Talk about some Kobe hating... John Hollinger's MVP ballot - 1.Chris Paul 2.Kevin Garnett 3.Lebron James 4.Kobe Bryant. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?p...MVP08-Hollinger
Yeah I was surprised to see some of the writers have Kobe at fourth. But overall they have Kobe winning the whole thing, and I read through all of them. One of the guys who put Kobe at first said that its also in part of the growth of our players and the acquisitions which got us to this point, which is true, but we also should point out that even with Bynum's emergence, the acquisitions of Pau and Trevor, and the young guys stepping up. We've had injuries left and right for way too long (more than half the season if I may recall). I don't know I got kinda peeved reading that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Apr 14 2008, 01:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I can explain this in 3 words. It's John Hollinger do I need to explain it more than that?!?</div> Well said. Don't take offense, Laker fans. Hollinger is an illustrated moron.
Hollinger is obsessed with stats. He also doesn't want to give credit to Kobe for leading the Lakers to the first seed in the first half of the season. Good thing he'll have to eat crow over this.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DynastYWarrioR6 @ Apr 14 2008, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah I was surprised to see some of the writers have Kobe at fourth. But overall they have Kobe winning the whole thing, and I read through all of them. One of the guys who put Kobe at first said that its also in part of the growth of our players and the acquisitions which got us to this point, which is true, but we also should point out that even with Bynum's emergence, the acquisitions of Pau and Trevor, and the young guys stepping up. We've had injuries left and right for way too long (more than half the season if I may recall). I don't know I got kinda peeved reading that.</div> why? fact of the matter is Kobe's numbers are nearly identical to last year. His shot attempts/game are down by 2 but so is his scoring to reflect that. His apg are the exact same, so the arguement that he's sharing the ball better is marginal at best. meanwhile Bynum did emerge and when he went down, Gasol was given to the Lakers with a bow tie wrapped around him. You got Fisher back for the low low price of free too. Farmer has gotten better. So yes the team has gotten better and Kobe has been Kobe. It's not like he's the sole reason why they've improved so much as a team, he's doing what he always does.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Apr 14 2008, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DynastYWarrioR6 @ Apr 14 2008, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah I was surprised to see some of the writers have Kobe at fourth. But overall they have Kobe winning the whole thing, and I read through all of them. One of the guys who put Kobe at first said that its also in part of the growth of our players and the acquisitions which got us to this point, which is true, but we also should point out that even with Bynum's emergence, the acquisitions of Pau and Trevor, and the young guys stepping up. We've had injuries left and right for way too long (more than half the season if I may recall). I don't know I got kinda peeved reading that.</div> why? fact of the matter is Kobe's numbers are nearly identical to last year. His shot attempts/game are down by 2 but so is his scoring to reflect that. His apg are the exact same, so the arguement that he's sharing the ball better is marginal at best. meanwhile Bynum did emerge and when he went down, Gasol was given to the Lakers with a bow tie wrapped around him. You got Fisher back for the low low price of free too. Farmer has gotten better. So yes the team has gotten better and Kobe has been Kobe. It's not like he's the sole reason why they've improved so much as a team, he's doing what he always does. </div> It doesn't matter, the MVP is a team based award. Kobe also plays less minutes than last year but has the same APG, and his Assist-turnover ratio is better. He's getting priority over other players that already have MVPs, are young, or that play in the East. The triangle is not assist friendly, and let's not overstate Fisher and Farmar, both of which are hogs. Smush was addition by subtraction, and Bynum played 35 games this season. Gasol has played in about 26, but he's not putting up monster numbers, although he's been very solid for us. Kobe has been given a couple of weapons and has practically maximized their output. Gasol is having a career year per-possession because of Kobe.
Also because Gasol is a horrible 1st option when the games are tight, but a great second option when the pressure is off of him. I find it hard to believe anyone is going to say Kobe is playing that much different this year than last and that's the main reason for the Lakers vast improvement. He's been steadily playing at a high level and the team has improved around him. Same thing happend to Jordan before he started winning titles. Pippen and Ho Grant went from rookies to experienced players and THEN the Bulls started winning.
ignorant quotes like this "No other MVP candidate had to deal with the Cavaliers' multiple blows of injuries, holdouts and major trades. James did an outstanding job of making this team competitive -- but he didn't make them elite, which is what an MVP should do. " piss me off. You can't make choclate cake outta cow dung no matter how hard you try. One man cannot win a title by himself, it's been proven over and over and yet James has better numbers than Kobe and has his team 4th in the East. Regardless if it's a lesser conference this year, the Cavs have a winning record (17-13) vs the West too. Disregarding him because the GM has built a horrible team around him is silly. LeBron has stepped it up this year on the defensive end and his averages of 30/8/7 are great. I cannot believe how easily ppl are disregarding LeBron this year. Next year he'll be doing the same thing and ppl will be all over his jock because most likely Kobe wins MVP this year as a lifetime acheievment award and now they can go back to fawning over LeBron... it's transparent they way writers are acting. Anyone wanna disagree that LeBron will reap all the praise next year with similar numbers and get the MVP??
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Apr 14 2008, 02:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>ignorant quotes like this "No other MVP candidate had to deal with the Cavaliers' multiple blows of injuries, holdouts and major trades. James did an outstanding job of making this team competitive -- but he didn't make them elite, which is what an MVP should do. " piss me off. You can't make choclate cake outta cow dung no matter how hard you try. One man cannot win a title by himself, it's been proven over and over and yet James has better numbers than Kobe and has his team 4th in the East. Regardless if it's a lesser conference this year, the Cavs have a winning record (17-13) vs the West too. Disregarding him because the GM has built a horrible team around him is silly. LeBron has stepped it up this year on the defensive end and his averages of 30/8/7 are great. I cannot believe how easily ppl are disregarding LeBron this year. Next year he'll be doing the same thing and ppl will be all over his jock because most likely Kobe wins MVP this year as a lifetime acheievment award and now they can go back to fawning over LeBron... it's transparent they way writers are acting. Anyone wanna disagree that LeBron will reap all the praise next year with similar numbers and get the MVP“</div> We all know Kobe has been playing at a high level these last couple of seasons, but he didn't win enough games before. Again, the MVP is not based just on individual success. What part confused you? LeBron should not win the MVP merely because many players in his position have been ignored in the past. The MVP has been consistent in rewarding a great player on a great team. Giving him an MVP this year would be a slap in the face to many players. It is completely unrealistic to expect the MVP to somehow equal the best player in the NBA. Some years this may be the case, but it has awkward criteria that must be followed. LeBron also plays in the East, which has been shown to inflate numbers a bit. He's not on par with Kobe defensively and thus he's not in a unique case this season. He's kind of like Kobe a couple of years ago.
this rational is just as bad!!! "Paul took a team that was not in the playoffs last year and has them near the top of the West now. He controls the game with the ball in his hands the entire time and gets it done on both ends. He averages more than 20 points and 11 assists and leads the league in steals. His poise and leadership combined with the fact that the Hornets are among the West's elite make CP3 the MVP. " ummm how about having David West (52 games last year) and Peja (13 games last year) healthy for the entire year?!?! wait.. no that couldn't be the reason.. it's all about Chris Paul and his amazing year carrying the team all by his lonesome. Give me a freaking break! Only ignoramous's who casually follow the NBA would fall for such obvious crap. Gawd how does ESPN continue to exist as a valid sports news group? They're the freakin' CNN of sports!! Hype, propaganda and ignorance abound!!!
i think ive turned, i believe KB24 is the MVP, that loss the hornets had vs the kings killed CP3's chances imho
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (huevonkiller @ Apr 14 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>We all know Kobe has been playing at a high level these last couple of seasons, but he didn't win enough games before. Again, the MVP is not based just on individual success. What part confused you? LeBron should not win the MVP merely because many players in his position have been ignored in the past. The MVP has been consistent in rewarding a great player on a great team. Giving him an MVP this year would be a slap in the face to many players. It is completely unrealistic to expect the MVP to somehow equal the best player in the NBA. Some years this may be the case, but it has awkward criteria that must be followed. LeBron also plays in the East, which has been shown to inflate numbers a bit. He's not on par with Kobe defensively and thus he's not in a unique case this season. He's kind of like Kobe a couple of years ago.</div> actually that part is not true, beyond the obvious stats, Kobe is holding opposing SG's to 3% below the league average for SG's and LeBron is holding SF's to 2% the league average for SF's so they're both doing about the same Job on their man on D. KG, is holding PF's at 13% below the league avg for PF's when they play him.. which is insane. I don't get how having the best record or one of the better records automatically makes you the MVP. That's how Dirk got an MVP and what a mess that was. More specifically I get it, I just don't agree with it.
I dont think stats show how well a player can defend lol.. there are alot of factors that play into it.
Hollinger obviously hasn't watched Kobe play enough this season. He's been the most consistent, and his game has completely taken a 360 with his unselfish play and willingness to facilitate rather than score. Kobe is the complete package this season. CP3 is the only real argument for MVP other than Kobe. Garnett is great, but sat out quite a bit so I think we take him out of the equation. Lebron? his team hasn't done very well this season IMO.
So if LeBron James can't win the award this year because his team finished not with the no. 1 seed in the East and won roughly 44-47 games, does this mean Laker fans will give up the argument that Kobe should have won the MVP over Nash two years ago?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BasX @ Apr 14 2008, 03:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>i think ive turned, i believe KB24 is the MVP, that loss the hornets had vs the kings killed CP3's chances imho</div> IMO it was when the Lakers beat the Hornets that Kobe took the MVP.
