MVP discussion thread

[Rasho_libre]

Yes. From this point on it is going o be about if Durant can hold on? Can't wait to see their head 2 head. If kd finally wins the h2h I don't see Lebron catching up.

[JoeSchmo24]

I found this article on ESPN pretty interesting in regards to PG's MVP case [url] http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/ ... rs-say-yes

[NaturalThunder]

Good to see national writers giving Durant the props he's deserved on defense since last year

Maybe one day soon hopefully, the hoards of RealGM posters that still laud KD as this massively inferior defender to George and LeBron will start to follow suit.

And before someone reads my posts and misquotes me (because that's happened recently when talking about this subject) I'm not saying Durant is a better defender or even as good of a defender as LeBron and George; I'm just not so sure anymore that there is some Grand Canyon sized gap between their defensive impacts. Maybe there is, and what I see in games is deceiving. Regardless, you've now got a 28-8-5 type player on 60%+ TS who's also a positive impact defender and can be a downright scary defender when he's locked in and focused.

[Benedict_Boozer]

Durant needs to get the head to head games to win MVP IMO. OKC just doesn't get the national exposure a team like MIA and Lebron will. He needs to shine in those games and the past few years that is where he has fallen short every time where it looks like he has a lead in the race.

The problem is MIA matches up well with OKC, they are highly likely to split and could get both games like they did last year, and in that situation it's just hard to see Durant win it barring OKC pulling ahead of MIA by like 4-5 games+ in the standings which is highly unlikely.

[Klomp]

I know his MVP bid has fallen off a bit, but this is still impressive

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/410975658034991104[/tweet]

[Rasho_libre]

Good to see national writers giving Durant the props he's deserved on defense since last year

Maybe one day soon hopefully, the hoards of RealGM posters that still laud KD as this massively inferior defender to George and LeBron will start to follow suit.

And before someone reads my posts and misquotes me (because that's happened recently when talking about this subject) I'm not saying Durant is a better defender or even as good of a defender as LeBron and George; I'm just not so sure anymore that there is some Grand Canyon sized gap between their defensive impacts. Maybe there is, and what I see in games is deceiving. Regardless, you've now got a 28-8-5 type player on 60%+ TS who's also a positive impact defender and can be a downright scary defender when he's locked in and focused.

Most guys don't argue that topic with you, almost everyone knows Durants defence has improved immensely these last few years, way more than most even his biggest fans thought he would.

[NaturalThunder]

Good to see national writers giving Durant the props he's deserved on defense since last year

Maybe one day soon hopefully, the hoards of RealGM posters that still laud KD as this massively inferior defender to George and LeBron will start to follow suit.

And before someone reads my posts and misquotes me (because that's happened recently when talking about this subject) I'm not saying Durant is a better defender or even as good of a defender as LeBron and George; I'm just not so sure anymore that there is some Grand Canyon sized gap between their defensive impacts. Maybe there is, and what I see in games is deceiving. Regardless, you've now got a 28-8-5 type player on 60%+ TS who's also a positive impact defender and can be a downright scary defender when he's locked in and focused.

Most guys don't argue that topic with you, almost everyone knows Durants defence has improved immensely these last few years, way more than most even his biggest fans thought he would.

No, I get that most people will at least acknowledge Durant is a good defender now, but people still seem to think there's some massive gap between Durant's defensive impact and George's and LeBron's defensive impact, and I'm not sure that's the case anymore.

Granted, all I'm going off of is what I'm seeing from Durant this year and the few Pacer and Heat games I've caught so far, but Durant, once again, is improved defensively this year...and he was pretty good in that regard last year. His defense the last few games has been nothing short of exceptional. Don't know if that gaffe at the end of the Blazers game lit a fire under him, or what, but he's been damn good on defense ever since.

[Rasho_libre]

^that game was bad but it was just one platypus at the end of the day, it doesn't change how good he's been on that end all season. A lot of it just has to do with reputation. When Durant consistently starts showing his defensive prowess in marquee matchups like he has been doing it recently and more importantly in the playoffs, people will notice. Guys like lbj and Paul George have already built that reputation in the post season, Lebron especially. The Paul George argument, you don't have to look any further then yesterday's game against Miami. The entire night, more so than even lebron himself, he was on the toughest assignment. I can't remember the last time kd guarded either Lebron or melo for extended stretches. He will have to this year with sefolosha regressing. If anything it'll be his time to prove it now. That opportunity is there, it's up to him to keep up his stellar play on that end and prove it.

Why people say Lebron a better defender? Aside from the obvious eye test and what he does every year in the playoffs, year in year out. He has been tasked with these assignments eg. Melo, Paul George, rose,Parker, west etc. we all saw him either complete shut them down or negate their impact immensely.

[Onus]

http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGenera ... tOrder=DES

Steph Curry making his case for mvp the last 8 games

[ThunderAlley350]

http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGeneral.html?ls=iref%3Anba%3Agnav&pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&filters=PTS*GE*20&LastNGames=8&sortField=PTS&sortOrder=DES

Steph Curry making his case for mvp the last 8 games

He's playing well. Golden State is going to have to get going at some point record/wins wise, though, or he's not going to stand a chance. I do think if Golden State ends up finishing top 4 in the West with around 50-55 wins he could finish top 5, but at this point they may have already dug themselves too deep of hole for Curry to realistically have a shot of finishing ahead of LeBron, Durant, George, CP3 and possibly even Aldridge.

But when Curry has these stretches where he's even more unconscious shooting wise (apparently it's possible) I'm not sure there's a player in the league more fun to watch. I haven't caught every game during that stretch, but he's been very impressive in the two or three I've watched.

[kingkirk]

http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGeneral.html?ls=iref%3Anba%3Agnav&pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&filters=PTS*GE*20&LastNGames=8&sortField=PTS&sortOrder=DES

Steph Curry making his case for mvp the last 8 games

His team record is not a good argument.

[Onus]

http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGeneral.html?ls=iref%3Anba%3Agnav&pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&filters=PTS*GE*20&LastNGames=8&sortField=PTS&sortOrder=DES

Steph Curry making his case for mvp the last 8 games

His team record is not a good argument.

Yea the team record is really due to their lack of defense. The defense has just been horrible with Iguodala out. Hopefully when he gets back in a week or 2 they'll go on a long winning streak. Or maybe Coach Jackson plays Draymond Green more minutes to get some defense out there. But he's played every bit of a mvp candidate. We haven't seen a 20 and 10 ast player in a long time and Curry is close with 24 and 9.

[kingkirk]

Yea the team record is really due to their lack of defense. The defense has just been horrible with Iguodala out. Hopefully when he gets back in a week or 2 they'll go on a long winning streak. Or maybe Coach Jackson plays Draymond Green more minutes to get some defense out there. But he's played every bit of a mvp candidate. We haven't seen a 20 and 10 ast player in a long time and Curry is close with 24 and 9.

Agreed.

Look, Curry is the most watchable player for me at the minute. As a Bulls fans, i have little to look forward to this season so i've been watching a lot of Curry. He has been unreal.

But if im being consistent, unless Golden State do something incredible going forward, he isn't a legit chance despite playing some unreal basketball.

[Onus]

Yea the team record is really due to their lack of defense. The defense has just been horrible with Iguodala out. Hopefully when he gets back in a week or 2 they'll go on a long winning streak. Or maybe Coach Jackson plays Draymond Green more minutes to get some defense out there. But he's played every bit of a mvp candidate. We haven't seen a 20 and 10 ast player in a long time and Curry is close with 24 and 9.

Agreed.

Look, Curry is the most watchable player for me at the minute. As a Bulls fans, i have little to look forward to this season so i've been watching a lot of Curry. He has been unreal.

But if im being consistent, unless Golden State do something incredible going forward, he isn't a legit chance despite playing some unreal basketball.

Agreed, the team is really hurting his chances right now, but I think they'll go streaking soon. They're only 2 games back from 4th in the West so that lead isn't surmountable.

[52-12-7]

Lebron is so frustrating sometimes. Enough with this attempt of being perfect with the stats. He needs to get to beast mode when his team needs it. 3 consecutive games with him being passive and overpassing instead of going for the basket
.
All, and I mean ALL his field goals made were absolutely easy. He just went to the rim and scored without any resistance. And yet, the rest of his attempts were long 2's after some jab steps. I don't get it.
.
His stats are amazing, by he is going down in my MVP list just because of his coasting. Last night he made no efford to get his team back in the game. Overpassing, turnovers, settling for jumpers...I swear at least 7 of his 10 misses were stupid long shots he could have avoided by just going to the rim and getting the and 1.
.
16 attempts and 17 points on a loss as he saw his team not make the shots they would usually make is disappointing.
.
Right now, he's at 3 for me. I don't get Lebron. You're the best player in the league, why not go for 30 if they're giving you the space to do it? If he's the most efficient player in the world also, shooting more means his team benefits.

Right now, he is too obsessed with his own stats. He is trying way too hard to keep his fg% above 60%. This has been going on ever since his 60%+ streak last year. It looks as if he has set this as a goal. I wish he would just play and not care about his stats. It's really annoying.

[fallacy]

Strength of schedule

OKC - 4th
MIA - 30th
IND - 26th

Durant is actually playing really good teams, while George and Lebron are playing teams trying to lose.

[Rasho_libre]

^yes the eastern conference is garbage. It's why I have and had kd number 1 for awhile for MVP this year.

[bondom34]

I'm gonna bump this post, but know that its highly unlikely. I've been completely proven wrong, and am glad to say it, said early in the year LMA isn't a franchise guy, think I'm wrong. If Portland keeps a top seed he can win, but I doubt it unless they're a top 2 seed. 25 and 20 against Howard.

[NaturalThunder]

A 38-13-5 game against OKC in a win and tonight a 31-25-2-2-2 game against Houston in a win. Can't believe how good he's been this year.

[B-easy]

A 38-13-5 game against OKC in a win and tonight a 31-25-2-2-2 game against Houston in a win. Can't believe how good he's been this year.

holy mother of god.