Who's MVP in NBA at this point?

[Guest Deadbolt]

The NBA is nearing the All-Star Weekend, which means basically the mid-point of the season. The big talk around the league now is--who is the Most Valuable Player of the league at the mid-point? I'm going to plead the case for the obvious picks, and the not so obvious--but more then deserving--players as well. Let's start with the obvious/talked about--

 

LeBron James--King James has made a huge impact this season with the Cavs, in just his second year in the league. He's only 19 or 20--bearly that--years of age and he is the best all around player in the league today. He puts up around 25 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists a game. But as much as his numbers help, they aren't just everything. At such a young age, he has and is a leader for not only his team, but for the rest of the league as well. He is the most valuable player for the league. Without him, you lose alot of revenue, not only in Cleveland--but everywhere else they play. He is the player that people want and will pay good money to see play. He has the court vision of Magic Johnson, and the abilities unseen since the glory days of Jordan. He is probably the leading canidate--in my opinion--for the league at its midpoint thus far.

 

Steve Nash-He is the difference on this Suns team. They added no other big name players except him over the offseason, and he has turned this team from a lottery team last year, to a NBA Finals contender this year. His leadership has been through the roof. With him, the Suns are unstoppable--proving it with their almost unheard of start. When he went down, so did the team. When he came back, so did the team. That is value to a team. He is the only player in the league that averages double digits in assists, dishing out around eleven per game.

 

Tim Duncan--Arguably the best player in the league--up there with only Lebron and KG in my opinion. He does everything for the Spurs. He scores, rebounds, blocks shots, a defencive presence, a leader, and everything else that is asked of him. Because of his contributions to the team, they have the best record in the entire league, and have arguably the best team in the league. He may get his third MVP trophy this year in 4 years, and it really wouldn't suprise me in the least bit.

 

Shaq-He has always and will always be a front runner for this award. Why?--because he IS the most dominate player ever to lace up on a basketball court--he cannot be stopped by anyone, and that is a proven fact. Look at the Magic when they had him--trip to the NBA finals. Look at them without him--average team that struggled to make the playoffs. Look at the Lakers with him--3 straight rings. And without him, a team struggling to make the playoffs. Look at the Heat without him--a team struggling to make the playoffs. Look at the Heat with him--on top of the East and showing no signs of letting up any time soon. He makes players better. Look at Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and now Dwayne Wade.

 

Other Canidates Of Whom I Feel Should Recieve Some Mention

 

Gilbert Areanas-Look at the season he is having and look at the record the Wizards are having. Who would have thought in a million years that the Wizards would be a top force in the Eastern Conference. He seems to put up around 30 points almost nightly. He has became a leader for the Wiz and is proving all that passed him up in the first round of the draft a few years ago dead wrong.

 

Dirk Nowizki-Having his best season, Dirk has the Mavs about where they are every year--in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. They aren't a bad team, but they aren't a great team either. Dirk has had game after game after game in which he scores 30, 40, or even 50 points. He continues to improve on defence, and if he keeps it up, he could easily win this award for several years to come. He just has alot of that 'it' factor that goes into becoming what is needed to be an MVP canidate for your team and for the league as well.

 

Overall, it would be a tough choice to pick out just one of these players, if not others, that deserve the honor of mid season MVP of the league. All of them deserve some props for their fantastic seasons thus far.

[Precious Roy 0]

Personally I'd have to give the award to Nash. Point guards are historically overlooked when it comes to the MVP award (Kidd a few years back for example, when he almost singlehandedly turned the Nets into a powerhouse), and Phoenix played like dog shit when he was out. After Nash I'd go LeBron, Shaq and Duncan in that order. Obviously one can make a strong argument for either Shaq or Duncan, but I feel either of those teams can function for a reasonable ammount of time without them due to their strength at guard, whereas Phoenix is completely lost without Nash. Plus, in a virtual dead heat I have to give the edge to the guys who've never won the award before, as it's been there-done that with Duncan and Shaq and everyone knows they could easily win any season. It's nice when someone like an Iverson slips in and takes it from the bigs.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I was thinking about this earlier, how did Jordan not win MVP every year that the Bulls won the championship?

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Nash. No one is as valuable as him since wihtout him Phoenix is terrible. Winless without him, #1 in the NBA with him. That's an MVP.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

Shaq.

 

He's healthy, everybody around him has became better and much more confident, and pretty much all of his stats have improved from last season.

 

Washed up? Not the same without Kobe Bryant? I think not.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Well, I know in 1993 Charles Barkley really carried his team to levels were he had to win it. And Karl Malone in 1997 had a better year, flat out.

 

And AI is a contender, his numbers are incredible, but his team is under .500, so I doubt he'd win it.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Steve Nash. Lebron's close as well, and Wade deserves a lot more consideration for the award than Shaq does. Duncan also, since he's been able to keep the Spurs playing at a high level despite the changes around the league. Notice how every team has changed so drastically from last season, except the Spurs who would have made it to the NBA Finals if it wasn't for the Lakers and the 0.4 shot (they would have beaten the T-Wolves in my opinion).

[Steviekick 0]

Nash. It's sick how much of a change he's had on the Suns when you compare them now to last year.

[Guest Rrrsh]

Gotta be Nash. He represents the V in MVP more than anybody. It unfortuante his team can't play D, or they would be a Fav. to go all the way.

[Youth N Asia 0]

It has to be Nash. His team is great with him, and can't win a game without him.

[Fökai 0]

Steve Nash. Lebron's close as well, and Wade deserves a lot more consideration for the award than Shaq does.

A voter's argument is that Wade was there last year, whereas Shaq was not. Unless Wade's statistics head towards Lebron levels, voters will give the vote to O'Neal.

 

My prediction is Lebron -- I expect Nash's numbers to tail off a bit when the Suns trade backcourt depth (Joe Johnson) for a premier frontcourt defender.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Wade has come a long way in his second season. All Shaq has done is give them a large, strong presence in the middle formerly held by a strong but small Brian Grant and a tall but not quite as strong Lamar Odom. There's a good reason why the Heat gave up half their starting lineup for Shaq, but didn't want to include Wade in the deal, regardless of how much the Lakers needed (and still do) a PG.

 

Honestly, the trade was pretty well-balanced, the Lakers' problems aren't as a result of Shaq leaving, it's the lack of a true guard that's killing them. They've gone 3-4 without Kobe as well.. Well hopefully 4-4 tonight playing the Bobcats. The Heat might or might not win a championship without Shaq this year, but Shaq is only good for a year or two while Butler and Odom give the Lakers a solid foundation for the future with Kobe. But that's a whole other topic.

[Fökai 0]

Wade has come a long way in his second season. All Shaq has done is give them a large, strong presence in the middle formerly held by a strong but small Brian Grant and a tall but not quite as strong Lamar Odom.

It's also a lineup that can legitimately win the NBA Finals -- can't say the same for the 2003-2004 Heat.

[Vern Gagne 0]

It has to be Nash. His team is great with him, and can't win a game without him.

The problem there, is we don't know how Cleveland, San Antonio, or any team with an MVP canidate would perform without them in the lineup. We can assume their would a huge dropoff, which imo is why that shouldn't be the determing factor.

 

That's why I LeBron James has the MVP. He's put up great numbers, and while the assist totals aren't near Nash's, he's done a good in involving the rest of the team. Who imo aren't has good as who Phoenix has. James is also the better defensive player. Please note this does not mean Nash isn't deserving of the MVP. I would understand if he did win, I just wanted to give another side of the argument.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Yeah, we'd have to assume that Lebron, Duncan, et al would hurt their teams by being out. But we can prove that the Suns are nothing without Steve Nash.

[2GOLD 0]

I'm sorry, but Cleveland being 25-17 in the East doesn't impress me as much as going 35-10 in the West does.

 

With Nash, the Suns were in line to get the #1 seed in the West. Without him, they lost #1 to the Spurs very quickly. The Suns are downright horrible without Nash, the drop is just way too significant.

 

The West is still the tougher conference, hell the record the Cavs have would be sixth in said conference.

 

Lebron may be the best player in the league, but he's not the MVP. The Suns were on base to torch the NBA when Nash wasn't hurt.

 

It should be a very close vote though and hopefully Nash gets his credit.

[iggymcfly 0]

Yeah, I'd give Nash the edge over LeBron at this point just due to the fact that the Suns are a championship contender and the Cavs really aren't at this point. I think the Cavs would be just as lost without James as the Suns were without Nash, but the fact that the Suns accomplished more with Nash should be enough to make him the frontrunner for the MVP at this point.

 

You know, during the offseason, I said that if the Suns just resigned Nash and traded Nowitzki for Shaq, they'd be guaranteed two rings. I wish they'd done it. I guess from a financial standpoint, it's better to have a good tea for eight years, then a championship team for two years, and a mediocre team later, but with the way that Shaq and Nash have been playing this year, you can't deny that they'd be awesome together.

[2GOLD 0]

Don't you mean the Mavs?

[Guest Vitamin X]

Yes, I think so. Man I would have loved having Nowitzki on the Lakers, though, especially if they followed through on the Boston trade as well. Still no PG though.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

You know, during the offseason, I said that if the Suns just resigned Nash and traded Nowitzki for Shaq, they'd be guaranteed two rings. I wish they'd done it. I guess from a financial standpoint, it's better to have a good tea for eight years, then a championship team for two years, and a mediocre team later, but with the way that Shaq and Nash have been playing this year, you can't deny that they'd be awesome together.

While I thought the same at that point for Dallas, I've seen most of the Suns game and the thing that is making Nash and the Suns click so well is their speed. They are a fast team, but Nash dictates that pace. While the rest of the team is good, they are clueless without Nash pushing them.

 

I think a Shaq/Nash combo would be kind of like the T-mac/Yao combo. Two all-star players, but completely different styles, causing the team to underachieve.

 

That was part of how the Suns smacked the Heat when they played, the only one on the Heat who could keep up with the Suns running was Wade.

 

I'd say Nash with James in second place. James will be a multiple time MVP by the time it is done (probably even in the next couple years), but this year is Steve Nash's year.

[Black Lushus 0]

when's the last time a white dude won the MVP award? (yes, I Know it doesn't matter what color a guy is, so don't give me that bullshit, I'm just curious)

 

 

oh yeah, Nash for MVP...

[jimmy no nose 0]

Off the top of my head I'm thinking you have to go all the way back to Larry Bird in '86 for a white guy winning MVP.

 

I'm going to have to agree with Steve Nash for the reasons already stated. I think his lack of defensive ability may take away a lot of the votes though.

[MARTYEWR 0]

I'd say Steve Nash. One, because of the very noticeable difference he's made with the Suns. Two, because as a proud Canadian, I'm somewhat biased.

[teke184 0]

Nash is obviously the most important player on his team right now. If the Suns continue playing so well while he's healthy, he should be the top choice.

 

 

If the Suns fall apart down the stretch despite Nash being healthy, Shaq should get heavy consideration because his mere presence turned the Heat around overnight.

[Guest Vitamin X]

People seem to forget that the Heat made their 'remarkable turnaround' last year when they took the Pacers to 6 games in the divisional round. Not necessarily knocking what Shaq has given to the team, but holy fuck the man is overrated.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The one I'll say about the games Nash missed, were 3 straight road games against Indiana, Washington, and Detroit. So Phoenix didn't lose at home to Charlotte, NO, and Toronto.

[Precious Roy 0]

It was actually Washington and Detroit on the road, and Memphis at home. Nash got hurt during the Indiana game. It wasn't just that they lost though, losing to those teams is understandable for any team this season, but the way they played the game. Amare and Marion, the all-stars, were unable to play effectively as a tandem in those games, because neither is a playmaker, they're finishers, and without someone delegating the ball to them they exposed the flaws in their games.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I was thinking about this earlier, how did Jordan not win MVP every year that the Bulls won the championship?

Because you had to give the Malones and Barkleys of the world SOMETHING since MJ was holding them down in regards to championship rings.

 

And in regards to this topic: Nash, then LeBron...

[Precious Roy 0]

Because you had to give the Malones and Barkleys of the world SOMETHING since MJ was holding them down in regards to championship rings.

 

Exactly. Which is pretty much why there's no need for Duncan or Shaq to win MVP when they have one of their "average" years stat wise, which is what both are doing now. I mean, if Duncan starts dropping 7 assists a night on top of everything else it's a no-brainer, and if Shaq starts hitting free throws at a 75% clip and is putting up 40 a night then sure, but if they're putting up career averages than I don't see any reason to give them the award in spite of other players who're having great seasons.

[Ripper 0]

Well, Barkly had a 27 and like 13 rebound year, Phoenix won 62 games, and were just kicking ass, so yeah, he deserved that MVP that year.

 

 

ALTHOUGH.

 

 

I am sick of people pretending that Phoenix sucked before Barkley got there. The Suns were 53-29 the year before. Its not like they were a wasteland.

 

 

Oh, and Nash for MVP definately.