The buzz is that Wade may be becomming an MVP Favorite

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Johnnybrasco:</div><div class="quote_post">The thing i don't get is why should kobe be more of an MVP candiate than Wade? IMO its nash for MVP followed by chauncey, but someone explain how kobe is in the running?</div>

I'll tell you why.

Kobe is playing with Smush Parker, and NBDL league talent. Lamar hasn't been consistent all year, up until recently. Chris Mihm has been our second most consistent player, basically, our best player all year behind Kobe.

Kobe has kept the Lakers in the playoff hunt all year long, up until recently, they were in striking range of the 6th seed. That's the reason why Kobe's name is being mentioned in the MVP race, because he's caring a very talented, yet very inconsistent player and team full of no-names to the play-offs. Do I think he's MVP? No. If the NBA had an offensive player of the year, it's him, he'll more than likely get the scoring title, but he's not the MVP.

In my eyes, the MVP is Steve Nash, followed by Brand, then Kobe. In the second level of MVP candidates, I think it's Billups, Wade, and Dirk.

The reason why I put Billups in the second level of MVP runnings is because if you remove him from the Pistons, you still have Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton. That's still a final caliber team. I understand Billups is the vocal leader, floor leader, and hits clutch shots, but the Pistons would be fine without him.

I don't think Wade should be a serious MVP candidate. Was Kobe ever a serious MVP candidate with Shaq? Nope. Shaq makes it a lot easier for players to get recognition. I know that Wade averages just as much with Shaq out, but having a player like Shaq on your team hurts your MVP credentials.

I do think Wade will be an MVP one day, he has the skills to be, but not yet.

 

Who is Tayshaun to say who's better? Every player has their own opinion. Jerry Stackhouse, Andrei Kirilenko, LeBron James, and Amare Stoudamire have all been quoted as saying he's the best player in the league.

Wade's also been quoted as saying he turns on ESPN to see Kobe. Don't make this a Kobe/Wade war, Kobe will win it because he has more accomplishments in his career.

 

Let's compare rosters.

Kobe Bryant has:
Lamar Odom - He hasn't been consistent up until recently, now he's finally consitent. Kobe Bryant hasn't had the luxury of a consistent 2nd option all year.

Smush Parker - He's on and off. He's also not consistent, and his defense is attrocious. His steals are misleading becuase he gambles a lot. 8 out of 10 times, he'll gamble and get burned.

Kwame Brown - Defensively, he's a presence. Offensively, he has the capabilities of a super star, but plays like a 2nd grader.

Chris Mihm - He's been the second most consistent player for us all year long, that's scary. Chris Mihm? He's also been injured a lot this year, so Kobe hasn't had the luxury of him all year.

Now for Wade:
Shaq - I don't care if Shaq's on the decline, playing with him makes things so much easier. He's a presence down low and commands a double team, sometimes a triple team. He opens up perimeter and mid range shots for Wade, the same way he did for Kobe.

Jason Williams - The man can stroke it from anywhere on the court, he's also a very good passer. He's quick, a lot better than Smush Parker, Kobe's PG.

Antoine Walker - Is he better than Lamar Odom? Hell no, but he is still a nice player to pair with Wade. Walker can hit the three, he can hit it from the post, he can score from anywhere on the court, but he's a jacker. That's his negative.

Udonis Haslem - This guy is a workhorse, He gives you about 10 and 8 a game, the perfect role player. He'll grab you rebounds before any one else has a chance to grab them. Something that Kwame Brown doesn't do.

Dywane Wade is simply not the MVP of the league, the Heat would still be wining without him because they have Shaq. You can't make an argument that Wade's more valuable than Kobe Bryant to the Lakers, that Wade's more valuabe than Steve Nash to the Suns, that Wade's more valuable than Dirk to the Mavericks. It's not possible to make a strong case for Wade because of his cast, and because of Shaq. Kobe had phenominal years with the Lakers when they had their run of championships, he was rarely mentioned in MVP voting because of Shaq. Playing with Shaq, no matter what stage he is of his career, hurts your MVP chances substantially because he's such a dominant presence and the team would still be winning without Wade.

Wade falls in the same category as Chauncey Billups, a great player, but on a great team. If you take either away from their team, that team will still have success because of the other players that are on the team. Plain and simple.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting playmaker15:</div><div class="quote_post">Because Tayshaun guarded them in the Finals in back to back years so he knows them both on their A game. Also, Wade still dominated Prince while injured. The MVP is about what you do THIS season not your past seasons.</div>

How do you figure Kobe was on his A game? He was facing a rape allegation. That rape allegation held his career, family, and life in limbo. He entered every single game not knowing if it was his last season or not. To say Kobe was on his A game is a joke. Kobe was far from his A game, What we see now from Kobe isn't even his A game. Wait 1-2 more years when he hits his prime, then you'll see it.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting playmaker15:</div><div class="quote_post">Ok let's look at the rosters Wade had in his rookie year compared to Kobe's last year because it was basically the same. Wade had Grant Odom and Butler along with EJ and they winishes 4th in the East, Kobe had that same roster and ended up with the tenth pick, don't give me the roster excuse ebcause Wade's been there to and look what he did getting them to the second round.</div>

In Wade's rookie year, he didn't have Butler. He was injured a lot. He had a very consistent Odom who LED the Heat, not Wade. Odom had his career game that year, something like 30, 19, and 11. Last year, Bryant had a shocked Lamar Odom. Odom thought he would be a Heat for a long time because of what he did for the franchise, got them back into the playoffs. They up and traded him out of nowhere, something that absolutely stunned him. Then we switched our offenses in the middle of the year when Rudy stepped down, and the triangle takes a year to learn, that's why now Odom is finally stepping it up. It's been about a year.

Odom has a very respectable lineup Wade's rookie year, don't call it Wade's team then, because it wasn't. Wade was the second man that season who had a good playoff run, that's why he got a lot of recognition. If he didn't have that playoff run, you do know that Wade would be alongside Kobe Bryant right now. The Lakers were asking for Wade instead of Odom, and they would have had him, but he had an incredible post season. He had an incredible post season becuase Lamar Odom got him there, Dwyane Wade didn't.

Do not tell me that the Lakers roster last year was equal with the Heat roster in Wade's rookie season, because it wasn't. We had Kobe Bryant, two head coaches, one that had no clue what he was doing, and the other who was full of health problems and shouldn't have coached at all because traveling raised health issues because of stress. We had Chris Mihm, who only showed up to play on home games, he would disappear on the road. Chucky Atkins, who was as unpredictable as Ron Artest's attitude. To put things in perspective, Jumaine Jones was our best perimeter shooter last year. Our lineup was horrible, a lot worse than the Heat's when Odom led them to the playoffs.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting playmaker15:</div><div class="quote_post">Did they get to the Finals? Then he must've been on his A game. I think this is Kobe's prime he's 27 I believe and Wade does everything he does besides shoot the 3, Wade went 19-10 without Shaq proving he could win without the Deisel he has done more for his team than Kobe has this year IMO.</div>

There was no way in hell that Kobe was on his A game, it's impossible to be on your A game when you're facing a rape allegation. Your family is up in the air, your life is up in the air, everything you do makes public headlines, that's a lot of stress, too much stress for a player to be on his A game.

Wade went 19-10 without Shaq, yet look at the support he has. You can guarantee that Kobe would do the exact same thing with the same lineup that Wade has, everyone on the Heat has a good work ethic, a lot of players on the Lakers don't.

A player doesn't enter his prime isn't until his age ranges from 29-32, that's the best years a player will give you. Look at MJ, when did his team win championships, when he was older. Look at Shaq, how old was he in his prime? Kobe's game is still developing, mainly his leadership, and he's adding the perimeter to his array of offensive threats. He can score from anywhere on the court, and it's only going to get better. Kobe's not in his prime, he will be in about two years, that's when you will start to see a lot more Kobe/MJ comparisons.