2022-23 NBA MVP Discussion (Pt.1)

[BoatsNZones]

JT leading the pack…through 18-19 games so far lol. Still cool to see just how much better he keeps getting each season

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

[moderndarwin]

It’s Steph clearly. They’re a championship team with him and a non playoff team without him.

[MarcusBrody]

I'm not saying he deserves MVP votes, but Porzingis is off to a great start for a Wizards team that's been better than I expected and I don't hear much about him. Is there only room for one Baltic surprise player excelling on a new team? Pretty good offense, really good defense. Obviously it remains to be seen whether he can stay healthy, but he was being talked about as an albatross last year and now he's balling out. I'd consider putting him at 10 or an HM on the MVP ladder this year and I definitely didn't expect to be saying that when the season started.

[_NoMas]

It’s Tatum for now - but as sure as the sun will keep rising every morning, here comes Jokic… give it another two weeks and he will be a top 2-3 candidate

[Dutchball97]

Statistically Jokic is joining Luka and Curry to form a top 3 outlier group. While Luka and Curry are not in the direct play-off spots, Jokic has the Nuggets sitting at the 2nd seed in the west. It's important to note how close the records are so a loss or 2 and this blows over again but if I had to put a vote in at this very moment it'd be Jokic with Tatum the closest behind.

[PierceFan4ever]

JT leading the pack…through 18-19 games so far lol. Still cool to see just how much better he keeps getting each season

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

Yes due to the best record in the league and averaging 31, 8, 5 while playing elite defense.

You don’t win mvp if you have a losing record while being the defending champs while maintaining the same core as last season with no major injuries. This is the mvp thread not best player thread.

There is no “big gap” in the mvp race between Tatum and anyone, it’s Tatum that’s actually in the lead with the best team record while playing great.

[Dutchball97]

JT leading the pack…through 18-19 games so far lol. Still cool to see just how much better he keeps getting each season

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

Yes due to the best record in the league and averaging 31, 8, 5 while playing elite defense.

You don’t win mvp if you have a losing record while being the defending champs while maintaining the same core as last season with no major injuries. This is the mvp thread not best player thread.

There is no “big gap” in the mvp race between Tatum and anyone, it’s Tatum that’s actually in the lead with the best team record while playing great.

Tatum isn't playing elite defense at the moment though.

[PierceFan4ever]

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

Yes due to the best record in the league and averaging 31, 8, 5 while playing elite defense.

You don’t win mvp if you have a losing record while being the defending champs while maintaining the same core as last season with no major injuries. This is the mvp thread not best player thread.

There is no “big gap” in the mvp race between Tatum and anyone, it’s Tatum that’s actually in the lead with the best team record while playing great.

Tatum isn't playing elite defense at the moment though.

Well I’ve watched every game of Tatum’s career and aside from 2 bulls game so far this season which he played kind of lazy defense out there, it’s been his best, better than last season even though numbers wouldn’t point to it because the Celtics overall defense isn’t as good as last season as of now. He’s been the best defender on the team so far this season.

[Dutchball97]

Yes due to the best record in the league and averaging 31, 8, 5 while playing elite defense.

You don’t win mvp if you have a losing record while being the defending champs while maintaining the same core as last season with no major injuries. This is the mvp thread not best player thread.

There is no “big gap” in the mvp race between Tatum and anyone, it’s Tatum that’s actually in the lead with the best team record while playing great.

Tatum isn't playing elite defense at the moment though.

Well I’ve watched every game of Tatum’s career and aside from 2 bulls game so far this season which he played kind of lazy defense out there, it’s been his best, better than last season even though numbers wouldn’t point to it because the Celtics overall defense isn’t as good as last season as of now. He’s been the best defender on the team so far this season.

I do think he's been the best defender on the Celtics this season but it's not a high bar. By just about every metric Tatum is looking average on that end and definitely not a big advantage even over the likes of Luka and Curry. Maybe it'll correct itself when Robert Williams comes back.

[PierceFan4ever]

Tatum isn't playing elite defense at the moment though.

Well I’ve watched every game of Tatum’s career and aside from 2 bulls game so far this season which he played kind of lazy defense out there, it’s been his best, better than last season even though numbers wouldn’t point to it because the Celtics overall defense isn’t as good as last season as of now. He’s been the best defender on the team so far this season.

I do think he's been the best defender on the Celtics this season but it's not a high bar. By just about every metric Tatum is looking average on that end and definitely not a big advantage even over the likes of Luka and Curry. Maybe it'll correct itself when Robert Williams comes back.

Well stats can sometimes be deceiving because I do think there’s a big gap defensively between Tatum and Steph/luka. Luka’s defense last night was god awful. Like I said from eye test, he’s been great. Some of the big time stars in the league even though it wasn’t a huge sample size as the switch didn’t happen as much from JA, to Shai, to Luka, Tatum played as good as you can against those guys when they had trouble trying to score over him.

[Mickey8]

GS has losing record, Curry can't lead MVP race while his team is below five hundred, even if Golden State had winning record right now it would have been questionable choice.

[Dutchball97]

Well I’ve watched every game of Tatum’s career and aside from 2 bulls game so far this season which he played kind of lazy defense out there, it’s been his best, better than last season even though numbers wouldn’t point to it because the Celtics overall defense isn’t as good as last season as of now. He’s been the best defender on the team so far this season.

I do think he's been the best defender on the Celtics this season but it's not a high bar. By just about every metric Tatum is looking average on that end and definitely not a big advantage even over the likes of Luka and Curry. Maybe it'll correct itself when Robert Williams comes back.

Well stats can sometimes be deceiving because I do think there’s a big gap defensively between Tatum and Steph/luka. Luka’s defense last night was god awful. Like I said from eye test, he’s been great. Some of the big time stars in the league even though it wasn’t a huge sample size as the switch didn’t happen as much from JA, to Shai, to Luka, Tatum played as good as you can against those guys when they had trouble trying to score over him.

I watched the Celtics - Mavs game too and it was definitely clear Tatum was much more tuned in on the defensive end than Luka was. In a way I think it's a somewhat similar case to Jokic last year, where Jokic was doing well on the defensive end but it didn't really impact the game because he wasn't playing so well that he could cover the horrendous perimeter defense by his teammates. It's not just Tatum that has much lower impact on defense than last year, Smart and Horford dropped just as much if not more. To me that looks like it'll move back up when the essential centerpiece of the defense returns so the others don't have to cover for others as much and can just focus on their own assignments.

Right now I wouldn't call Tatum's defense elite though just because his effort isn't translating to impact so I definitely wouldn't use it as an argument over other players who are grading out similarly so far, later this season is a different story.

[GeorgeSears]

A bit of a change for me now that Embiid is set to miss a couple of weeks.

1. Luka
2. Giannis
3. Tatum

Luka is putting up monster numbers that are too difficult to ignore. The only thing to worry about is the team record in the end. They're 9-8 right now. They should be a lot better.

Giannis is putting up monster numbers without Middleton and the Bucks are 12-5, he deserves a top 3 spot.

Outside looking in: Curry - he could be no.1 but the losing record holds him back, we'll see if he continues to put up similar numbers when the Warriors go on a run.

[yoyoboy]

Curry’s team when he’s on the court is better than Tatum’s when he’s on the court. Are we going to reward JT because his team’s bench is infinitely better than Steph’s?

1. Curry
2. Tatum
3. Jokic
4. Doncic
5. Mitchell

[Green89]

JT leading the pack…through 18-19 games so far lol. Still cool to see just how much better he keeps getting each season

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

If you think team record is the only factor in considering why Tatum should be mvp, then you haven't been paying attention. Luka ... big gap ... , did you watch last night?

Read on Twitter

[JWillTheFreak]

JT leading the pack…through 18-19 games so far lol. Still cool to see just how much better he keeps getting each season

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

If you think team record is the only factor in considering why Tatum should be mvp, then you haven't been paying attention. Luka ... big gap ... , did you watch last night?

Read on Twitter

Where you get those numbers because tatum didn't drop 15 on Luka...

[bisme37]

Due to team record? It’s a weak case.

And it would be his only case. He is obviously not in the argument as the best player in the league this season.

The best player/actual MVP is Curry, but we have many months to figure out the standings and who has a chance to win the award.

Granted, he’s about to turn 35 and in his 14th season. So he’s at the point where he’s letting people know at the beginning and ending of the year that he’s the best player in the world (it’s up to his teammates to decide if they are ready to make a run). His current level is unsustainable obviously. Which sucks, because I don’t know if the Warriors win 15 games without him.

MVP it’s Curry - big gap - Luka - big gap - the rest.

If you think team record is the only factor in considering why Tatum should be mvp, then you haven't been paying attention. Luka ... big gap ... , did you watch last night?

Read on Twitter

Where you get those numbers because tatum didn't drop 15 on Luka...

It may have not seemed like JT scored 15 on Luka because JT kept blowing past him and Luka wasn't in the zip code when Tatum scored lol. But Luka was still the primary defender on those possessions. He just didn't stay in front or in the play, really.

[JWillTheFreak]

If you think team record is the only factor in considering why Tatum should be mvp, then you haven't been paying attention. Luka ... big gap ... , did you watch last night?

Read on Twitter

Where you get those numbers because tatum didn't drop 15 on Luka...

It may have not seemed like JT scored 15 on Luka because JT kept blowing past him and Luka wasn't in the zip code when Tatum scored lol. But Luka was still the primary defender on those possessions. He just didn't stay in front or in the play, really.

Watch on YouTube

Even if you count those coming of the screen and splitting the double team he only had 9 I believe... but I could be wrong.

[California Gold]

People are just ready to given Giannis a 3rd MVP. Rightly so, he had them well placed the first 1.5 weeks of the league, and he was dominating. I agree about his current knee issues which been plagueing him over the last 3-4 years.

IMO MVP right now is

Luka
Tatum/Embiid

If Embiid continues to play like this fo rthe next month I think he overtakes, especialy with Harden and Maxey out right now.

And if Luka and Tatum continue to play the way they are then they keep the lead.

Sorry but no chance Embiid is getting it over Tatum if the Celtics finish higher and he stays on his current pace.

Tatum's numbers have already started going down, and the Sixers are only 4 games behind.

His numbers are going to be a roller coaster all through the season - that doesn't take away from his overall play being better than Embiids. Celtics are on another tier from the Sixers as a contender.

[bisme37]

Where you get those numbers because tatum didn't drop 15 on Luka...

It may have not seemed like JT scored 15 on Luka because JT kept blowing past him and Luka wasn't in the zip code when Tatum scored lol. But Luka was still the primary defender on those possessions. He just didn't stay in front or in the play, really.

Watch on YouTube

Even if you count those coming of the screen and splitting the double team he only had 9 I believe... but I could be wrong.

I dunno. I'm too groggy to look it up myself but Forsberg (the tweeter) is a good reporter and his job is to look up stats like that so I'm assuming he has it right per the matchup data.

Tatum scores 15 on on lot of guys tho so it's not a big deal to argue about imo.

During the broadcast they mentioned Luka's defensive numbers are improved this year but he was pretty bad last night per my eyeballs. JT is a much better defender and he had a poor defensive game by his standards vs Chicago the other night himself. So it happens.