MVP Rankings 1.0

[INKtastic]

it's pretty easy for Lakers fans to criticize road losses when the lakers have only played 4 road games. Lets see what happens during these stretches

tarting Jan. 6th, they play 12 out their next 15 games on the road, and in that stretch play Portland, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston.

They have another stretch where they play 11 out of 14 on the road.

[semi-sentient]

Dwight Howard's slowly creeping up into the discussion. If Orlando maintains the best record in the East, and he increases his numbers a bit, I could see him walking away with this award at season's end.

I doubt it. His numbers, outside of efficiency (FG%, FT%), are down and I think that will hurt him -- especially when you consider he now has VC. Voters, like it or not, are going to look at who is doing the most for their team from an offensive standpoint and that essentially eliminates him from serious consideration.

I seriously can't picture anyone outside of Kobe and LeBron winning the MVP award this year, deserved or not. Carmelo is not going to get consideration over those two guys if records/stats are comparable, and CP3 has zero shot since his team blows.

[Dat Pass]

it's pretty easy for Lakers fans to criticize road losses when the lakers have only played 4 road games. Lets see what happens during these stretches

tarting Jan. 6th, they play 12 out their next 15 games on the road, and in that stretch play Portland, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston.

They have another stretch where they play 11 out of 14 on the road.

I guess we'll see, but I have a hard time believing the Lakers will lose road games to the Grizzlies, Wizards and Bobcats within a 10 game period.

[INKtastic]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

[tracey_nice]

the bobcats are a problem, dont go taking them lightly.

[Wile E. Coyote]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

And Cleveland won 66 games last year.

What's your point? Not the same team, much like the Cavs.

[Dat Pass]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

Ummm, are you serious? Philly and Atlanta were playoff teams last year...

And again, that was LAST YEAR..

[YLSKillaCam]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

Yeah and James won more games and was MVP.

If Lakers won all those games, they would've been at 70 wins and Kobe would've been MVP.

[JimMurray]

In the history of the game, has there ever been a player denied MVP when meeting those three criteria above? If not, let's lock this thread until something changes.

Michael Jordan in 1997, best record, best player, All-Defense 1st team, no MVP.

That doesn't mean he shouldn't have gotten the MVP. What's your point?

[JimMurray]

it's pretty easy for Lakers fans to criticize road losses when the lakers have only played 4 road games. Lets see what happens during these stretches

tarting Jan. 6th, they play 12 out their next 15 games on the road, and in that stretch play Portland, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston.

They have another stretch where they play 11 out of 14 on the road.

+1

[doozyj]

it's pretty easy for Lakers fans to criticize road losses when the lakers have only played 4 road games. Lets see what happens during these stretches

tarting Jan. 6th, they play 12 out their next 15 games on the road, and in that stretch play Portland, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston.

They have another stretch where they play 11 out of 14 on the road.

IDK, maybe it's just me, but if I recall the Lakers had the best road record last year and tend to play very well on the road. Again maybe that's just me and I am making that all up.

[JimMurray]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

Road losses are forgivable, and I wouldn't write too much into the Cavs slow start, because everyone knows the circumstances they were under. Not only were they trying to acclimate Shaq to the starting lineup while he was injured, but Delonte West lost his mind. Lebron gets a pass for now.

[Bgil]

it's pretty easy for Lakers fans to criticize road losses when the lakers have only played 4 road games. Lets see what happens during these stretches

tarting Jan. 6th, they play 12 out their next 15 games on the road, and in that stretch play Portland, San Antonio, Dallas, Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston.

They have another stretch where they play 11 out of 14 on the road.

BEST. ROAD. RECORD. IN. THE. LEAGUE. LAST. SEASON.

We aren't the Utah Jazz.

[INKtastic]

nevermind that the lakers did lose to phily, Atlanta and charolotte in a 9 game period last year and were swept by the bobcats on the season.

Ummm, are you serious? Philly and Atlanta were playoff teams last year...

And again, that was LAST YEAR..

Charlotte certainly looks like a playoff team since their trade and Washington could get in like Philly did last year. So it may not be all that different. The reality is LA shouldn't lose to the teams I listed and neither should cleveland, but every team has games from time to time where players are flat or out injured and they drop a game they should win. A few here or there aren't a big deal, but clearly you don't want to make a season long habit of it.

And the reality is Cleveland is within a game of the pace for the same road record they had last year. The home vs away schedule for LA just skews the standing. Had they played an even split with roughly the same results on the road they had last year, the standings would be quite a bit closer right now.

[Dat Pass]

Charlotte certainly looks like a playoff team since their trade and Washington could get in like Philly did last year. So it may not be all that different. The reality is LA shouldn't lose to the teams I listed and neither should cleveland, but every team has games from time to time where players are flat or out injured and they drop a game they should win. A few here or there aren't a big deal, but clearly you don't want to make a season long habit of it.

And the reality is Cleveland is within a game of the pace for the same road record they had last year. The home vs away schedule for LA just skews the standing. Had they played an even split with roughly the same results on the road they had last year, the standings would be quite a bit closer right now.

Bottom line, and I think we agree, is that the good teams cannot lose those games. Maybe one here and there, but Cleveland has 5 bad losses only 21 games into the season. Probably not helping LeBrons MVP chances. And bringing up what happened to the Lakers last year is a moot point. It doesnt have any bearing on this years team. (And sure, the Lakers had some bad losses, but guess what? Kobe didnt win MVP last year)

And sure, the Cavs road record isnt that bad, but they have alot of tough road games coming up. They've only had 2 (maybe 3) tough road games. The rest were agaisnt sub .500 teams.

Their next 12 road games: Rockets, Thunder, 76ers, Mavs, Suns, Kings, Lakers, Hawks, Nets, Nuggets and Blazers. You cant really pick out many of those as easy games.

[Lionel Messi]

Rasho has this award locked up already.

[INKtastic]

Charlotte certainly looks like a playoff team since their trade and Washington could get in like Philly did last year. So it may not be all that different. The reality is LA shouldn't lose to the teams I listed and neither should cleveland, but every team has games from time to time where players are flat or out injured and they drop a game they should win. A few here or there aren't a big deal, but clearly you don't want to make a season long habit of it.

And the reality is Cleveland is within a game of the pace for the same road record they had last year. The home vs away schedule for LA just skews the standing. Had they played an even split with roughly the same results on the road they had last year, the standings would be quite a bit closer right now.

Bottom line, and I think we agree, is that the good teams cannot lose those games. Maybe one here and there, but Cleveland has 5 bad losses only 21 games into the season. Probably not helping LeBrons MVP chances. And bringing up what happened to the Lakers last year is a moot point. It doesnt have any bearing on this years team. (And sure, the Lakers had some bad losses, but guess what? Kobe didnt win MVP last year)

And sure, the Cavs road record isnt that bad, but they have alot of tough road games coming up. They've only had 2 (maybe 3) tough road games. The rest were agaisnt sub .500 teams.

Their next 12 road games: Rockets, Thunder, 76ers, Mavs, Suns, Kings, Lakers, Hawks, Nets, Nuggets and Blazers. You cant really pick out many of those as easy games.

I brought up the lakers because of the claim the lakers wouldn't have 3 bad losses in 10 games when they in fact did it last year. It doesn't mean it'll happen this year, but certainly shows that a couple of losses aren't going to derail a season.

[Dat Pass]

I brought up the lakers because of the claim the lakers wouldn't have 3 bad losses in 10 games when they in fact did it last year. It doesn't mean it'll happen this year, but certainly shows that a couple of losses aren't going to derail a season.

I think your missing my point. The Lakers had some bad losses last year. Ill admit it. But he didnt win the MVP and didnt deserve to. Now, this season only: LeBron has lost to some pretty bad teams, and with the tougher part of the schedule coming up, and some bad losses already, the Cavs could find themselves around 56-57 wins this season. Which would likely make it impossible for LeBron to win MVP.

Who knows, its tough to say how the year will play out. But I do know that as of right now, the clear-cut MVP in my mind is Kobe. And I dont really think its that close either.

[INKtastic]

actually, I didn't finish my own point.

If Cleveland goes 8-4 over those next 12 road games, they'll be on pace for the same road record they had last year. Go 9-3 and they'll be on the same pace the Lakers had last year. Of course, if they go 6-6 or worse, they'll have problems.

The other part of the point is that it's reasonable to think that the record gap between Cleveland and LA is partially a result of the Lakers playing so few road games thus far.

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Anyone denying that Kobe and LeBron are pretty close in the race is kidding themselves.

That said, Kobe is in the lead at the moment. But a week or two of play one way or the other for these guys can change that quickly.

It's close.