http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-081220-21 MVP of the West? Please. Yes, they started 1-3 without him, but that might've just been a slow start. We had a slow start too. The Nuggs were 16-11 at this point last season without Billups. They're only one game better this season. With Denver's three game losing streak and the fact that the Blazers and Nuggets have the exact same record, then Brandon Roy should 100% be ahead of Billups in this conversation. Also- Billups has a 21 ppg scorer at his side. Brandon does not. If the Blazers split, Brandon should be ranked higher. If the Blazers win both, Brandon should be a serious MVP candidate for not just the West but the entire league thus far. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Billups has been playing GREAT. I have no problem with him being named the MVP of the western conference so far. Roy has been great too and I'm sure he is in the discussion.
KingSpeed, I'm convinced that all you do is look at stats and base your arguments around them. That's not always bad, but stats tend to hide important factors.
Billups is averaging 17.7 ppg, 6.9 apg, and 2.4 rpg And he has help from Melo to make him look good. Brandon is averaging 23.4 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.6 rpg and shoots a much better percentage than Chauncey. Brandon's Effeciency Rating is 3 points ahead of Chauncey and both teams have the exact same record but Portland has played more road games. Add in Roy's game winning shots against Minnesota and Houston and his 52 point game vs Phoenix and Brandon is head and shoulders above Chauncey. It's not even close.
Yes, I agree, it's true, but when the stats are MUCH better and the two teams have the exact same record.....
No. Without Chauncey, the Nuggets were headed for the lottery. You had AI + Melo who would just shoot the ball and play no defense. Marcus Camby is gone for a second round pick and the Nuggets were stuck in the big West without a quality big. They were done. Then Chauncey Billups came along, someone I thought was overrated from the get go, and he completely turned the team around. He made all the idiots on the team work together and out of that, they produced wins. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they went to the Finals. I can't believe Chauncey is legitimately this good.
Key word is might. It's more probable that this was due to the loss of Camby and AI/Melo not working. Have you checked their schedule? I haven't, but that could be a big part of it. They've played some great teams so far. They've lost to the Cavaliers twice. (They beat the Celtics though) Plus, the subtraction of Camby also hurt their team. Brandon has Aldridge and very good depth on his side. Billups has Melo, Nene...........and that's basically it. You could argue that their supporting casts are equal. Plus, Billups has brought so much leadership and defense to the team. Their image is completely changed with the addition of Billups. They're still high scoring, but can at least stay in the middle of the pack on defense instead of near the bottom. If you ask me, or just about anyone, the Nuggets are a much better team with Billups. I have no problem with Billups being the MVP of the west insofar. Roy has been playing out of his mind, and if he can keep it up, he might steal that title away from Billups. I don't know why you let little tidbits like this bother you.
QFT. I've watched several Denver games and anybody who tries to undersell just how important Billups has been to the Nuggets needs to get their eyes checked. Denver with AI would be lucky to be a .500 team at this point without him.
But Denver won 50 games and beat out the Warriors to make the playoffs with AI/Melo. We'll find out who is better in the next two days. This stuff should get settled on the court.
Effeciency Rating: Roy 22.33 Billups 19.08 I'm not saying Billups is bad. But Roy is better and has been playing better. And no, the Nuggets aren't going to the Finals. They might not even make the playoffs.
Denver was in complete disarray after getting bounced in the first round against the Lakers. The fact is that they've finally got a battle tested elite floor general in Chauncey who makes everyone else around him better, not only personally performing at a high level. As for it being settled on the court I agree, but you seem to take exception that Stein pegged Billups as "West MVP" instead of B-Roy? He's a columnist, he gets paid to express his opinions -- there is no right or wrong answer.
I just think people go too excited about Denver these few weeks after we lost to Boston. But weeks later, we both have the same record. We're just as good as Denver (probably better) at this point in the season. And then I read someone saying they'll make the Finals? After we have our way with them, they'll be lucky to make the playoffs.
The Nuggets lost very little in Camby and made a very big trade up in going from Ivy to Chauncy. They're a very legitimate second-tier team (as is Portland). The first tier being Boston, LA and Cleveland. That said, Denver has played a very large amount of games at home so far, while Portland has played many more on the road. So I'd give Portland the advantage, right now. I don't think either Denver or Portland is a serious title contender.
