http://bleacherreport.com/articles/135973-kobe-bryant-should-repeat-as-mvp/poll_results#poll A bit old, but a great read none the less. It contains almost every argument everyone has been saying for kobe's case as mvp
"How come when Bryant meshes and elevates the play of his teammates, everyone says he has so much help? But when Steve Nash does it, it is because he is a back-to-back MVP??" The main argument for Nash winning the MVP was that when he joined the Suns their record jumped from 29 wins to 62 wins. Right now, Cleveland is on pace to win 20 more games than they did a year ago. People attribute a lot of that to the maturation of LeBron's offensive game and his vast improvements on the defensive side. Out of curiosity, how many wins do you think the Lakers would have this year if Kobe missed the entire season?
That is also the season when Amar'e was injured and Marbury was traded. They also signed Q-Rich during the offseason and made Mike D'Antoni head coach. If Kobe was out, I would say the Lakers would be due to win 30-37 games. Probably closer to 30, though.
I think it would be closer to 40, but its just a hunch. Here's another stat to throw into the MVP discussion. The Lakers and Cavs have nearly identical records. Yet when Kobe is not on the floor, the Lakers have slightly more points than the opposition over the course of the season (+0.8 per 100 possessions). When LeBron isn't on the floor, the Cavs are getting outscored by a good amount (-8.9 per 100 possessions).
Per 100 possessions is misleading for this team, even if Kobe's not the MVP. The Lakers are getting outscored by 1 point per 100 possessions without Kobe, and this Bryant was looking to defer a lot to Bynum at the start of the season. Our useful bench players are either gone or are starting now and LA is 22-5 without Bynum. We'd be worse off at this point with the bench struggling how it does.
My bad, I read the info off 82games wrong. You're right, the Lakers are -1.0 with Kobe off the floor, and the Cavs are -8.7 with LeBron off. But I didn't quite get why you're saying the Off-Court numbers are misleading.
Look at our bench at the start of the season, and the lineup now. Our bench has hit incredible lows recently.
I don't think it should be considered a diss towards Kobe. The Lakers are having a fantastic season, and Kobe has been awesome. This might be Kobe's best all around season of his career (taking into account team success, his leadership, his efficiency, and a more consistent defensive effort). It just happens to coincide with LeBron having one of the best individual seasons in the history of the league. It doesn't mean Kobe is a "worse" player, necessarily. Just that, this year, he isn't quite as valuable to his team. Hey, Jordan didn't win it every year either.
Good point. It also helps that the Cavaliers have clicked chemistry - wise as a team though which also played a huge role in their team's success.
I didn't mean injured for the whole season, he only played 55 games that season. And, I believe, it was mostly in the beginning of the season. So, the Suns stated off with a bad record. My point is that there were factors other than Nash that influencing the drastic increase in wins.
