The TRUE Player of the Month

[Duiz]

We hear so much Kobe, LeBron, Kobe, Kobe, LeBron, Kobe, Kobe, LeBron, KG, Kobe.

By far, two players have shined above the rest this month, in a race to become player of the month. The reality is that his month has been owned by two little guys. Ron Boone in his mental idiocy keeps calling Deron for player of the month, but we gotta look into the numbers to understand who really deserves player of month, Deron or Chris.



CP3

vs.

D-Will



Month of March

Team Records
Hornets: 10-4
Jazz: 11-3

Significant Team Wins
Hornets: vs. San Antonio, Lakers, Houston, Boston. @ Cleveland
Jazz: vs. Dallas, Denver, Toronto. @ Phoenix, Boston

Blocks
CP3: 1
D-Will: 6

Steals Per Game
CP3: 2.7
D-Will: 1.0

Rebounds Per Game
CP3: 3.1
D-Will: 3.4

Assists Per Game
CP3: 13.1
D-Will: 13.1

Everything seems pretty even up to this point, a very fierce head to head battle for player of the month. But then it is when it hits you.

Points Per Game
CP3: 24.3
D-Will: 20.5

Shooting Percentages
CP3: .555 FG% | .468 3P% | .780 FT%
D-Will: .520 FG% | .378 3P% | .793 FT%

Minutes Per Game
CP3: 38.1
D-Will: 39.6

Turnovers Per Game
CP3: 2.5 (T-25th in league)
D-Will: 3.4 (3rd in league)

This is only a month, and I am not saying that CP3 is better than Deron Williams or will have a better career or whatever. You all know that I love Deron, but the stats lean towards CP3 for Player of the Month. Touche Boone.

[Pai Gow]

Yep, its gotta be CP3, unless Deron drops 50 this afternoon.

[DelaneyRudd]

Why you gotta bring this man? Why you gotta kill my buzz.

The Deron CP thing is over. I won't even bring it up if CP falls on hard times. He's cool, and a nice guy.

[NO-KG-AI]

Why, did Deron win player of the month or something? If not, I don't get it.

[DelaneyRudd]

Why, did Deron win player of the month or something? If not, I don't get it.

No, but it was the talk of the tv team last game. Especially in the first half where Deron looked spectacular.

[carrottop12]

#

How, then, does Paul compare to his rivals at the point-guard spot?

# He's quicker than either Steve Nash or Deron Williams,

# He's stronger than Nash but much weaker than Williams.

# Nash is a much better shooter with much better range, while Paul and Williams are about even in both categories.

# Williams plays the best individual defense, Nash plays the best team defense, and Paul is in the middle in both categories.

# Nash and Williams have better crossover moves.

# In pop-up shots from mid-range, it's Nash, Paul, and then Williams.

# Both Nash and Williams are better finishers in the paint.

# Paul can run rings around both of his rivals and also has quicker hands.

# Nash and Paul toss better lob passes than Williams.

# Nash unloads the ball quicker (especially with his left hand) than either Paul or Williams.

# Nash goes and shoots better left than either of the others.

# Williams is the only one of the three who can post-up a defender and also hold his own on the boards.

Each is absolutely a perfect fit in their respective systems, but none of them deserves to be this year's MVP (whatever the standard for this bogus award might actually be).

Here is a pretty interesting analysis of the three best PG's in the game.

[Duiz]

I was just saying... for player of the month, Chris Paul just actually deserves it, it would be horrible if he didn't get it.

[d-will8]

Paul probably deserves the award a bit more than Deron, but numbers aren't everything. I think what a lot of people fail to understand when they compare the two purely based on numbers is how different their teams and roles are. Paul is on a team where pretty much everything runs through him. They don't have any other playmakers and he's the clear number one scoring option. This is the reason that he gets more assists and more points. The reason Deron scores less is because the Jazz are a better offensive team than the Hornets with more weapons and he usually doesn't need to take over offensively for the team to win. He certainly can, though.
Honestly, I think the only truly notable difference in their stats is in the turnovers department. That's definitely something Deron needs to work on. The steals discrepancy doesn't even concern me that much because I, like Rosen, am not convinced that Paul's some great defender.
I think that, in spite of Paul's statistical advantage, you can make a very legitimate argument that Deron deserves the award just as much because of how he's done exactly what the Jazz have needed to win. When the offense is running smoothly and his teammates are hitting shots, he's been content to keep on finding them for open shots in exactly the right places, but when he's needed to take over with his scoring, he hasn't hesitated to do so. It's pretty great to see how good he's getting at balancing getting everyone involved and looking for his own shot. Still, the award will probably go to Paul and there will be no cause for complaint.

[Ming Kong!]

Yeah got to go with Paul. I'm just hoping Williams gets 2nd team.

Who's ahead of him? Clearly Kobe and Paul, then I'd say McGrady deserves it too, but then I can't see any other guards who were actually better. Nash? Nah.

[Duiz]

So I was right.

[E.J. Wells]

So I was right.

Good call there, Nostradamus. Next thing you're going to astonish us with is your prognostication that Andrew Bynum WILL, in fact, return to the NBA sometime in the next 3 years.

Quick, someone get Duiz a Twinkie.

[carrottop12]

Here is my Duiz next blind fortune telling prediction of the year.

Kobe Bryant will throw a behind the back pass to Like Walton in a second quarter loss against the Grizzliess, and it will get more coverage then anything the Jazz have done all season.

[idajazz]

I was going to say something funny.

[xstockholmsyndromex]

-= original quote snipped =-



Good call there, Nostradamus. Next thing you're going to astonish us with is your prognostication that Andrew Bynum WILL, in fact, return to the NBA sometime in the next 3 years.

Quick, someone get Duiz a Twinkie.

[Duiz]

I don't think I gave prophecy you silly, but it was an attempt to finally educate the ignorant masses about the reality, only of this month. I was thinking that NBA might reverse things around and actually give Deron the award considering how bassackward they give honor to. I guess reverse discrimination didn't happen.

By the way, funny comments about Paul and Race in the general forum.