MVP: Dwyane Wade Dwyane's situation is similar to that of Kobe in the '05-'06 season, and that year, I would have given the award to Bryant instead of Steve Nash. The association gives this usually to the best player on a team with a top-three record, but as for me, I would give this award to the player who did the most for his team with barely any help. Take Wade off the Miami Heat, and they are the worst team in the league. Take LeBron James or Kobe off their respective teams, and the Cavs and Lakers would either be high lottery teams or postseason bottom-feeders. Without the Flash last season, the Heat had the league's worst record. This year, with him, they are top-five in their conference. It's clear to me that Dwyane Wade is the most valuable player to his team. COY: Rick Adelman This season, Adelman developed Von Wafer, was able to control Ron Artest, and kept the Houston Rockets at the top of the Western Conference without Tracy McGrady. He has made this club one of the better defensive teams in the league. ROY: Derrick Rose The Chicago Bulls had no chance of making the Playoffs according to many experts at the beginning of the season, but Derrick Rose has proved them wrong. He stole the starting point guard spot from Kirk Hinrich and has made the Bulls relevant again. He has become a great leader for a team that had chemistry issues last season, and he's teamed up well with new coach Vinny Del Negro. He could go down as one of the better point guards to play the game if he continues to get better. MIP: Devin Harris Mark Cuban must be kicking himself right now, considering the results of the Jason Kidd/Devin Harris swap. While Kidd is in Dallas getting older, declining, and wanting more money, Harris is in New Jersey, leading the team alongside Vince Carter. He has become the primary offensive option for the Nets, though his defense is shaky despite playing the passing lanes well. Harris has been a good leader, scorer, passer, and clutch this season. Danny Granger is close to winning this award, too. It'll likely be a coin toss between Harris and Granger for most improved. Sixth Man: Jason Terry Jason Terry would be a starter on 90 percent of NBA teams, but the Dallas Mavericks already have enough offense in their starting lineup, so they put Terry on the bench. When "Jet" comes into the game, he averages 20 points on 46 percent field goal shooting. He's also one of the better three-point shooters in the game. When it comes down to the final minutes of the game, Dirk Nowitzki and Terry are the players that will finish out games for Dallas. DPOY: Dwight Howard Dwight Howard has been a monster on the defensive end this season. He averaged 14 rebounds, three blocks, and one steal through the campaign, and he has shut down most opposing centers and functioned as the anchored the defense of Magic's defense.
I agree with pretty much everything. Maybe not with Rick Adelman, but I can definitely understand why one give him COY. I also agree wholeheartedly: Wade is the real MVP. James will probably win it though.
Wade has been terrific, but I don't see any good argument for him deserving the MVP more than LeBron. Is he leading a legit championship contender? No. Alright, are his numbers superior? Not really. He lead the league in scoring, and his teammates suck. That's not enough. It is much more impressive to push a 30-something win team to 66 wins than it is to push a sub-20 win team to 43 wins, in my view. At least as far as MVP consideration goes.
The Cavs were actually 45 game winners last year Durvasa, not 30something. As it is, I agree with most of them. I'm with Mr. J and Legacy in that I think Wade SHOULD be the MVP, but won't because his teams record wasn't good enough. The Heat showed how pathetic they are last year when Wade wasn't healthy, and this year they've got a chance of making a 2nd round appearance in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking LeBron, he had a fantastic season, but they were expected to be near the top of the East. Maybe they weren't expected to have 66 wins, but they were supposed to be good - especially whey the acquired they Mo Williams. I also think I might take Eric Spoelstra for COY over Adelman. He got 43 wins with a sub-par team (aside from Wade) after they only won 15 games last year. Pretty impressive, but you definitely can't go wrong with Adelman. As for 6th man..it's a toss up between Nate Robinson and Jason Terry for me. You can't go wrong with either there.
I wasn't talking about improvement over the previous season. Take Wade off the Heat, and they are a sub-20 win team. Take LeBron off the Cavs, and I think they're a sub-40 win team. I've yet to see a convincing argument for Wade instead of LeBron winning the MVP. I like Wade a lot, but this is LeBron's year. As good as he's been, Wade may not even make 1st team All-NBA. "Most valuable" doesn't mean how much you exceed expectations. It means how much value you add to your team. Taking a team from border-line playoffs to strong championship favorites is adding more value than what Wade has done.
I'm all for Wade winning the MVP seeing as how he's played this year. But... I really think they're going to give it to LeBron. No problems there either. Coach of the Year: Good pick, but I wouldn't mind that award being given to Mike Brown (Cavs), Eric Spoelstra (Heat), and even Mike D'Antoni (despite having a losing record, the changes he has effected in the Knicks is already obvious, no chance though of him getting this award). Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose, this doesn't even have to be discussed. I would throw OJ Mayo and Brook Lopez in the top 3 as well. Most Improved Player: No idea who the candidates are.. Sixth Man: I don't see the point of this award. Teams could just play a starting caliber player off the bench and he would win this award. If Cleveland played LeBron off the bench, and still played him 40+ minutes he could win this award right?? They should make this award more subjective, not statistics based. They should really give this award to a legit Bench player who impacts his team the most. Kind of like the James Posey for Boston last year types. Terry is good, and a boost off the bench but he really is a starter playing off the bench.
Lebron = MVP Lebron's won more with bad talent in the past than Wade.......I love D. Wade, but like durvasa stated...........this is brons year.
MVP's gotta be LeBron, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Cavs fan. Firstly, a precedent has been set; whether or not you agree with it, team record is a major factor in the MVP voting. If it wasn't, Kobe or LeBron would have won many more MVPs than they have already. Secondly, LeBron's season has been statistically the best since Michael Jordan. He's at or above career-levels in almost every statistic whilst averaging a career-low in minutes, and his low minute games were because the team was annihilating others. I read the other day that, if you adjust for the pace of the League and the number of rebounds, LeBron would be averaging 40 points, 15 boards and 9.6 assists if he were playing in Oscar Robertson's day. I know it's wrong to compare eras, but that is insane. I understand the argument for Wade, but I think anyone who thinks Wade is the MVP just doesn't truly understand the historical significance of this year for LeBron. This is, in actual fact, one of the greatest season's, statistically, of all time, but for some reason it is not being picked up on by the mainstream media. A cynic might say it's a conspiracy so LeBron wins his first MVP award "when he lands in New York". I don't, because this is Bron's year. And perhaps the start of Bron's decade.
Well his PER is impressive since I noticed you alluded to that, but it isn't just about that when talking about figures. I also like percentage of win shares and how long someone is on the court, if he can handle the burden of longer minutes and how they play against the top teams. He does deserve the regular season props, just going on a tangent. :]
