Mike Monroe: Changing Clips

[Copperhead]

With reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose missing nearly half the season with physical ailments, Miami’s LeBron James has become a heavy favorite to regain possession of the trophy he won in 2008 and 2009.

If he wins, as I suspect he will, James will be just the eighth player in league history to take home the league’s most prestigious award a third time. This would place him with such luminaries as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone.

Not that it should influence voters, but he also would be the lone member of such select company without a championship ring.

Until recently, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant had authored a compelling case as an alternative for the No. 1 spot on the official MVP ballot that requires voters to rank five players. The league’s No. 2 scorer, Durant had his team with a comfortable lead atop the Western Conference from the first week of the season.

Team success counts for plenty in MVP consideration.

But something went awry in Oklahoma City of late — and it wasn’t injuries. The Thunder lost its winning magic and its lead in the West. With that, Durant may have lost any chance of edging James for the award.

Doesn’t that make James a slam-dunk choice for the top spot on every ballot?

Call me a contrarian, but neither James nor Durant will be on the No. 1 spot when I e-vote on Friday. This has everything to do with how I define value and places less weight on statistical analysis.

If you believe a player’s true value is defined by his ability to optimize the talents of each of his teammates, I contend no player is more worthy than Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnatio ... clear-mvp/

[LOJ]

Copper if you don't mind I will steal this and put it on the GB.

What CP3 has done goes beyond statistics. Even though he has put up very nice efficient numbers.

[The Infamous1]

Honestly, he couldve had this easily. But the clips lost too many stupid games that they should've won this season. I think with the 2 seed he could've made a better case(with the one he would've won unanimously)

Regardless, he's had a brilliant comeback season and if the clippers get the 3 seed he can get the 3rd place finish( behind Durant and Lebron)

[Copperhead]

Copper if you don't mind I will steal this and put it on the GB.

What CP3 has done goes beyond statistics. Even though he has put up very nice efficient numbers.

Don't mind at all. It'll just feed his haters though.

[mkwest]

He's the MVP of our hearts

I expect him to receive some 1st place votes, but ultimately it's going to LBJ. He deserves it and I'm fine with that. LeBron is still the best player in the game and has been insane this season even though he had faltered a bit a little while ago and gave Durant some momentum.

For many of us, we had to learn who Chris Paul really was. We've watched him play against us or whenever he was on national tv, but we (most of us) didn't have a full grasp of who he was as a player. People (NBA fans as a whole) that don't see him every night, fail to realize that he's really a half court player. He's quick, but he's all about controlling the tempo and the pace is anything buck quick. He is slow to get started and takes on more of the load as the game progresses. Some fans were a little annoyed in the beginning not totally understanding his tendencies, but that's all gone now.

This roster and this season was thrown together over night with little time to prepare. I'm excited about next season after having an entire season to continue to gel and tweak the roster. The GM has already acknowledged that more pieces are needed that complement Paul, and it should be interesting to see who we target.