Bill Simmons MVP Choice

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
1. Kobe Bryant

You don't know how much this kills me. Actually, you probably do. But Mamba passes all three MVP questions ...

Question No. 1: When remembering this season 10 years from now, which player will pop into your head first?

Answer: Kobe. The dude scored 62 in three quarters against Dallas, then 81 against Toronto a few weeks later. He's about to become the fifth player in NBA history to average 35 points a game (along with Wilt, MJ, Elgin and Rick Barry). He made up with Shaq. He made up with Phil. He made up with Nike. He appeared on the cover of Slam Magazine with a Mamba snake wrapped around him. He did everything but make the obligatory cameo on "Will and Grace." No player took more abuse from writers, broadcasters and radio hosts this season, but Kobe seemed to feed off that negative energy. It was almost Bondsian. And just when it kept seeming like he might wear down, he'd toss up another 50 just to keep you on your toes. Kobe was relentless. That's the best way to describe him this season.

Question No. 2: In the proverbial giant pickup game with every NBA player waiting to play, who would be the first player picked this season?

Answer: Kobe. He's the best all-around player in the league, the best scorer, the best competitor, and the one guy who terrifies everyone else. Plus, if you DIDN'T pick him, he would make it his mission to haunt you on the other team.

Question No. 3: If you replaced every MVP candidate with a decent player at their position for the entire season, what would be the effect on their teams' records?

Answer: If you replaced Kobe with a decent 2-guard (someone like Jamal Crawford) for the entire 2005-06 Lakers season, they would have won between 15 and 20 games. I can say that in complete confidence. Terrible team. When Smush Parker and Kwame Brown are your third- and fourth-best players, you shouldn't even be allowed to watch the playoffs on TV. Throw Kobe in the mix and they're headed for 45 wins. So he's been worth 25 victories for them. Minimum.

In a weird way, Kobe ended up getting what he always wanted: The Lakers completely revolve around him. He gets to shoot 25-30 times per game. He gets to take every big shot at crunch-time. He gets all the credit. Nobody else on the team dares to challenge him. And even better, because he lucked out with the only possible coach who could make this cockamamie situation work, his supporting cast kills itself to make him look good.

Basically, he's Elvis and everyone else is Joe Esposito. And it's working! That's the crazy thing.

Now they're a sleeper in the West -- seriously, do you think Phoenix wants any part of them in Round 1? -- and have the only player in the league who can win a playoff series by himself. He's the Black Mamba, he's Kobe Bryant, he's the 2006 MVP, and since we finally have that settled, I will now light myself on fire.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/060414

Great article all the way through and a good read. Many will question his credibility for they view him as nothing but an "entertaining columnist", but I feel the guy knows more about the game then most of the other so-called "experts" and is articulate and surprisingly honest in most, if not all of his columns. And the thing that makes me laugh is that he's probably one of the biggest Kobe bashers.
Now if only the other writers followed his example when actually voting.

 

I read that this morning at ESPN, finally Kobe gets his POSITIVE recognition

 

Right on! Awesome READ!

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting K8B:</div><div class="quote_post">
Wade? Without him, the Heat are still the 2nd seed in the east.
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I really disagree with that. I think it's likely the Heat wouldn't even have a winning record.

His criteria for choosing MVP makesI sense, but it's also pretty subjective. I could make an argument for LeBron using the same criteria.

Kobe is going to get his fair share of votes. If you went around and asked all the voters who the best player in the league was, I think most would probably say Kobe. And that questions weighs heavily when choosing an MVP.

 

NICE! I like Bill Simmons now!! lol, hated the guy before, but atleast he recognizes now.

and lol @ miami not having a winning season without wade.

Let's be serious, they wouldn't be AS good without wade, but you are forgetting their all star lineup even without him.

Take Wade off Miami, who do you have?

Shaq
Mourning
Payton
Jason Williams
Walker

Take Kobe off Lakers, who do you have?

Lamar Odom

 

kobe has beeon on fire all season, wade has been pretty good at the end of the season this is an all season award not in the post season award

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting illmatic:</div><div class="quote_post">
Take Wade off Miami, who do you have?

Shaq
Mourning
Payton
Jason Williams
Walker

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Payton (10.9 PER), Willams (15.2 PER), and Walker (14.4 PER) are hardly all-star players at this point in their careers. Only Williams has an above average PER (just barely).

Shaq and Mourning are good, but Shaq was out for a lot of games early and has played under 30 minutes a game all season. Mourning has missed a lot of time of late. Williams has been in an out all season. Payton has been ineffective. And Antoine Walker is ... Antoine Walker -- an inefficient player who'd be an even more inefficient player without Wade.

No, I don't think an aging Shaq who plays half the game, and Alonzo Mourning are enough to lift the team over the .500 mark.

Plus/minus numbers are instructive here. On the season, the Miami Heat are -5.6 points per 100 possession (or -7.0 points per 48 minutes) without Dwayne Wade on the court.

That's just terrible, actually. Using the following Expected Wins formula:
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
<font size=""1"">Expected wins; the formula is G*(Tm PTS^14 / (Tm PTS^14 + Opp PTS^14)). The formula was obtained by fitting a logistic regression model with log(Tm PTS / Opp PTS) as the explanatory variable. Using this formula for all BAA, NBA, and ABA seasons, the root mean-square error (rmse) is 3.14 wins. Using an exponent of 16.5 (a common choice), the rmse is 3.48 wins.</font>
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that point-differential over the course of an 82-game season would correspond to a 21 win season! Of course, I wouldn't expect them to be THAT bad if Wade never played, since he'd presumably be replaced by an average player and the rest of the team would get their act together. But one could hardly expect them to be a good team, and more likey (as I said) they'd struggle to break even.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting philip2136:</div><div class="quote_post">kobe has beeon on fire all season, wade has been pretty good at the end of the season this is an all season award not in the post season award</div>

To say Kobe has been on fire all season and Wade has only been "pretty good" just at the end is just a total distortion.

<div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><br/>Game Score Rating per 40 minutes<br/><br/>WadeKobe<br/>----------<br/>Nov20.0218.42<br/>Dec23.4222.92<br/>Jan22.8428.47<br/>Feb25.2822.68<br/>Mar22.4319.59<br/>Apr21.1327.26<br/></div>

Where game score quick PER-type rating developed by John Hollinger:
<font size=""1"">Game Score = (Points x 1.0) + (FGM x 0.4) + (FGA x -0.7) + ((FTA-FTM) x -0.4) + (OREB x 0.7) + (DREB x 0.3) + (STL x 1.0) + (AST x 0.7) + (BLK x 0.7) + (PF x -0.4) + (TO x -1.0)</font>

One could argue that Wade has actually been more consistent throughout the season, at least from a numbers perspective. Kobe had an unbeliable January and is playing great to finish out the season.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If you replace Nash with a decent PG, Jason Terry again, the Suns would be anywhere from a 4-8th seed, still in the playoffs.</div> I think this statement is completely false and i think most reasonable basketball fans would agree with me. You think Jason Terry,Raja Bell,Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and whoever else it is that starts on this team would make the playoffs? This team is TRASH WITHOUT NASH. Boris Diaw was a joke in ATL and then came to PHX and is suddenly a GOOD player? Why do you think that is? Why do you think the Suns can start players like Boris Diaw, Tim Thomas, Raja Bell, James Jones etc and not only be a decent team, but be a FORCE? Steve Nash is the Answer. The fact that PHX can trade Joe Johnson and Q and replace them with thae players they did AS WELL as play without Amare for the entire season and still win the division is incredible and its 100% because of Nash.
Think about this. In 1988 Michael Jordan averaged 37ppg and shot a superior FG% to Kobe, That bulls team had a similar record to this years lakers as well. Yet Michael Jordan didnt win MVP. So tell me how it is Kobe Bryant deserves MVP.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post"> This team is TRASH WITHOUT NASH. Boris Diaw was a joke in ATL and then came to PHX and is suddenly a GOOD player? Why do you think that is?</div>

The team obviously isn't as good without Nash (as evidenced by them losing tonight against GS tonight without Nash; though they've lost games of late they should have won with Nash). But to say Boris Diaw is only good because of Nash is preposterous. He had a triple-double against GS with 16 assists without Nash playing. The guy can obviously play, with or without Nash.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Think about this. In 1988 Michael Jordan averaged 37ppg and shot a superior FG% to Kobe, That bulls team had a similar record to this years lakers as well. Yet Michael Jordan didnt win MVP. So tell me how it is Kobe Bryant deserves MVP.</div>

I really didn't feel like posting in this thread but i have to note something, it was during the 87' season . Not to mention, the bulls didn't even finish above .500 during that season (i believe they were 40-42), while this year's Lakers are 6 games above .500. And of course, the reason Jordan never won the MVP was because Magic led the Lakers to a 65 win season while putting up an impressive 24-6-12.

 

I think Kobe will win MVP, the "Nash for MVP" buildup has died down in the past week or two, Lebron's "injury" a few days ago killed his chances, and Kobe has been getting alot of good publicity about being MVP.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting authentiq:</div><div class="quote_post">I really didn't feel like posting in this thread but i have to note something, it was during the 87' season . Not to mention, the bulls didn't even finish above .500 during that season (i believe they were 40-42), while this year's Lakers are 6 games above .500. And of course, the reason Jordan never won the MVP was because Magic led the Lakers to a 65 win season while putting up an impressive 24-6-12.</div>

http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_1987.html

This supports what you say. Jordan finished second in the voting, despite being on a losing team (5th in own division).

 

Kobe may not finish in the top 5 in the mvp balloting. I dont care what Simmons says, the Lakers would only be marginally worse without him.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">olskoolFunktitude </div>

Given the fact I've never seen you post on here before, and your comment above, I can tell you don't watch much basketball...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
Kobe may not finish in the top 5 in the mvp balloting. I dont care what Simmons says, the Lakers would only be marginally worse without him.
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Strange choice of words there. I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would say that statement with a straight face in this entire board, if not in the entire basketball fanbase.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
I think this statement is completely false and i think most reasonable basketball fans would agree with me. You think Jason Terry,Raja Bell,Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and whoever else it is that starts on this team would make the playoffs? This team is TRASH WITHOUT NASH. Boris Diaw was a joke in ATL and then came to PHX and is suddenly a GOOD player? Why do you think that is? Why do you think the Suns can start players like Boris Diaw, Tim Thomas, Raja Bell, James Jones etc and not only be a decent team, but be a FORCE? Steve Nash is the Answer. The fact that PHX can trade Joe Johnson and Q and replace them with thae players they did AS WELL as play without Amare for the entire season and still win the division is incredible and its 100% because of Nash.
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Actually, a lot of it has to do with D'Antoni's system of coaching as well.
I agree, a lot of it does have to do it with Nash. I would say that up until March or so, I would have given the edge to Nash over Kobe in the MVP votings but now I'm not so sure. Taking Kobe out of the equation in L.A is much more detrimental then taking Steve Nash outta Phx.

One thing I have noted in the year's past though....the MVP is always handed out in the SECOND ROUND of the playoffs if my memory serves me correctly. I remember Kevin Garnett got it when he reached the second round, I remember Iverson got it in '01 against the Raptors in the second round (I think in game 4), and I remember Nash getting it against Dallas as well. So, if Kobe manages to beat Phoenix in the first round, I think that could certainly boost his MVP chances. I dont know for certain if the first round stuff is relevant at all, but basically, if you can't even get your team out of the first round, I don't think you completely deserve the MVP. However, the award is based on regular season performance, so I cannot back up my statements with complete certainty either.

 

You guys analyze stats too much sometimes.

Kobe has been great and his impact on the team is phenomenal. PER this PER that doesn't take into account of the fact that his presence on the court alone brings something to the team that no one else in the league can.

His 63 points game vs dallas can be looked at as just a number. 63. but if you watched the game and saw how easily he was able to get his points. That was something out of this world. That's something the number 63 can't show.

When is 63 more than 63? When it's 63 in 3 quarters. When you sit out the entire 4th quarter. When you outscore the other team by yourself during those 3 quarters.

Or his 81 point game. He had something like what. 30 or so points at half time? Who woulda thought at that point he was gonna break out and score the second most points in a game in NBA history? The team was behind by 18 or something and before you knew it Kobe had 81 points.

When is 81 more than 81? Well if I remember right, Kobe scored 81 one week to the day after his 63 point romp. During a week where all the talk was about his 63 point game and how he shouldn't have refrained from sitting out of the 4th quarter. The critics said, there'd NEVER be another chance to go for 80. He'd NEVER be in such a position againe. That no team would EVER let him go for that many points again. That the planets would NEVER align the same way. Then what does he do? He didn't just score 81, but made people go from talking about never having the chance to hit 80 to talking about the possibility of him going for 100 one day. In ONE week. That was more than just an 81 point game.

Greatness cannot be put into a number.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You guys analyze stats too much sometimes.

Kobe has been great and his impact on the team is phenomenal. PER this PER that doesn't take into account of the fact that his presence on the court alone brings something to the team that no one else in the league can.

His 63 points game vs dallas can be looked at as just a number. 63. but if you watched the game and saw how easily he was able to get his points. That was something out of this world. That's something the number 63 can't show.

When is 63 more than 63? When it's 63 in 3 quarters. When you sit out the entire 4th quarter. When you outscore the other team by yourself during those 3 quarters.

Or his 81 point game. He had something like what. 30 or so points at half time? Who woulda thought at that point he was gonna break out and score the second most points in a game in NBA history? The team was behind by 18 or something and before you knew it Kobe had 81 points.

When is 81 more than 81? Well if I remember right, Kobe scored 81 one week to the day after his 63 point romp. During a week where all the talk was about his 63 point game and how he shouldn't have refrained from sitting out of the 4th quarter. The critics said, there'd NEVER be another chance to go for 80. He'd NEVER be in such a position againe. That no team would EVER let him go for that many points again. That the planets would NEVER align the same way. Then what does he do? He didn't just score 81, but made people go from talking about never having the chance to hit 80 to talking about the possibility of him going for 100 one day. In ONE week. That was more than just an 81 point game.

Greatness cannot be put into a number.</div>

I'm totally getting what your sayin, but your message is being killed by the fact that you repeat the wrong STAT (ironic since your writing about stats not being everything- maybe you did it purposely?) over and over in your article saying 63 when it was 62....but anyways