Derrick Rose For MVP? LeBron James' Teammates Think So

Yesterday, Juwan Howard raised some eyebrows when he mentioned that Derrick Rose was the MVP.

Today, Chris Bosh, a fellow "Heatle," agreed.

It was one thing when it was one of the secondary role players. When it's a Heatle, though, it's hard to ignore. 

The statements are intriguing because the other player most frequently named as a top candidate is their teammate and two-time winner, LeBron James.

"I'm not even being politically correct, normally guys say I'm giving it to LeBron, but honestly I'll give it to Derrick Rose," Howard said on The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000. "If he stays on this pace that he's on right now, he's got my vote if I was part of the committee.

"Derrick Rose has done a phenomenal job this year for his team, and I think if you take him off the Chicago Bulls team, I believe that team will be a below-average ball club. If you take LeBron off our team, I think we'll still be an above-average ball club, because we'll still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh," Howard said.

It got some chuckles. But now the second part of that "still have" said something similar when asked by Sun-Times writer Mark Potash. 

‘‘Just looking at what he’s done with this team and looking at their record and how improved they are as a team and how improved he is as a player, I think it’s close. But I would give it to Derrick if I had a vote,’’ Bosh said Thursday after the Heat’s shootaround at the United Center in preparation for tonight’s game against the Bulls.

‘‘He’s playing well. He’s playing like the best point guard in the league and the best player in the league. He’s THE most valuable player, if you really think about it. You take him out of the lineup, there’s no telling what you’d get.’’

The other Heatle, Dwyane Wade, said, ‘‘Derrick’s having a great year. I don’t have a vote, I believe LeBron is a front-runner as well. Those two guys...I’m going to be biased and go with my teammate."

Tonight's game features a matchup of the two leading candidates. In the previous game Rose led the Bulls to victory over the Heat, but James was absent. 

The Heat are 0-2 without James in the lineup. The Bulls are 0-1 without Rose.