2021-22 NBA MVP Discussion (Pt.2)

[eminence]

Someone says "Embiid" - and Al Horford starts cracking up and asks "Seriously, who is the MVP?"

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

Considering they're a game back on your squad, maybe 'complete ass' is overselling it a bit.

[eyeatoma]

Someone says "Embiid" - and Al Horford starts cracking up and asks "Seriously, who is the MVP?"

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

Considering they're a game back on your squad, maybe 'complete ass' is overselling it a bit.

No it's not, read my post. I said, they WERE complete ass a month ago, and that was true. They were playing horribly. Now they're playing like the best team in the EAST. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

[Joshyjess]

Someone says "Embiid" - and Al Horford starts cracking up and asks "Seriously, who is the MVP?"

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

And now a month later they put one of the worst beating you'll ever see on a team. And Horford once again showed Embiid who his daddy is (take away Embiid's 87 ft's (or something like that) for flopping like a fish out of water all game, and what Al and Co. did to Embiid is downright comical).
Any more points you want to try and make?

[eminence]

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

Considering they're a game back on your squad, maybe 'complete ass' is overselling it a bit.

No it's not, read my post. I said, they WERE complete ass a month ago, and that was true. They were playing horribly. Now they're playing like the best team in the EAST. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

They were .500, complete ass they were not.

[bstein14]

Giannis has for sure entered the conversation. I think if one of Milwaukee or Philly ends up the #1 seed its going to whichever player leads their team to the #1 seed in the East.

Really this could be a huge stretch run for Giannis' legacy here these last 25 games of the season. If he's able to secure that #1 seed and win the MVP and DPOY he takes a huge jump forward in the all-time rankings passing everyone like Barkley, Erving, Dirk, Robinson, KC, Steph, Malone, Durant, etc.... He jumps right ahead to just outside the top 10(still behind Kobe, Duncan, Shaq, Dream, etc) looking in and still super young.... Very few guys in the history of the league have 3 MVPs and a championship and finals MVP.... not to mentioned multiple DPOYs.

[eyeatoma]

Considering they're a game back on your squad, maybe 'complete ass' is overselling it a bit.

No it's not, read my post. I said, they WERE complete ass a month ago, and that was true. They were playing horribly. Now they're playing like the best team in the EAST. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

They were .500, complete ass they were not.

They had the same exact team, sans Derrick White. For them to be performing as a .500 team with that much salary going to two perimiter stars, was pretty pathetic. Nobody expected the Celtics to be a .500 team to start the season. So they were playing far below expectation, hence the complete ass comment. If the Bucks were performing as a .500 team this year, they would also be complete ass, even though they are capable of far better. Same for the Heat, Suns, Jazz, etc. Context is important, its something many on the GB seem to forget often.

[eyeatoma]

Someone says "Embiid" - and Al Horford starts cracking up and asks "Seriously, who is the MVP?"

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

And now a month later they put one of the worst beating you'll ever see on a team. And Horford once again showed Embiid who his daddy is (take away Embiid's 87 ft's (or something like that) for flopping like a fish out of water all game, and what Al and Co. did to Embiid is downright comical).
Any more points you want to try and make?

I'd calm down a bit. The Celtics had a record amount of 3s. They will never shoot that well again. You guys basically shot your whole load for a game in February. Where were you a month ago when the Celtics were wallowing in mediocrity and Embiid had just dropped 40 on you guys?

You seriously just accused Embiid of flopping, when you have Marcus Smart on your team? He literally looks like he is trying to do backflips with the fake contact he draws. Embiid initiates contact more than anyone outside of Giannis in the league. There are far more fouls that are not called for Embiid, than the BS that smart pulls.

Amusing how you crawl out of the woodwork when your team is doing well, but scurry away when they're not very good. If I were you I'd be worried that all this momentum you've all built will be gone with the all star break coming up. Better pray they continue to play this well post break. Meanwhile the Sixers will be having Harden play his first game back with the current front runner in Vegas for the MVP after the allstar break.

[Dutchball97]

No it's not, read my post. I said, they WERE complete ass a month ago, and that was true. They were playing horribly. Now they're playing like the best team in the EAST. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

They were .500, complete ass they were not.

They had the same exact team, sans Derrick White. For them to be performing as a .500 team with that much salary going to two perimiter stars, was pretty pathetic. Nobody expected the Celtics to be a .500 team to start the season. So they were playing far below expectation, hence the complete ass comment. If the Bucks were performing as a .500 team this year, they would also be complete ass, even though they are capable of far better. Same for the Heat, Suns, Jazz, etc. Context is important, its something many on the GB seem to forget often.

The Celtics were .500 last season as well, maybe them being .500 again should've been the expectation to begin with.

[bstein14]

Wrong page and wont let me delete.

[AleksandarN]

I feel like every great game we get from the top three puts them in the lead. It will be a tight race. I can’t see anyone surpassing any of embiid jokic or giannis. Maybe derozan if he keeps it up

[eyeatoma]

They were .500, complete ass they were not.

They had the same exact team, sans Derrick White. For them to be performing as a .500 team with that much salary going to two perimiter stars, was pretty pathetic. Nobody expected the Celtics to be a .500 team to start the season. So they were playing far below expectation, hence the complete ass comment. If the Bucks were performing as a .500 team this year, they would also be complete ass, even though they are capable of far better. Same for the Heat, Suns, Jazz, etc. Context is important, its something many on the GB seem to forget often.

The Celtics were .500 last season as well, maybe them being .500 again should've been the expectation to begin with.

True

[Joshyjess]

You've been waiting the whole season to post that eh? He's been dominant for the last 2 months, and he has 1 bad game, and it's like, yo, Horford has his number.

The celtics were complete ass a month ago.

And now a month later they put one of the worst beating you'll ever see on a team. And Horford once again showed Embiid who his daddy is (take away Embiid's 87 ft's (or something like that) for flopping like a fish out of water all game, and what Al and Co. did to Embiid is downright comical).
Any more points you want to try and make?

I'd calm down a bit. The Celtics had a record amount of 3s. They will never shoot that well again. You guys basically shot your whole load for a game in February. Where were you a month ago when the Celtics were wallowing in mediocrity and Embiid had just dropped 40 on you guys?

You seriously just accused Embiid of flopping, when you have Marcus Smart on your team? He literally looks like he is trying to do backflips with the fake contact he draws. Embiid initiates contact more than anyone outside of Giannis in the league. There are far more fouls that are not called for Embiid, then the BS that smart pulls.

Amusing how you crawl out of the woodwork when your team is doing well, but scurry away when they're not very good. If I were you I'd be worried that all this momentum you've all built will be gone with the all star break coming up. Better pray they continue to play this well post break. Meanwhile the Sixers will be having Harden play his first game back with the current front runner in Vegas for the MVP after the allstar break.

Embiid outflops Smart by a HUGE amount!!! Yes, Smart flops (hate it when he does it), but he is an absolute amature when compared to Embiid. Embiid literally flops while running down the court. One of the reasons why Boston had so many threes is because Philly left them WIDE open all game. You give any team those kinds of looks all game, and you will see them hitting record number of threes. The threes Boston hit should be a huge concern for Philly because it speaks of their complete lack of defense.
You keep talking about a month ago (actually Boston began turnnig things around about 6 - 7 weeks ago). You are right, not too long ago Boston did look bad -really bad. Guess what, things have changed. The games they were losing in the first 2 monts of the season, they are no longer losing. The leads they lost early in the year, they are no longer losing. I know this is not something you want to believe, but the Celtics are not the team they were not too long ago. It took them a while to buy into their new coaches system. They had trouble switching non-stop all game. They kept reverting back to their ISO-ball. Basically they were doing the exact oposite of what they are doing now. Since the end of December, Boston has become the best defensive team in the league (if you don't beleive that just rewatch the game last night). Boston is trending in the right direction right now. They have 8 solid players that don't really have any glaring defensive weaknesses.
No one (well almost no one) in Boston is talking about winning the finals. Instead we are taking it one game at a time (having been so bad for those early months was very humbling). We are enjoying what is happening right now, and hope it continues. Wins like last night are pure fun (well at least for us).
What's funny to me is how Philly is acting like all is well. The game last night might have had a flukish final score, but what it said about your team was no fluke. They have some glaring weaknesses which a good coach can easily take advantage of. They are not a good defensive team (again by how many open threes Boston had). Adding Harden won't help them on the defensive end (might even make them worse). What you traded to get Harden might cost you more than you realize. They had no answer for neither Tatum nor Brown. Any team with good wings can easily exploit that.
Rather than getting so riled about what Boston did (or the fans are saying), you might want ot reflect on what the game last night said about your own team - not a very good statement.

EIDT - Oops, sorry, didn't realize this was on the MVP thread (thought it was on the daily game thread).

[Dutchball97]

Btw tonight we get Warriors - Nuggets and tomorrow Bucks - 76ers. Could have some big implications for the MVP race at this point in the season.

[mediocrityrules]

Btw tonight we get Warriors - Nuggets and tomorrow Bucks - 76ers. Could have some big implications for the MVP race at this point in the season.

I'm not sure that one game sample sizes are going to cut it anymore. It may have some influence, but as i stated earlier, i'm over using one game sample sizes for this top 3. They are interchangeable for that top spot, and will be until season's end I feel.

[eyeatoma]

And now a month later they put one of the worst beating you'll ever see on a team. And Horford once again showed Embiid who his daddy is (take away Embiid's 87 ft's (or something like that) for flopping like a fish out of water all game, and what Al and Co. did to Embiid is downright comical).
Any more points you want to try and make?

I'd calm down a bit. The Celtics had a record amount of 3s. They will never shoot that well again. You guys basically shot your whole load for a game in February. Where were you a month ago when the Celtics were wallowing in mediocrity and Embiid had just dropped 40 on you guys?

You seriously just accused Embiid of flopping, when you have Marcus Smart on your team? He literally looks like he is trying to do backflips with the fake contact he draws. Embiid initiates contact more than anyone outside of Giannis in the league. There are far more fouls that are not called for Embiid, then the BS that smart pulls.

Amusing how you crawl out of the woodwork when your team is doing well, but scurry away when they're not very good. If I were you I'd be worried that all this momentum you've all built will be gone with the all star break coming up. Better pray they continue to play this well post break. Meanwhile the Sixers will be having Harden play his first game back with the current front runner in Vegas for the MVP after the allstar break.

Embiid outflops Smart by a HUGE amount!!! Yes, Smart flops (hate it when he does it), but he is an absolute amature when compared to Embiid. Embiid literally flops while running down the court. One of the reasons why Boston had so many threes is because Philly left them WIDE open all game. You give any team those kinds of looks all game, and you will see them hitting record number of threes. The threes Boston hit should be a huge concern for Philly because it speaks of their complete lack of defense.
You keep talking about a month ago (actually Boston began turnnig things around about 6 - 7 weeks ago). You are right, not too long ago Boston did look bad -really bad. Guess what, things have changed. The games they were losing in the first 2 monts of the season, they are no longer losing. The leads they lost early in the year, they are no longer losing. I know this is not something you want to believe, but the Celtics are not the team they were not too long ago. It took them a while to buy into their new coaches system. They had trouble switching non-stop all game. They kept reverting back to their ISO-ball. Basically they were doing the exact oposite of what they are doing now. Since the end of December, Boston has become the best defensive team in the league (if you don't beleive that just rewatch the game last night). Boston is trending in the right direction right now. They have 8 solid players that don't really have any glaring defensive weaknesses.
No one (well almost no one) in Boston is talking about winning the finals. Instead we are taking it one game at a time (having been so bad for those early months was very humbling). We are enjoying what is happening right now, and hope it continues. Wins like last night are pure fun (well at least for us).
What's funny to me is how Philly is acting like all is well. The game last night might have had a flukish final score, but what it said about your team was no fluke. They have some glaring weaknesses which a good coach can easily take advantage of. They are not a good defensive team (again by how many open threes Boston had). Adding Harden won't help them on the defensive end (might even make them worse). What you traded to get Harden might cost you more than you realize. They had no answer for neither Tatum nor Brown. Any team with good wings can easily exploit that.
Rather than getting so riled about what Boston did (or the fans are saying), you might want ot reflect on what the game last night said about your own team - not a very good statement.

EIDT - Oops, sorry, didn't realize this was on the MVP thread (thought it was on the daily game thread).

My last post in response to this conversation given that it's in the MVP thread.

I'm not going to take anything from the last game. What has it told me? The sixers have some slow players, and very streaky shooters. Embiid was still dominant in the first half, but everyone else sucked. This is the Sixers in a nutshell. The difference, was that the Celtics were on the greatest heater of their lives, so that is what swung things.

This is exactly why we got James Harden. The Sixers will have a top 10-12 defense when it's all said an done, because we still have two elite defenders in our starting lineup. Harden is a terrible defender, but Seth Curry is worse.

The Celtics will not play like that again, and then they also won't be able to triple team Embiid because Harden will be there. It'll be a good matchup, if the Celtics continue to play liek this, but right now they are playing above their head. Their personnel sans White have not changed, although he is a major addition. Tatum is still shooting below his career average from 3 and Brown has not been great the last few weeks, today was his first good game in a while.

[Dutchball97]

Btw tonight we get Warriors - Nuggets and tomorrow Bucks - 76ers. Could have some big implications for the MVP race at this point in the season.

I'm not sure that one game sample sizes are going to cut it anymore. It may have some influence, but as i stated earlier, i'm over using one game sample sizes for this top 3. They are interchangeable for that top spot, and will be until season's end I feel.

In a way sure but either underperforming or dominating against a MVP rival will swing the momentum. With a race this close any advantage could count.

[drdrG]

While the Suns deserve a lot of credit for their team performance and DeRozan has had a phenomenal year, there is one level of impact that includes Jokic, Embiid and Giannis and then everyone else. Taking nothing away from the last few years of MVPs, I think the three are having greater individual seasons than MVP winners at least back to the Curry unanimous season.

If I had to choose right now I would say Jokic but all three are incredibly deserving and I think would win MVP in most years.

That comes with the caveat that none of these players are pairing these seasons with elite team success.

[brettski]

Btw tonight we get Warriors - Nuggets and tomorrow Bucks - 76ers. Could have some big implications for the MVP race at this point in the season.

Probably shouldn't. Philly vs Milwaukee is so poorly programmed. Philly playing second game in 3 days and Bucks playing third game in 4. Not ideal for a marquee game.

[DreamTeam09]

Isn't Luka starting to be in the conversation. As far as the other MVP candidates, he might have the least to work with, definitely between him and joker, but as a Mavs fan, I might take Denver's team over Dallas team, MIGHT.

If Luka ends up top 4 seed he has a good case. His 2nd best player is Brunson

[GeorgeSears]

Btw tonight we get Warriors - Nuggets and tomorrow Bucks - 76ers. Could have some big implications for the MVP race at this point in the season.

I'm not sure that one game sample sizes are going to cut it anymore. It may have some influence, but as i stated earlier, i'm over using one game sample sizes for this top 3. They are interchangeable for that top spot, and will be until season's end I feel.

I agree. Unfortunately, these one game matchups have been historically important for the media members that vote on the award. Keep in mind that most of the media doesn't watch these teams play on a regular basis, unless they've got a prime time slot on ESPN or TNT.

A clear example of this was in 2008 where it was believed that Kobe cinched the MVP award over CP3 due to a win in April against the Hornets.

I'm with you that one game matchups should be ignored but they matter in a narrative sense. For instance, the matchup between the Sixers and Nuggets on March 14th (Which is going to be on ESPN) is going to have massive ramifications for who wins the award.