MVP Watch Thread

[slavezero23]

i like the chances of jason kidd bagging the mvp award this season (if he stays healthy and their team continues to win) because it is very rare for a point guard to league his team in rebounding, he certainly does everything... he scores, he makes plays, he rebounds, and he defends.

my other considerations would be: tim duncan, dirk nowitzki, steve nash, kobe bryant, and lebron james.

i don't like kobe but i nominated him because of his playmaking abilities and his ability to carry his team. not all ballhogs can do that...

[theflash02]

Yeah.. Jason Kidd really rebounds the ball more than any other PGP in the league..

My guesses are:

Yao
Lebron
Wade
Nowitzki

[Zoom]

MVP Watch Thread

Update Two

I was inspired by NBA.com's MVP Race articles that are put out every week (Not sure if it's every week but I think it is...)... so I wanted to start my own MVP Watch Thread and just write about some players who I think have been doing a good job and could be considered as the NBA's MVP at the end of the season. I will update this every week.

So hopefully you all enjoy!

1. LeBron James: If anyone here doesn’t know me well enough yet… I don’t like LeBron that much. But I do respect him and out of respect for him, he is number one on my list to win MVP. The stats, the team record and his influence on the NBA is tops right now. If he can keep it up, he may be the youngest player to win MVP. (I will need to check on that last fact. Can someone help me there?)

2. Carlos Boozer: Leading scorer and rebounder on the best team in the Western Conference right now. Boozer is making the absence of AK-47 A-OK! Still shooting at an efficient rate, racking up the dimes too and it’s amazing that this guy was passed up on by several teams in the first round of the 2002 Draft. Ever since the Lakers didn’t draft him, I’ve been wondering ‘why?’

3. Tim Duncan: Consistent as usual and in form once again. Many thought last season was an indication that his career was soon to take a dip but Mr Fundamental is proving otherwise.

4. Joe Johnson: Yes, he belongs right here! Atlanta’s win-loss record has evened out a bit but if the Hawks indeed win 4 of every 6 games for the rest of the season, JJ will surely be in the mix for MVP. If only he averaged the 6 assists that he did last season. 28, 6 and 6 would look brilliant on paper along with the Hawks in the playoffs.

5. Jason Kidd: 33 year old dude who’s averaging 15, 8 and 8, I thought he would be slowing down about now but Kidd is still going. And the Nets are winning and VC is looking really good too. Kidd’s averaging higher scoring, rebounding and assists totals than last season and this good start may be a preview of the season to come. And to emphasise how important Kidd is... there isn't anyone in the NBA who can replace him. He is the best PG in the NBA this season. Word.

6. Carmelo Anthony: The Nuggets are looking to play stronger from now on. Carmelo is the key and it seems that he’s taken his Team USA scoring form with him so that he is averaging 31 points a match. The Nuggets are back to .500 and we will get to see if they can challenge Utah for the Northwest crown!

7. Dwyane Wade: The stats tell it all. But it all comes down to whether Wade can lead an old Heat team this season by himself. He’s doing well with 27 points and 7 assists.

8. Yao Ming: Rockets struggle to finish games. If this continues, the team’s record will be in doubt.

9. Zach Randolph: On a very young Portland team, leading them in scoring and rebounding. Playing very well still and their playoff hopes depend on this young man.

10. Chris Paul Heck, if he was considered for it last season, he should be up here again this year. The Hornets may just make the playoffs this season and it’s thanks to Paul who’s playing magnificently. Just coming off a career high 35 points, he’s showing everyone he can do everything.

Others: Vince Carter, Deron Williams, Al Harrington, Richard Hamilton, Michael Redd, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Martin, Elton Brand

Comparing the Rankings

This is just to compare the lists made by me and the one on NBA.com.

Link to NBA.com Rankings

My List -- NBA.com

1 LeBron James -- LeBron James
2 Carlos Boozer -- Carlos Boozer
3 Tim Duncan -- Zach Randolph
4 Joe Johnson -- Yao Ming
5 Jason Kidd -- Lamar Odom
6 Carmelo Anthony -- Kevin Garnett
7 Dwyane Wade -- Tim Duncan
8 Yao Ming -- Chris Paul
9 Zach Randolph -- Dwight Howard
10 Chris Paul -- Joe Johnson

[Jackal]

A little typo there, you didn't predict JJ at 4, NBA.com did. You switched the names...the list under your name belongs to NBA.com and the list under NBA.com belongs to you.

[Zoom]

You sure Don? You're confusing me. The list on the right is NBA.com and the one on the left is mine.

[Jackal]

Oh, my bad, the layout was done so nicely I mistook your list for NBA's. Apologies. I'll go frolick again.

[Zoom]

Off you go Don. *Slaps Don*

So, no comments? I want some discussion going on in this thread.

[maes]

Pretty good list except i would say Dirk is missing. He does his thing every year, so i guess it's easy to overlook he's the #3 efficiency guy in the NBA (after KG & LeBron) and is on a very stocked playoff team as well.

I'm really amazed by Boozer's performance. I've always felt this, but now it seems even more clear that Cleveland should have tried a lot harder to retain him & LeBron on the same team. This isn't a $6M a year guy.

And while he's not going to get MVP, i think Okafor is flying under the radar. Everyone talks about Bosh & Howard, but Okafor has very similar #s to Bosh plus Howard's defense. So far he's 20 ppg 12 rpg 3.7 bpg and scoring at 57.6%.

[KIG1]

Good analysis, and good overall topic. I would really like to see LeBron finally win the MVP this year. Steve Nash and the Suns have slowed down, so LeBron has really improved his chances.

[---]

Okafor is somewhat forgotten when it comes to the leagues premiere big men. The only knock I have on him being on this list is that the Bobcats are 2-7.

[Chris_23]

Yup and that 2-7 is fatal. There's no way Okafor would make the MVP with Bobcats this year. Unless Bobcats make some huge and amazing run. As I mentioned before, one really has to lead their team to -at least- top four if not two in the regular season.

Okafor has the talent though, it just takes a while until Bobcats are built and developed enough for a season with such amount of wins.

[Zoom]

Just to clarify, I look at overall team performance and then individual statistics and the impact players have on their team. So if I'm comparing Okafor to say Zach Randolph, I have Randolph up there because of his team being near .500. That's why I don't have Bosh up there either cause Toronto isn't doing so well.

[Flash 3]

3. Tim Duncan: Consistent as usual and in form once again. Many thought last season was an indication that his career was soon to take a dip

Like Indy.

[Indy]

3. Tim Duncan: Consistent as usual and in form once again. Many thought last season was an indication that his career was soon to take a dip

Like Indy.

Wow, you've been here what... a month? Maybe you should go find the thread in which I said that, not just an out of context quote that amphatoast has in his sig. I said that TD's game isn't slipping, but he won't ever need to average 20 ppg again because he has more talented scorers to defer to, and that will ultimately help him stay healthy. I stand by what I said. At the end of the year TD's scoring average will be under 20.

[maes]

I don't expect Okafor to get MVP for the same reasons as you all stated, but KG always gets at least mentioned despite how bad the TWolves are. And this year so far the TWolves & Bobcats are within 1 game of each other.

I think the Spurs are better off without TD being their lead scorer. I thought last year's Spurs looked the best since the Robinson days, even though they didn't win the title. [basically agreeing with Indy above]

[---]

KG always gets at least mentioned despite how bad the TWolves are. And this year so far the TWolves & Bobcats are within 1 game of each other.

Good point, but Emeka isn't at the level of Garnett. They are pretty close statistically thus far, but as we all know, the first 10 or so games don't amount to much. Kevin Garnett is steps ahead of Okafor.

As for the Spurs, I wouldn't have any opinion on them because I can't bear to watch them

[Amphatoast]

3. Tim Duncan: Consistent as usual and in form once again. Many thought last season was an indication that his career was soon to take a dip

Like Indy.

Wow, you've been here what... a month? Maybe you should go find the thread in which I said that, not just an out of context quote that amphatoast has in his sig. I said that TD's game isn't slipping, but he won't ever need to average 20 ppg again because he has more talented scorers to defer to, and that will ultimately help him stay healthy. I stand by what I said. At the end of the year TD's scoring average will be under 20.

your quote has been in my sig for a while lol. We will see, he could dip under 20 since he just cares about W's more than points and Parker is becoming more of a scorer. All those touchy fouls is making the league more guard dominated when it comes to scoring.

[---]

Paul Pierce should be up there. 27.9/9.4/3.5 is fantastic for any small forward. Only knock on him, like Emeka, is his team's record but dragging them back to respectability with 3 straight wins (before losing tonight) going for 32, 29, and 39 respectively, somewhat makes up for that. Let me add in the fact that he hasn't shot over 23 shots this season, which make his near 30ppg effort even more impressive. Shooting 46%FG and 37% from downtown is also very good.

[Zoom]

You already know the answer... if your team aint doing too good, you don't get as much credibility.

NBA.com's Third Week Rankings

[Matt]

LBJ and Deron Williams are the only non PF's/C

[Axel]

As much as I dislike him, Melo should be above Lebron in the MVP balloting (at least for now). I'm liking Yao's chances for MVP as well if the Rockets can stay healthy and attain a decent seed in the playoff hunt. He's been amazing really. Dwight Howard is also a frontrunner, he's been amazing on the boards.

[Amphatoast]

LBJ and Deron Williams are the only non PF's/C

thats a surprise, where is the tmac, kobe, wade, nash, pierce , iverson, and carmelo crew at

[Matt]

except for Kobe, all have poor records, and Kobe has started slowly whilst his team has been playing well.

[yomoby]

I'm a great Jazz fan, but D-Will in the rankings for MVP, I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw it on NBA.com. I waas shocked to see two jazz playes in the race for MVP. Maybe i was wrong about the league, maybe they are staring to reconize jazz players..........





Nahhhhhhhhhhhh, it will never happen again unless boozer turns into malone.

[1CenT]

i say front runners right now are
Lebron James - Cavs are doing fine, so is he
Dirk Nowitzki - 8 straight wins
Tim Duncan - 2nd best team in the league
Carlos Boozer - 12-1, nuff said
Yao Ming - Rockets doing fine, his #s aren't bad either
Carmelo Anthony - league leader in scoring
Deron Williams - runs the team that is 12-1 right now
Chris Paul - doing well

Just missed the list:
Zach Randolph
Joe Johnson
Dwight Howard
Michael Redd
Chris Bosh
Allen Iverson
Kobe Bryant
Jason Kidd