Derrick Rose: Does His MVP Campaign Benefit from Anti-LeBron Sentiments?
No Miami Heat fan will ever accuse me of being one of LeBron James' biggest supporters, but I think they raise a very valid point when it comes to the issue of crowning this season's NBA MVP.
Most observers consider the MVP race already decided, as Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is expected to earn this year's trophy, but I'm not so sure that the conversation should be closed just yet.
There are many issues concerning the NBA's MVP award and one of the biggest is the legitimacy of the honor.
There are debates as to how much weight the award really holds since it is decided mostly by members of the media and not by people associated with the game.
Many of those same members of the media helped propel James to consecutive league MVP awards, but now most of those votes will seemingly be awarded to Rose instead.
Is it because Rose has truly proved to be the NBA's most valuable player this season, or is it a residual effect from the manner in which James chose to depart Cleveland this past summer?
There were numerous members of the media who voiced their opinions about James' decision to join Miami this summer, and most of those opinions were of the negative variety.
James' choice was seen as a blemish on the crown he carried; although most of the negative feelings towards James have diminished, there are obviously a number of MVP voters who made their decision when James made his.
Rose is viewed as the antithesis of James—where potential voters see lack of character and fortitude in James, they see strength and resolve in Rose.
I'm not sure how valid that argument is because it's hard to measure those types of intangibles, but any Bulls fan will tell you that whatever "it" is, Rose has.
That may be the reason Bulls fans say you have to look deeper than statistics when declaring Rose this season's MVP, because when you do look at the numbers, they seem to say otherwise.
James averages more points than Rose, shoots for a higher percentage from the field, grabs more rebounds and averages one less assist.
Some people point to James' superstar teammates and say those numbers are just a reflection of the talent that surrounds him, but in my opinion, it only makes his feat more impressive.
Most observers knew that James' numbers would decrease when he joined Miami, but the fact that he has been able to keep his production near last year's pace despite sharing with his high profile teammates says a lot.
None of that means James deserves to win this year's MVP award, but it does make it a little harder to just hand the trophy to Rose.
Rose does deserve credit for the Bulls' resurgence—the fact that Chicago sits atop the Eastern Conference illustrates his importance—but just because Chicago looks like a contender this year doesn't mean Rose should be the league's MVP.
Rose is unquestionably Chicago's MVP, but has he really been the league's most valuable player?
Most Bulls fans will probably just chalk this article up as another attempt to discredit Rose's MVP campaign, but in truth, I feel that his candidacy is deserved.
But the same can be said for James and a few other players, such as Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant as well.
Rose certainly belongs in the company of those players, but saying that he somehow belongs on a tier above those players is still just a matter of opinion.
