NBA MVP Watch
With the NBA All Star game in the rear view mirror it is time to start talking about who the MVP contenders are at this point of the season. There are the usual suspects like LeBron and Kobe but there are also some new names coming to the party this year. Here are my MVP candidates as I see it today.
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – LeBron is clearly the front runner to win his second straight MVP Award this season. He leads the league in scoring at 30 points per game and is sixth in assists at 8.4. It is extremely rare for a player to lead the league in scoring and finish in the top ten in the league in assists. The Cavaliers own the best record in the league and they have done it with starters like Mo Williams and Delonte West missing significant time due to injuries this year. He has essentially taken a team of mediocre players and made them into contenders. Take LeBron away from the Cavs and they are lucky if they are even a playoff team, even in a weakened Eastern Conference.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder – Durant has scored 25 or more points in 27 straight games and has helped lead the Thunder to a 19-8 record in that time frame including a current 9-game winning streak. He currently ranks second in the league behind James in scoring at 29.8 per game and is pulling down a career high 7.4 rebounds per game. My only real knocks on Durant is it feels like he does not make the players around them better the way a LeBron does and he still turns the ball over a lot. His Assist-to-Turnover ratio is only 0.77.
Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets risen to the #2 slot in the West the past two years as a result of Anthony being more of a team player and paying more attention to defense. He has become a better passer and his shot selection is not as crazy as it was when he first came into the league. He seems to be paying more attention to winning than his stats lately. He loses a few points for me because one can make a real argument that the arrival of Chauncey Billups has led to Anthony’s awakening and that Billups is as just as important as Anthony is when it comes to Denver’s success.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers – Most folks will tell me that Bryant should be #2 if not the league’s MVP. My main argument for putting Kobe this low is the fact that the Lakers were able to go on the road and beat potential playoff teams in Portland and Utah without him. Theoretically if Kobe is that important to the Lakers success then they lose those games badly without him. Does anyone think the Cavs win those games without LeBron? Now, that is not to say the Lakers can win another title without him. His spot here is more of an indication of how much more the three ahead of him mean to the success of their teams. My biggest thing with Kobe is he needs to have All Star talent around him to win whereas LeBron does not. To be honest I expect that Durant slips down the list as we get into April.
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic – The light to be going on for Howard all of a sudden. He has been a monster the past three games for the Magic and showed some actual low post moves against the Cavs on Sunday. I saw him go to his left and hit three straight shots in the lane with his left hand against Shaq. He has also added a short jumper to his arsenal as well. The work he has put in with Patrick Ewing seems to be paying off and Howard is starting to look like the guy we all thought he could be.
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