2010-11 NBA Regular Season MVP Discussion

[travis72]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

Yeah guys that are as athletic as there is in the league besides LeBron and Blake Griffin and also has a good jumper to complement it is obviously just a result of being in an up-tempo system...

Rose is the MVP for me, but to say Amare only excels because of Dantoni's system is just foolish. The guy is like 6'10", can run the floor, can jump out the gym, and knock down jumpers. He'll get his points in any system there is.

I should have worded it differently, Amare is a great player don't get me wrong. he would be a good addition to any team. He is having a great year and he is a MVP candidate IMO but what Rose is doing with the bulls is a lot greater than what Amare is doing with the knicks. Amare is excelling because of the system he is in. IMO if he was in a more controlled offensive system know one would even consider him a MVP just a very good player.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

We all want to be smart, clever, cutting edge. Nobody wants to give the tired, same old answer.

Even if it’s the right one.

Ask “experts” and fans who the best player in the NBA is and they’ll talk about how Player X is better than LeBron James. Kobe has more rings and finishes better, Durant has taken his scoring mantle, etc. Sorry, but the answer is LBJ. Has been for a few seasons now. Nobody is forcing you to like LeBron, but respect the game.

The same theory holds with the MVP discussion. We don’t want to state the obvious few guys because they don’t show us as forward thinking. We seem staid and boring saying LeBron should have a third straight MVP.

So we fall in love with the new guy and their fresh narrative. We sell their story. Amar’e Stoudemire has brought the Knicks back to relevance, carrying all of Manhattan on his broad shoulders, so he should be MVP. Derrick Rose has made this Bulls team the best since you know who, so he is an MVP.

Sorry, no. Both are having genuinely fantastic seasons, they deserve truckloads of praise. Neither should have to buy a dinner in their respective cities. But MVP is another discussion entirely.

Neither of them should be in that discussion.

Here’s the thing about Stoudemire — he’s the same player now he was in Phoenix. The numbers are close. Go ahead and point out he is scoring three more points per game than he was in Phoenix and I’ll note his shooting percentage — traditional and true shooting percentage — is down. Yes, he’s scoring three more points per game but he’s taking four more shots to do it.

Spare me the “defenses are focusing on him now” bit — if you think that defenses didn’t plan for him in Phoenix, you didn’t watch any of their games.

Which is kind of the point — Stoudemire was great in Phoenix but never got credit because people weren’t watching and too many of those that were became captivated by Steve Nash. Again, not to bash Nash, but he drew some of the attention that rightfully belonged to Stoudemire. Now, Stoudemire is getting that adulation on the big stage.

He has lifted the Knicks up to… average. The Knicks are not a good team folks, they’re just no longer craptastic. Credit Stoudemire for that — but that is very different than the MVP discussion. And you’d be shortchanging Raymond Felton. The truth of the campaign is that Stoudemire is New York’s favorite son and so all these Knick fans — including my bosses, so enjoy this column because I am biting the hand that feeds me — think he is now deserving of the league’s highest honors. No. He didn’t change, the Knicks changed a little with him and Felton. Stoudemire is not even having his best season (07-08).

As for Rose, in some ways you can make a better case for him — he is having his best season (of three, but still) and the Bulls are on the bubble of contender in the East. So he passes those criteria.

But Rose is also doing that in part because the team around him is better. The real MVP of the Bulls is Tom Thibodeau and his ability to coach defense. Rose is undoubtedly good, but he is not as efficient a player other elite team leaders such as LeBron or Dwyane Wade. He’s about the same in terms of usage as Kevin Durant but not nearly as efficient a scorer. Rohan broke it all down well right here, I will not rehash it.

As Tom Ziller points out, the Durant of last season is a good comparison for Rose now because the casual basketball fan base is falling in love with his game for the first time, hence the glowing stories like Rick Riley’s on espn.com. The “he’s a good person, we love his game” meme. Which all may be true, but that is different than an MVP discussion. That should be about efficiently leading your team to a higher place than they could go without you. Rose and Stoudemire both do that to a degree, but others do it better.

The problem is the NBA issues no guidelines on how to define MVP. Best player in the league? Best player on the best team? Guy who meant the most to his team? Best player to make a rap video cameo? You can define it however you wish.

In the absence of direction, NBA writers are drawn to the guys with narratives. Writers like stories. We do. Here’s the thing: We’re like the rest of you — we want our job to be easier. Guys who come with their own narratives attached make our jobs easier. So many in the media root for those storylines. Guy changes the fortunes of New York/Chicago makes a great story.

It does not make an MVP.

To be fair, here are the three guys at the top of my list right now. Feel free to tell me how inadequate they are:

Chris Paul. The Hornets stunk last year and are good this year — 30-16 and currently riding the longest winning streak in the league. What’s the difference? CP3 is healthy. He is the best point guard in the game — you may be wrong, Barkley — and he somehow gets undervalued. He can shoot or dish like Nash. He carries this offense. He has lifted his team farther than any other player this season and done it efficiently.

LeBron James. Best player in the Association on one of its elite teams. Sure, he’s the same guy as the last two seasons, but that guy was MVP.

Dirk Nowitzki. If you’re one of those who say you can tell how good a player is by his absence from his team, then Nowitzki is your guy. Remember that Dallas was 24-5 (largely against a tough schedule of above .500 teams) while Nowitzki was shooting 55 percent (a career best) before his injury. He left and the team collapsed. What hurts his candidacy is what has happened since his return, which is unimpressive.

12345678910 Char.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

12345678910 Char.

Honestly stopped reading that when he said Derrick Rose shouldn't be in the discussion for MVP and basically poo pooed what he's doing to give Thibs all the credit. If you don't think Rose is MVP, fine, but he can GTFOH with that nonsense he was talking for him not to be in the conversation.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

The only part I thought he was wrong on was the fact that Rose was/is doing most of his work without 1 or both of his starting Bigs but for the most part I didn't have a problem with what he said(Doesn't mean I agree with him however)but of course this is why he said this:

The problem is the NBA issues no guidelines on how to define MVP. Best player in the league? Best player on the best team? Guy who meant the most to his team? Best player to make a rap video cameo? You can define it however you wish.

In the absence of direction, NBA writers are drawn to the guys with narratives. Writers like stories. We do. Here’s the thing: We’re like the rest of you — we want our job to be easier. Guys who come with their own narratives attached make our jobs easier. So many in the media root for those storylines. Guy changes the fortunes of New York/Chicago makes a great story.

It does not make an MVP.

But for who he listed as his Top 3 candidates, I agree with his list.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

12345678910 Char.

I'm with it sort of, except I still think Rose is #1 and Nowitzski #2. Then LeBron. And then CP3.

[Jasong7777]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

Whoever wrote that was so busy saying why certain guys were not MVP, he forgot to state his case for Lebron. Saying Rose shouldn't be in the discussion is downright stupid.

[jeebs9]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

^^I agree^^

I still think it is

LeBron James
Derrick Rose
Dirk

My Dark Horse is probably Kobe.

[Jasong7777]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

Forget what I posed earlier. I thought he was saying that Lebron was the clear cut MVP. He was just saying he's the best player in the league. I agree with that.

[cubsball899]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

like i said back on like the first page of this thread, it depends on your criteria.
best player = Lebron

most important player to his team = Rose, Nowitzki, CP3 (yup, CP3 is makin me shut up again with a 9 game win streak)

best player on the best team = Ginobili, Garnett, Lebron

so like i said, depends on your criteria...

i interpret MVP as most valuable to his team... so Rose is my MVP

[travis72]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

I'm with it sort of, except I still think Rose is #1 and Nowitzski #2. Then LeBron. And then CP3.

I agree with this except I would put CP3 in 3rd. We still have a long way to go in the season. Of course if the MVP was handed out to the guy thats the most gifted athlete then yeah I would say Lebron by a wide margin buts thats not what the MVP award is about. I got nothing against Lebron other than I don't think he has a lot of heart and has the ability to will his team to a championship like MJ or Kobe as we all saw him quit on his team last year against the Celtics.
Take Rose, Dirk or CP3 away from there team and add a good role player would they be playoff contenders, I highly doubt it, however take lebron off of the Heat and add a good role player and they are still a very good team. In no way am i trying to bash Lebron but there are other guys that are more valuable to there team than him to his, but if he was concerned with MVP awards he would have just stayed in Cleveland then he could have won 1 pretty much every year.

[chiefs314]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

The MVP should be runaway favorite the best bulls player since MJ
DERRICK ROSE!

[Bumi]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

Can someone explain to me why D-Rose is more deserving of MVP consideration than Kevin Durant?

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

Can someone explain to me why D-Rose is more deserving of MVP consideration than Kevin Durant?

To put it simply, Russell Westbrook.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

MVP should = best player in the league who has also "produced the most" and won close to 50 games at least.. Or at least be a top 4 team in your conference... but you should probably be a top 2 seed as a clincher.

Also, would anyone bet that Rose would deserve First Team All NBA by season's end?

To this point:

LeBron
Durant
Howard
Rose
Dirk
CP3

[Bumi]

Re: Who is your NBA MVP as of right now?

To put it simply, Russell Westbrook.

Because D-Rose isn't playing with Carlos Boozer, right?