MVP Watch 2008... Part 3.

[G35]

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There is no elite in the west. That is the point I have been making. The elite fell off, the bottom got worse, the middle got better. Is that so hard to follow?

So you don't think that the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Rockets, Mavericks, or Suns can compete with the elite Pistons or Celtics........

[INKtastic]

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Yes, it's the MVP thread, so why the hell did you compare the Cavs depth to the Lakers when you responded to me?

What are you talking about, that's been the topic of half of the posts in this thread - the impact of injuries and the MVP candidates ability to compensate.

Now with Gasol out, you act like having to play with no inside presence is a handicap that can't be overcome when LeBron has been forced to fill in at PF and even C because of injuries in Cleveland.

[G35]

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What are you talking about, that's been the topic of half of the posts in this thread - the impact of injuries and the MVP candidates ability to compensate.

Now with Gasol out, you act like having to play with no inside presence is a handicap that can't be overcome when LeBron has been forced to fill in at PF and even C because of injuries in Cleveland.

Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith vs Ronnie Turiaf, DJ MBenga and ??????.......

[Kobay]

Here's the thing, East players at this moment are completely out of the mvp race. THe tops have clinched their spot the rest have no more worries. Its about who comes out of the west and how they will come out of it. Thats probably how media will vote on mvp this season.

[Benedict_Boozer]

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Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith vs Ronnie Turiaf, DJ MBenga and ??????.......

And...Lamar Odom? Odom can play

[Deuce33]

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And...Lamar Odom? Odom can play

Odom isn't an inside presence...on BOTH sides of the ball

[C'mon Cavs]

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And...Lamar Odom? Odom can play

I'd say he can...he's averaging more rebounds than anyone on the Cavs. I'd trade Anderson for him if they really want that "size" so much.

[Benedict_Boozer]

By the way no great insight here, but Chris Paul is a bad mofo. Like he is seriously straight nasty - he might be a top 5 player in the entire league at this point...

I don't think there's more than a handful of guys who can control a game like he does and he has a little mean streak too..Def deserving of the MVP IMO

[INKtastic]

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So you don't think that the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Rockets, Mavericks, or Suns can compete with the elite Pistons or Celtics........

Of that group, only Utah has a winning record against Detroit and Boston (3-1). The rest have gone a combined 4-12.

And perhaps elite is the wrong word. There are no standout teams in the west as there have been in prior years. Again, the previous elite fell off, the middle got better, the bottom got worse.

[C'mon Cavs]

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Odom isn't an inside presence...on BOTH sides of the ball

HA, and just who exactly is the inside presence on defense for the Cavs????

No one, which is why the Cavs arent and never were a great defensive team.

[Deuce33]

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HA, and just who exactly is the inside presence on defense for the Cavs????

No one, which is why the Cavs arent and never were a great defensive team.

Where the f*** did I mention the Cavs in my post???

[G35]

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And...Lamar Odom? Odom can play

This is the order. When Bynum comes back he will play C, Gasol will play PF, Odom will play SF.

Odom is not a banger or great post defender. He is a SF in a PF body. I personally don't see Odom as a big man that provides an interior presence.

Also I didn't get an answer about the WC lack of an "elite team". I've heard that the Pistons/Celtics are the East elite. Well if the WC doesn't have any "elite" teams then that's saying the Spurs/Hornets/Lakers/Jazz/Suns/Rockets/Mavericks can't compete with them because they are on another level.......

[C'mon Cavs]

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Of that group, only Utah has a winning record against Detroit and Boston (3-1). The rest have gone a combined 4-12.

And perhaps elite is the wrong word. There are no standout teams in the west as there have been in prior years. Again, the previous elite fell off, the middle got better, the bottom got worse.

I dont know. I do somewhat agree with you, because Phoenix, Dallas and maybe San Antonio have gotten worse IMO. Its hard to tell with S.A. because its just the regular season, and theyve had some injuries, but something tells me they wont play as well as they did last year.

On the other hand though, the Lakers have risen up quite a bit with the emergence of Bynum and then the aquisition of Gasol.

The Hornets have gotten much better.

I dont think there is a true elite team in the NBA. I dont think Boston is that team. I dont think Detroit is. I think the Lakers would be if everyone was completely healthy because their frontcourt would be unstoppable, they'd have great depth, and of course, they'd have Kobe.

[INKtastic]

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Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith vs Ronnie Turiaf, DJ MBenga and ??????.......

I guess you missed the part where Varejao has missed most of the season and where wallace just came back from back problems. Or the part where LeBron has logged 20% of the cavs season as PF.

[C'mon Cavs]

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Where the f*** did I mention the Cavs in my post???

Nowhere, but it was not directed toward you, but the others who were comparing Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao to Turiaf, Odom and MBenga.

[houstonboy01]

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Of that group, only Utah has a winning record against Detroit and Boston (3-1). The rest have gone a combined 4-12.

And perhaps elite is the wrong word. There are no standout teams in the west as there have been in prior years. Again, the previous elite fell off, the middle got better, the bottom got worse.

its tough for me to buy that.... Lakers, San Antonio, Houston, Charlotte, Jazz... etc beat themselves up throughout the season since they have to play each other 4 times and that will drain some energy on the team....

[T-Mac for MVP]

Time to throw McGrady's name back into the hat of potential mvp candidates - or perhaps for the first time this season.

[G35]

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Of that group, only Utah has a winning record against Detroit and Boston (3-1). The rest have gone a combined 4-12.

And perhaps elite is the wrong word. There are no standout teams in the west as there have been in prior years. Again, the previous elite fell off, the middle got better, the bottom got worse.

Just because there isn't 1 or 2 teams that is above the rest doesn't mean they aren't elite.

Looking at it from another point of view, the pro WC perspective is that the elite group got bigger.......

[Deuce33]

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Nowhere, but it was not directed toward you, but the others who were comparing Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao to Turiaf, Odom and MBenga.

Then don't quote me if it's not directly aimed towards me.

[C'mon Cavs]

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Then don't quote me if it's not directly aimed towards me.

Okay, so sorry sir. Do you want me to appologize in a different post for this great incovenience I've caused you?