit-or-miss defender.
That's now just me either, http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7531696/Paul-lacks-fire-to-be-next-great-point
Look at the radical jump in Stoudamire's field goal percentage from his years without Nash to his year's with him. That's a direct result of an offense using Nash's ability to run a break and excel at screen/rolls combining with Amare's absurd athleticism. Beofre Nash got there, Amare's full talents weren't exploited the way they are now.
It's the same exact thing with Marion.
And every fact you've given me involves some kind of statistic as if a players' truel value can be quantified instead of qualified. Numbers aren't always an indicator to what a player does and means to a team.
from 5 months ago
You asked "You know what other team has lost at home to Minnesota this year? "
Yes. I wrote about it in my previous post. "The only horrible losses they have are to Indiana and Minnesota."
First of all, Nash was on a team in Phoenix with Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd. That would explain his weak stats. He barely played.
Stoudemire's shooting percentage was worse because the Suns had traded Marbury and Penny to the Knicks to clear cap space for Nash and he was playing with Randy Brown and Joe Johnson. He still won Rookie of the Year.
Please don't use Charley Rosen as an authority on anything other than the Albany Patroons. Especially if it's with an article from December. Why don't you pull one of the two hundred articles from the summer about how the Lakers should trade Andrew Bynum?
I don't care about the Bulls or Spurs. We're talking about the Suns and Hornets.
I'm giving you stats that are relevant to my argument. The fact that he's responsible for half the Hornets points per game is astonishing. The fact that his team had the best record in the West at the time I wrote the article in that division with the worst home-court is relevant.
The fact that Nash's team has underperformed in their biggest AND smallest games is relevant.
I'm not skewering anything with stats. How can you discount his role in the offense and the fact that he's fourth in assist to turnover ratio and first in steals?
You'd rather I talk about his ability to set screens like you did?
You think it's just a coincidence that West developed into a solid player the moment Paul arrived?
C'mon, Erick. This isn't fun anymore. Let's just agree to disagree.
from 5 months ago
It's not impossible to be first and steals when you have quick hands and gamble for steals as wildly as he does. That isn't defense. Iverson once had almost 3 steals a game without playing a lick of defense. Paul is certainly a better defender than Iverson, but there is much more to defense than racking up steals.
Okay great about Nash...David West was behind Jamaal Magloire and P.J Brown and George Lynch his first year and he was injured his second. He barely played. After Baron Davis got traded, his point guards were Speedy Claxton and Dan Dickau.
As for Amare, yeah, of course he's going to struggle with those two point guards because he's such a one-dimensional player who can drop him dunks. Since he was still force fed the ball he scored 20 points a game, but did he have the impact in any of them that he has in games with Nash?
I bring up other teams as allusions to points your making that you simply dismiss. Every team in the NBA will lose to a bad team once in awhile. Those are fluky losses. If in the grand scheme of things you think the Suns should be diminished as a team because they lost to the T-Wolves, your putting too much emphasis on irrelevant things, especially since both losses were on the road; the first one was a 4th game in 5 nights scenario, and the second was a 3rd in 4 nights scenario. It's hard for run-and-gun teams to simply run an opponent out of the court if they're drained phyisically.
Your giving me numbers is what your giving me. Do you watch basketball games or box scores? Do you care about stats or games?
I love the teasing about screens...I love how Utah's main set play involves Williams setting a cross screen for Boozer so he can come weak-to-strong side unguarded because no point guard will switch that screen, and because Williams is strong enough to pick off opposing power forwards and centers. That's versatility right there and that's one of the reasons why Utah's offense is such a half-court machine. But that's a different article entirely.
I'm not diminishing Paul's talents at all. He's blindingly quick, has an improved jumper, and has tremendous court vision. Nash is better in those traits than Paul is, and it isn't as if Nash's numbers are down this year. 17 points, 12 assists, 3.5 rebounds, a better FG% than Paul, better FT %, a much better 3-point%, and he's single handedly keeping his moody and discontent teammates from tanking.
Gee, West gets playing time, gets healthy, and gets a couple of years of experience and he takes off. What a novel concept. Maybe West's play also has something to do with Paul's outstanding year? Maybe?
from 5 months ago
You keep going back to whose a better player. Stick to the topic. It's about who has been more valuable to the success of his team over the first-half of the season. Considering the Suns poor record against the Hornets and the rest of the top teams in the West--that argument favors Paul.
I would never say that Paul is a better player than Nash. Not yet. But if you can't beat the league's top teams with the guy than he's not as valuable to their success.
I watch games. I saw the Suns lose to the Heat at home, the Timberwolves twice, the Lakers twice, the Hornets twice, and the Spurs, Mavericks, Warriors, Rockets, Hawks, Clippers and Jazz once. I saw them beat the Lakers without Andrew Bynum and the Jazz without Okur. Other than that, the only wins I should be impressed with are the two over Cleveland, and possibly wins over Toronto and Washington.
I'm not going to give him that much credit because his team padded their stats against the league's bottom feeders.
from 5 months ago
Fair enough. We'll see how each player performs in the most important half of the season. It'll be interesting to see how Nash plays now that the Suns have to undergo a 180-degree style change to accomidate Shaq.
from 5 months ago
Plus New Orelans is beating Phoenix right now. I'll concede this argument but the topic is something I'm playing close attention to in the second half.
5 months ago
LeBron James has single-handedly won the most games this year.
5 months ago
Kobe scores 35 a game for a full season 2 years ago, and he's a "ball hog." Plays a team game getting everyone involved, he's all of a sudden not the most important player on his team? You people are nuts, and don't watch enough Laker games. The guy is beasting out there every single night. Leading his team to a high seed with one of the best records in the WEST. Andrew will grow into a very good player, but as of now (prior injury) Bynum gets most of his points on putbacks and feeds from Kobe when he is doubled. He needs time to learn some post moves that he can create on his own.
It's pathetic to not have Kobe 1st. Yet Chris Paul who went 3-11 tonight against his rival Deron Williams is...Chris Paul plays a turnstile defense as well. There's two sides of the court morons, it's not all about offense.
Kobe is the clear MVP right now and this season. He has become the ultimate leader of his team, and as his peers say is without a doubt the greatest player today.
from 5 months ago
Stan-
I've had Laker season tickets since 1989. I've forgotten more about the Lakers since I started typing this than you'll ever know. Calling people morons doesn't help your argument. It makes you look like an ignorant 8 year-old.
It's the MVP. Not the Player of the Year. Kobe has had an amazing season. His best since 2004. He also has the most talent around him since then too. But the team is 5-5 since Bynum got hurt. Without a low-post threat, he's not the same player. That's all because of Bynum. His growth, along with the return of Fisher have eased the burden on Kobe. If Kobe gets hurts instead of Bynum, the team could have still gone 5-5.
You really want to play the shooting percentage game? You bring up Chris Paul's 3 for 11. Do you really want me to pull up some of Kobe's shooting numbers from a couple of games this year? How's about that 6 for 23 stinker against the Warriors in a game they lost by 2? Or his 8 for 22 in Cleveland when they lost by 4? The 6 for 25 and 9 for 21 against Boston?
How about the New Jersey game when Kobe missed a free throw that would have tied the game? How about the game on opening night against Houston when he missed 9 free throws and they lost by two?
He still has a tendency to stray from the team game more often than anyone wants to see.
Chris Paul plays turnstile defense? That's a bit of an exaggeration and the guy leads the league in steals. Steals are a defensive stat.
You want to debate us, then give us facts instead of name-calling and making up words like "beasting".
5 months ago
Also, LBJ doesn't have games like Chris Paul had tonight. It just doesn't happen. And the Cavs winning percentage with LeBron playing would be among the best in the league. Just some things to consider...
from 5 months ago
When I originally wrote my response, we were asked for an MVP from each conference. LeBron was my east MVP. As evidenced by the Cavs' 0-6 recored without him. I gave the edge to Paul based on overall record and the division and conference the Hornets are in. The east is garbage. With the addition of Gasol, the Lakers bench could field a lineup good enough to make the playoffs in the east: Farmar, Vujacic, Radmanovic, Ariza and Turiaf with Walton and Mihm on the bench. That's a fifth-seed in the east. The Cavs are 26-20. Sure they're 26-14 with LeBron in the lineup. But in the east that's not impressive. Especially when they're 12-12 against the east.
5 months ago
LBJ has had bad games just like Paul. Opening night this season he went 2-11, on Dec 29th 8-21, Jan 4th 7-18, Jan 17th 9-24, and many others in the low 40's. LBJ is an athletic leaper with power. His defense is not consistent and his all around game is lacking. When his amazing athleticism declines, whats left of him?....An over-sized 3 pt chucker who can board?
Give it 5 more years and LBJ will be a Power Forward with more size than he has today, less explosiveness, a good passing eye, and a hobbled first step...In other words, C-Webb.
He needs to expand his game so he doesn't become what I wrote. Once your athleticism breaks down with age/and injuries your game will be exposed if you don't have the all around repertoire on offense and defense.
from 5 months ago
LBJ is the most dominant player in basketball right now. He beats more double and triple teams then anybody. Defense inconsistent? Have you been watching? He will make all defense team for the first time in his career this year. Wait and see.
5 months ago
paul has not led his team deep into the playoffs yet ...for that reason he does not deserve mvp ...yet
5 months ago
Has anybody watched the Suns without Steve Nash? When Nash goes to the bench the rest of the team is exposed for what they are:
Stoudemire-an explosive bigman good at running the floor and finishing, but can't create his own shot. without nash, to spoon-feed him the ball in a position where not scoring would be comical, he is inaffective. and thats if he's not already on the bench in foul trouble.
Raja Bell-a good defender/spot up shooter
Boris Diaw-a good passer out of the high post who creates favorable matchups against bigger defenders bcuz of his ball-handling abilities, but is way too passive to be much of a scoring threat.
Shaun Marion-excellent all-around player who can rebound, defend, and finish, but again cannot create his own shot in the half-court.
The suns are a legitamite championship contender bcuz of the addition of Grant Hill who can create some shots for his teammates, but it still looks like jv in comparison with nash.
Barbosa-good bench player with lightning speed and good finishing around the basket. but if he's a point guard, i'm a center (i'm 5'7). he penetrates almost at will, but unlike nash when he does he is looking to score not to set up a teammate.
When Nash goes out they ONLY score on the break. Often the Suns are looked at as a fast break team, because of their quick offense, but with Nash they are also the most affective half-court offense in the league. Without Nash, their offense is stagnant, and with their lackluster defense, that means they have almost no chance of staying in the game.
Simply put, Nash is my MVP. Without him the Suns wouldn't even be .500 let alone leading the conference.
from 5 months ago
From what I wrote above:
"The reason I’m not picking Nash is because the Suns have struggled in games against the Western Conference’s top teams. They are 2-7 against the Mavericks, Lakers, Jazz, Warriors and Hornets this year and in those two victories the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum and the Jazz were without Mehmet Okur."
So without him they'd be what, only two games worse against those teams? The Suns have had the easiest schedule in the NBA so far. Check it out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi?season=2008&sortColumn=sos
5 months ago
No player has more value to his team then LBJ period. Kobe is a close second but I don't even see how it's close with anybody else cause its not.
5 months ago
I think KG is the midseason MVP. None of you guys mentioned him.
5 months ago
"and his all around game is lacking" referring to LBJ?
I don't have any reply for such ignorance. He's only going to flirt with averaging a triple double before his career ends.
LBJ has also shut down Kobe on more than one occasion in the closing minutes to beat the Lakers (5 in a row I believe).
I like Chris Paul and I think he also is deserved of the award (Kobe too). Right now its a tight race. However, I think LeBron has been the best and most valuable player to his team this year.
Ultimately its going to come down to an East vs West battle and the emphasis on team vs individual performance.
5 months ago
Great debate guys. I'm a Cleveland fan, LeBron guy, but even I have to acknowledge what Chris Paul is doing for his team right now. The talent around Chris Paul is slightly better than the talent around LeBron because of David West. But Paul has led his team to the top of the West at this point in the season, which is incredible.
Granted, LeBron is the best player in the NBA right now (or maybe Kobe) and he has won a lot of games for the Cavs, but Cleveland is mediocre and Paul's Hornets are one of the best in the West with not that much more supporting talent.
5 months ago
Kobe deserves to win it hands down. He's the best player in the game. 7 straight all defensive selections not to mention he's the best pure scorer in the game. Secondly, Deron Williams dominates Chris Paul in head to head matchups so if your going to talk about Paul, then throw in Williams too. And for Lebron James who still is not a great defender and shoots less than 30% from 3pt and only 70% from the FT I an't hearin that
from 5 months ago
Kobe hasn't won 7 straight all-defensive selections. He didn't make the first or second team in 2004-5:
http://www.nba.com/history/awards_defensiveteams.html
Didn't LeBron dominate Kobe in both head-to-head match-ups this year and hasn't he beaten the Lakers in five straight games?
By your logic, if your going to talk about Kobe, then throw in LeBron too.
5 months ago
Kobe deserves to win it hands down. He's the best player in the game. 7 straight all defensive selections not to mention he's the best pure scorer in the game. Secondly, Deron Williams dominates Chris Paul in head to head matchups so if your going to talk about Paul, then throw in Williams too. And for Lebron James who still is not a great defender and shoots less than 30% from 3pt and only 70% from the FT I an't hearin that
5 months ago
That's fine you can throw in Lebron but Kobe deserves it. I see you didn't defend Lebron's defensive skills or Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Mind you, Lebron has beaten Kobe but he only beat Kobe thanks to stupidity and fear by Kobe's teammates. And also 2 straight all defensive 1st team , 7 total.
from 5 months ago
We aren't talking about any of those years though. Last 7 or 2. Its THIS year. LeBron has the best numbers,is the best closer(leads NBA in 4rth quarter points by a significant margin)and without him the Cavs are 0-6. They are climbing up the east at the speed of light and right now nobody can stop LBJ late in games. If he continues to play the way he is now,we won't need to be blogging about who will take it cause he will RUN AWAY with it. He is going to also make the all-defensive team as well.... Later in the year feel free to refer back to this entry.... I'l write this "I told you so" in advance for your future references.
from 5 months ago
Paul leads the NBA in steals. He also has to defend the quickest players in the game with new rules that disallow hand-checking. Kobe was awful on defense last year. I'm the biggest Laker fan you'll ever meet and I'll admit that it was a joke he was first-team all-defense last year. That was purely based on reputation. Why do you think Kobe lost 15 pounds in the off-season? Phil asked him to because he noticed that Kobe's defense had slipped.
In the head to head meeting between LeBron and Kobe two weeks ago, LeBron shut Kobe down in the 4th quarter. I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. Kobe guarded LeBron and he still scored 14 fourth-quarter points.
LeBron is not the defender that Kobe is but his defense is much-improved. To say that Kobe lost those games because of his teammates then you also have to give his teammates credit for a lot of the games they won--including tonight's game against the Nets.
I won't go as far as as Jeffrey and say that he'll be all-defensive but he's much better on D. He also won't run away with it; especially if the Lakers finish with the best record in a much better conference.
This article wasn't about who will win the MVP. It was about who deserves the first-half MVP.
5 months ago
I don't have a problem with people choosing Kobe or Nash as their MVP. Although Nash hasn't really looked like an MVP to me this year, whenever he misses a single game the rest of the guys look like they don't have a clue.
Kobe also has a great chance to win it at the end of the season if the Lakers keep up their good play. Once Bynum returns, he and Gasol will probably be the deadliest frontcourt in the league.
LeBron James maybe--but if we are talking about MVP of the eastern conference, then he gets the slight edge over KG or maybe even Dwight Howard.
I didn't just chose Chris Paul because of his stats. The impact he has on his team has been imperative in every single Hornet victory this season.
Yeah Deron Williams dominated him again--but you can't really base an MVP on that. D-Will does deserve some consideration--but to me, he is one of two valuable players on his team with Carlos Boozer being the other.
No one here can say that they predicted the Hornets would be in first place or tied for the best record in their division. Dallas and San Antonio have been ruling that division the last few years, and the Hornets were in first place before their current three game losing streak.
Eventually when the season comes to an end, it come down to Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, KG and Steve Nash.
5 months ago
The Cavs are 0-6 without James as far as I know. I guess he would get my vote The problem is the criteria for MVP is all screwed up. The awards gone to amazing players on amazing teams and solid players on mediocre teams. If we're going to go by the same criteria used the last couple seasons, then I guess it should go to Nash, right?
from 5 months ago
That is an excellent point. It has been kinda jacked up as of late.. They could change the name of the award every yr. I don't feel the award often goes to the legit mVp.
from 5 months ago
Exactly, Jeffrey. We can debate all we want but a lot of times it comes down to politics. I remember when they gave it to Malone back in the late 90's just cause MJ was too obvious of a choice. It really has lost all meaning. Does the league even state what a player has to accomplish to win the MVP? I've lost interest.
5 months ago
This really has "the feel" of a Kobe MVP year. I'd put money on it.
5 months ago
For what it's worth, whoever wins the MVP award is rather arbitrary to me. What matters is who goes home with the NBA Title. And right now Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets look like the team to beat. But I still think the road to the championship (obviously) still goes through San Antonio. For the life of me (and I am racking my brain here) I can't recall who won the MVP last season. But I do remember that the Spurs went home with the hardware. Do you think Tim Duncan cares that someone else won MVP last season? Cool article though, and I am not just saying that because I am part of it.
5 months ago
Let me guess Jeffrey you probably thought Lebron was going to lead his team past the Spurs right. You have to wake up and smell the Starbucks Kobe will win the MVP award this year simply beacuse he is just that good. Lebron may have lead the league so far in 4th quarter points this year but Kobe's led the league in that category for many years and he didn't win it even though he should have. And Lebron will falter down the stretch like he always does every year since he's been in the league.
from 5 months ago
So does having Gasol and, eventually, Bynum hurt Kobe's chances then? It should (not that it's his fault or anything). Again, I don't know if the award has any meaning anymore, but if we are saying MOST VALUABLE then, like i said, Cavs haven't won a single game as of late without Lebron. 0-6. Soo umm yeah.
5 months ago
On second thought, let's just give the award to Brian Scalabrine and call it quits. This has gone on long enough. Done and done.
5 months ago
The Cavs are really 0-7 without LeBron if you count the game in which he went down (and the Cavs lost by 30+).
Falter down the stretch? They Cavs were also 27-20 last year and ended up winning 50.
LeBron has also had to carry, not only an awful supporting cast, but an awful supporting cast that’s depleted.
Varejao has been out most of the year, Pavlovic is hurt, and we’ll have to see about Gooden’s injury last night.
5 months ago
Chris Paul torched Phoenix Wednesday night. If that didn't prove he's the best PG this first half of the season, then I don't know what will.
from 5 months ago
He was unreal. 8 steals! 3 of his 9 assists led to threes. So he was in on 63 out of their 132 points. Meanwhile, Nash had fewer points but he shot a tiny bit better from the field. But he had 10 turnovers to Paul's 1. He played 50 of a possible 58 minutes and only had 1 turnover. Sick.
from 5 months ago
Amazing. You can see all-time greatness in this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes his career as one of the best 2 or 3 point guards who ever played the game.
3 months ago
The better nba man is lebron james
3 months ago
my man lebron james is better than kobe
3 months ago
lebron is doing a good job
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