LayupDrill.com Exclusive
When trying to separate a clear cut most valuable player among the three most worthy candidates this season, the process can be similar to splitting hairs, unless you define some exact criteria as to what the MVP award is to you. In a LayupDrill.com exclusive, I break down Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade beyond the numbers, and make my selection as the true MVP leading into the stretch run of the season.
First, lets talk about the criteria. I believe there should a perfect balance, so lets say 40% based on your individual stats, and 40% based on your teams standings and success. The remaining 20% are the intangibles, such as the strength of your supporting cast, the increase in victories from one season to the next, and other compensating factors that would make the case for one player over another. More than a simple popularity contest, the NBA regular season MVP is still the most coveted and competitive MVP trophies of all major team sports, and with the exception of the Heisman in College Football, could be the second most important.
Criteria:
40% Individual Stats
40% Team Standings/Title Contention
20% Intangibles(Supporting Cast, Making Others Around Him Better, Etc)
1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Why He Should Win: Kobe has done nothing this season to make him not repeat as MVP. His Lakers are on top of the Western Conference, and a key intangible for me is since the unexpected loss of center Andrew Bynum to injury, he has been able to keep Los Angeles cruising along, on pace to have the best overall record in the league. Kobe has had some great individual highlights this season, including his 61 point performance against the Knicks in MSG. Against the best competition(Boston, Cleveland), Kobe is shooting 44% from the field against the Celtics, though it has been enough to garner two victories. His two wins at Cleveland have also come at the expense of his individual numbers(43% from field, 19 ppg), yet he has facilitated the Lakers triangle offense to perfection.
Why He Should Not Win: The Lakers can only improve on last season if they win the NBA Title. Short of setting a mark for team wins or averaging something like 35 a game, Kobe’s main focus is not on the MVP trophy as much as it is winning the NBA title. Kobe’s numbers are practically the same, as is his teams production. While I will still stand by my view that Kobe is the best basketball player in the world right now, some would say he is not the most valuable player in the league this season.
2. Lebron James, Cavaliers
Why He Should Win: After the Cavaliers bitter game seven defeat last spring at the hands of Paul Pierce and the Celtics, Lebron James did what any great player does, he started training. His success in the Olympic games, along with his off-season workout regimen put The King in the best physical shape of his career heading into this season, but also re focused and renewed James on the task at hand, to win a title. The Cavs, who upgraded the supporting cast from last season, now boast a true second scoring option in Mo Williams, as well as three legit three point shooters in Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak. The Cavs are in a tough battle to secure the number 1 seed in the East, and should end up with another 60 plus win season.
Why He Should Not Win: The offensive stats on James are again, like Kobe very similar to last year. Lebron will give you 28, 7, and 7 each night. One of the big knocks on James though is the ability for the top competition to lock him down. Against the league’s best, Los Angeles and Boston, Lebron’s Cavs have gone lost four of the five games they have played, and some of his poorest shooting games of the year took place. In the 3 games played against Boston, Lebron has shot 27 – 61 from the field, or 44%. His averages of 27,6, and 5 are right on par with his season averages. His numbers against the Lakers tell a different story. He is 14-45 from the field this year vs L.A for 31%. His average of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists were not enough against tougher defenses than he normally sees against lesser foes.
3. Dwayne Wade, Heat
Why He Should Win: The star of the Miami Heat is in a completely different situation compared to both Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Wade is taking a team that has gone from the lottery to playoff contender vying for home court in the first round overnight. His supporting cast includes two rookies logging heavy minutes, and Wade finding himself in a role of “veteran”, though he was just the young star playing with vets not that long ago in South Beach. While the Heat have seen the most drastic turnaround in their wins and losses from this season compared to last, Wade has also seen the biggest jump of the 3 candidates in his individual numbers, where he went from averaging just under 25 points a game to nearly 30. His rebounds, assists, and steals numbers have all maintained or increased as well. The changes on his roster during the middle of the season could derail some teams, but Wade has embraced the additions of Jermaine O’Neal and Jemario Moon, and Miami is once again buzzing about playoff basketball.
Against some of the best the league has to offer, Wade has held his own, averaging nearly his season’s averages against both the Celtics and Lakers.
Why He Should Not Win: While Wade’s team has seen an increase in victories, Miami is not in the discussion around being serious title contenders this year.
The MVP award is not as simple as stating who is the best player in the game, nor is it awarding the player who leads the league in scoring automatically. If you were to do a three way swap of these players, and place them with each others’ supporting casts, would the teams current standings be any different?
Lebron in Miami – Better than current
Dwayne in Los Angeles – Worst than current
Kobe in Cleveland – Worst than current
The Lakers have the best supporting cast of the three teams. Placing either Lebron or Dwayne Wade with Pau Gasol and company would still have Los Angeles as the top seed in the West in my view. They may have an extra loss or two, but it would be a wash. The weakest supporting cast is Miami. While Lebron James could earn the Heat an extra few wins, it would not be enough to make them an elite group. Kobe Bryant in Cleveland would be very interesting though, as his style of play would actualy hinder the style of the role players there, and I believe the Cavs would not be as good as current.
With all of that being said, this seasons MVP race is as close as one we have had in years. I truly believe the last 15-20 games of the season will determine it. If I were to pick my front runner right now, I give a slight edge to Dwayne Wade, but that is by the
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slimmest of margins
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Wade’s first name is spelt Dwyane
Brandon,
If you’re going to criticize someone else’s spelling, at least learn how to spell the word SPELLED……wtf is “spelt”…? Come on read a book or something. SMH
The Cavs swept the Lakers last year (Lebron was dominating) and everyone looked away (Kobe”s MVP season). Now, the Lakers sweep the Cavs and all of a sudden, it means something. The Cavs swept the Spurs two years ago and then got swept in the Finals. Players have off games. Lebron and Kobe both played like crap in both games against eachothers clubs. Those games meen nothing in the scope of the MVP race.
How about a mentioning of Lebron’s defensive turnaround? He’s rising to be one of the premeire defensive players in the league (better than Kobe, a major seperation point in the past).
Kobe only had 2 assists in his 61 point game, he also had only 2 assists in his 81 point game (that’s selfish… that’s Kobe), And call me forgetful, but when’s the last time we saw Kobe nail a buzzer-beating, game-winning shot… Long time. Then there’s the leader in fourth quarter scoring (the last three seasons)…Lebron James. Kobe’s glorious moments seem to linger well beyond their relevence.
I’ll adress Wade’s MVP bid with this: Lebron’s been doing exactly what he’s doing now (great stats and moments with a crap team) for the last three seasons and getting snubbed for not having a great record. He even took the Cavs all the way to the Finals (on his back). Last year, Wade was awful. Yeah, he was injured but he still played and if you play, you play to win, or else bow out (as he did at the end). The Heat were getting blown out by crap teams with him on the floor. I give no credit for him “turning the team around”. The Heat have lost alot of game’s this year at the hands of Wade -making bad decisions in the forth quarter.
My spelling is terrible, but I think my logic is right on.
Good points Jason
ok um first of all kobe already won..he got his chance even though he didnt deserve it because all he does is hog the ball….Lebron is overated…hes not great, the only thing that gives him the opportunity to be a good player is the fact that he ALWAYS has the ball…is defense is only good THIS year… its not as good as kobe’s or D-Wade’s….his jumpshot isnt as good as wades or kobes…and i dont like him =)…wade is a great player…hes always been a great scorer and defender..hes not selfish and he took a horrible team and made it a playoff team…kobe and lebron both have alot of help on their teams..kobe has gasol, odom and fisher so ofcourse theyll win alot. lebron has big z, mo will, and west so theyre winning alot also.. wade has no one, moon sucks, oneal is a washed up scorer he only has defense left, beasly and chalmers are rookies, they cant help alot so wade is basically alone…Wade has great defense.. and offense. who else but wade can literally win a game by himself..lebron and kobe have good games but they dont need to score so much…wade has these huge games because he has to…Dwyane Wade is the Heat.. and he DESERVES the 2009 MVP award ….
I guess you can say that dwyane wade deservs too win but think about who hasnt won and is a real team leader. maybe this team dosent win as much but they got a real good leader. he scores 19.3 % and he dosent hog the ball at all ! but who realy deservs it Deron williams does
Though I dont think Wade will win, I still stand by the story. Lebron will more than likely win the award, with Kobe, CP3, Wade, and Dwight Howard all getting some votes as well.
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