<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">neh, we're not all that bad....We're better than the Knicks, Nets and Celtics from our division...Well, maybe tied with the Celts.</div> You guys are? The last time I checked the Raptors were 18-26 so statistically the only team Toronto is better then in the Atlantic are the Nets. I don't like many of ESPNs picks. Call me crazy but I think Nash's run with the Suns is a tad bit overrated. I'm not saying Steve Nash is overrated. But Nash has never been considered an MVP before any of these past years, while he has arguably been doing the same thing while he was with the Mavs! I also think their picks for MIP are a fluke. When you chose players who have already had a lot of prior success then they shouldn't be considered a MIP, in my opinion. The players that deserve this award are players that were almost not existant the season before or in other past seasons. In this case Grant Hill, LeBron, and Amare don't really deserve or need consideration for this award.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You guys need to stop it, neither of us is that good, the Raptors have been playing better lately mostly because we've been at home, but our whole division is garbage, the 8th seed team will probably have a better record than the Atlantic winner.</div> Never said anyone was good or bad. I never pointed any fingers either.
It really amazes me how no body mentions Timmy Duncan when discussing potential MVP winners, but he always seems to win it, and his team is always at the top. His numbers never decline, he's very consistent, and in my opinion the best player in the world, yet he doesn't attract any attention from the media or around the league. IMO, he's the most deserving, because he's the corner stone of the best team in the league, although he's averagin career-low in minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't like many of ESPNs picks. Call me crazy but I think Nash's run with the Suns is a tad bit overrated. I'm not saying Steve Nash is overrated. But Nash has never been considered an MVP before any of these past years, while he has arguably been doing the same thing while he was with the Mavs!</div> Many people think the same thing, he just got put in the right situation. A team that the previous season had no PG, and an injury to their big man, but weren't as bad as their record stated. They got a PG, and in addition to that, Q-Rich, and they embarked on the journey. The team has also become so reliant on him, and without him, they have no one to run the offense, so they look very lost without him. Lastly, when he was out, they faced good competition with the Wizards, and Pistons, and then agaisnt Memphis, Barbosa was also out, so they had Voskuhl starting, and JJ was at point. Basically he had the pieces fall just right for him With a playmaking PG the Suns are a top 5 West team, now depending on how good that playmaking PG is, it will reflect in which top 5 rank they get. Duncan is being neglected because his numbers are "down", but that's also because San Antonio wins their games by an average of 11 points, they don't leave Duncan in games to pad his stats. Unlike the other guys who are all playing 39-40 mins, he's playing 35.1 mins. At Duncan's production rate, if he played 4 more minutes, he'd average 24 points as opposed to 21.6, 13.2 rebounds, as opposed to 11.9 rebounds, and 3.16 bocks as opposed to 2.84.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Meh...he hasn't really improved, he's just not injured this season, and he defiantely hasn't had near the statistical increase of the other guys. Also he already won an MIP in his second season.</div> I was being sarcastic I would love to see a Pheonix/Washington Final.. That would be fun and fast paced..I really don't want to see the Spurs or Pistons in there, TD is a great player, but argueably the most boring in the league.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NTC187:</div><div class="quote_post">I think it will be tottally unfair to Steve Nash if he ISNT M.VP, the suns sucked balls last year, and he has pretty much single handedly turned them around to the best league in the NBA, he's getting 10+ assists almost every game, he's scoring around 18-19ppg, and most of all hes the reason his team keeps winning, ok the other guys (Marion, Stoude, Q-Rich etc) are a big part to play and usually put up good-great numbers also, but with Nash out they lost 6 games in a row, last year they had the same team without Nash (and Q-Rich) and they were one of the worst teams. Nash deserves MVP, if he doesnt get it, then there is somthing wrong with the world. I say Lee Nailon for MIP, look at his stats last year compared to this year, hes improved alot.</div> Jason Kidd took the Nets from worst to first when he joined them. However he didn't win the MVP, Duncan did. I would pick Duncan over Nash this season, because an MVP should dominate a game on both ends of the court. Nash is an offensive weapon, but he cannot win you a game on defense. Also a lot of the Suns success is due to the fact they are healthy this year. Last year Amare got injured and only played in 55 games.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I would pick Duncan over Nash this season, because an MVP should dominate a game on both ends of the court. Nash is an offensive weapon, but he cannot win you a game on defense. </div> Exactly. Steve Nash's impact on the Suns is as big as there is, but Duncan's dominance at both ends of the floor, his production in the limited minutes he's getting compared to previous years, and the fact that his team is the beast in the league should make him the MVP.
