MVP discussion thread

[lethalizer]

Tonight kinda looked/felt like a "meh" or "off" game for Durant -- the whole team really, but that doesn't really go here -- and he still went for 30-6-3-2 on 11/23 shooting. He really turned it on in the 3rd quarter to start the process of putting Denver away and the bench came in to start the 4th and did a nice job of building on the lead.

It helps that OKC finally gets easier buckets for Durant this season. If that Denver game was played last year, I could see Durant shooting 6-7/23, which would look a lot worse on paper.

They got him some alley-oops on the fast break, some good positioned post-passes and so on.

I have to say, I'm impressed with Brooks this season. I see more and more actual *plays* being run this season, as opposed to basic ISO's the Thunder "LOVED" to run the last few years. Hopefully they won't go back to that system once it's playoff time..

This is an MVP thread though, to stay on topic, I think Durant has a great shot of winning this season as long as OKC keeps this up. Durant will always be Durant. If you make life easier for him, his stats will increase no matter what.

[deneem4]

It's Durants this year...unless ant Davis come back and pelicans win a Lotta games some how, wade has been too good this year, he's 5points behind lebron in averages but everything else almost matches up...that's why lebron didn't get it when rose got it...wade was playing the same level of basketball as lebron, Aldridge is a serious contender for it this year as well...If the blazers finish top 3 in the west he should get it

[Rasho_libre]

It's Durants this year...unless ant Davis come back and pelicans win a Lotta games some how, wade has been too good this year, he's 5points behind lebron in averages but everything else almost matches up...that's why lebron didn't get it when rose got it...wade was playing the same level of basketball as lebron, Aldridge is a serious contender for it this year as well...If the blazers finish top 3 in the west he should get it

Im with you that it could be Durants year, but do you honestly think wades playing at the same level of basketball as Lebron? 2011 sure, but if wade was playing the same level as Bron now he should be 3rd on the list. When did ppg also become the indicator that wades playing news lebrons level? That's like saying kd should be dq'd because Westbrook dropping only 5-7 ppg less.

[LBJ-ITALY]

It's Durants this year...unless ant Davis come back and pelicans win a Lotta games some how, wade has been too good this year, he's 5points behind lebron in averages but everything else almost matches up...that's why lebron didn't get it when rose got it...wade was playing the same level of basketball as lebron, Aldridge is a serious contender for it this year as well...If the blazers finish top 3 in the west he should get it

Now it's KD then LBJ, but damn it is only 25games into the season, so it is too early and there still a lot of games!

[Antrim]

Durant's gonna have to either have a considerable better record than LeBron's or have a similar one and outplay him when they face each other.

Good luck with that, Kevin.

[Lost92Bricks]

So far Chris Paul is:

#1 in APG
#1 in AST/TO
#1 in WS
#1 in WS/48
#1 in OWS
#2 in PER
#2 in Double doubles
#3 in SPG
#3 in ORTG
#3 All time highest AST%

He's on pace to have a better season than he did in 08 and no one talks about it. SMH.

[King_John]

So far Chris Paul is:

#1 in APG
#1 in AST/TO
#1 in WS
#1 in WS/48
#1 in OWS
#2 in PER
#2 in Double doubles
#3 in SPG
#3 in ORTG
#3 All time highest AST%

He's on pace to have a better season than he did in 08 and no one talks about it. SMH.

that s because as a team the Clippers have been pretty underwhelming so far
They do have a very long homestand coming up so if they complete that succesfully Paul may be in the discussion again

[theokie]

So far Chris Paul is:

#1 in APG
#1 in AST/TO
#1 in WS
#1 in WS/48
#1 in OWS
#2 in PER
#2 in Double doubles
#3 in SPG
#3 in ORTG
#3 All time highest AST%

He's on pace to have a better season than he did in 08 and no one talks about it. SMH.

Its because the Clippers are 17-9, have the 6th best record in the league, and are barely hanging on to the four seed right now. Thats never going to be good enough in this era with LeBron and Durant having historic seasons and winning more games.

[theokie]

Durant's gonna have to either have a considerable better record than LeBron's or have a similar one and outplay him when they face each other.

Good luck with that, Kevin.

Agreed, kinda. He doesn't really have to outplay him as much as OKC needs to beat Miami, because thats all that people will remember, and the narrative will be spun on who outplayed who based on who won (unless ether player goes like 0-20 or something crazy).

[Antrim]

Durant's gonna have to either have a considerable better record than LeBron's or have a similar one and outplay him when they face each other.

Good luck with that, Kevin.

Agreed, kinda. He doesn't really have to outplay him as much as OKC needs to beat Miami, because thats all that people will remember, and the narrative will be spun on who outplayed who based on who won (unless ether player goes like 0-20 or something crazy).

I agree, yeah. Although he still doesn't win it without a top 1-3 seed, knowing that Miami will end up #1 in the east. Pretty unfair for Durant.

[Hero]

Wade has been too good? He's missed a fair number of games and it's laughable to discount LeBron for Wade while ignoring that Durant has Westbrook who is a superior 2nd option.

[PaulieWal]

Yeah, the race as predicted is going to be between KD and LBJ. KD doesn't necessarily need OKC to have a better record than Miami to win it but he will need to put up comparable stats which he is for now. However, LeBron is also bringing up his rebound and assists numbers which were initially down to 6/6. If LeBron finishes with 26/7/7 with shooting splits of 58/40/80 it will be hard for KD to win it.

Right now KD is the frontrunner though. He has been playing exceptionally well of late. It will depend on whether or not LeBron goes on his usual Jan-Feb-March tear and how much better he plays than Durant during that stretch.

[MisterWestside]

So far Chris Paul is:

#1 in APG
#1 in AST/TO
#1 in WS
#1 in WS/48
#1 in OWS
#2 in PER
#2 in Double doubles
#3 in SPG
#3 in ORTG
#3 All time highest AST%

He's on pace to have a better season than he did in 08 and no one talks about it. SMH.

That's because in our backwards sport, we'd rather rank and award individual players by team accomplishments.

[_Game7_]

Lebron hasn't turned up yet and is on pace to have the highest ts% in history, he is also the best wing defender in the league, Durant is going to have to take the MVP from him. If Durant keeps his current pace, this MVP is going down to the wire, but I have feeling we will see separation one way or the other post all-star break.

[ThePersianFreak]

Despite 3-4 ugly games, Wade's been INCREDIBLE, and i mean MVP Level good!

[SideshowBob]

OKC now owners of the league's best record after Indy loss, which helps Durant's case. San Antonio still leads by SRS and are approaching +9 after tonight (~+8.7), while Miami basically played their +6 even (though I believe they will slowly trend towards +9 as the season progresses. OKC at +8.

[ShowTimeERA]

I still have Durant at the top with a few others battling for the second spot.

I would put Lebron neck and neck with Kevin had it not been for Miami having the easiest schedule in the league thus far..

[Joao Saraiva]

I still have Durant at the top with a few others battling for the second spot.

I would put Lebron neck and neck with Kevin had it not been for Miami having the easiest schedule in the league thus far..

Not a surprise from you to have something to not put LeBron at 1st place. Don't worry about the tough West. LeBron has won 18 games in a row or something like that against West teams so I don't think he'll have loss after loss.

EDIT: I'm not saying Durant doesn't deserve to be the #1 on the list. I'd just be surprised if you gave LeBron the edge on a 1a 1b situation.

[ShowTimeERA]

I still have Durant at the top with a few others battling for the second spot.

I would put Lebron neck and neck with Kevin had it not been for Miami having the easiest schedule in the league thus far..

Not a surprise from you to have something to not put LeBron at 1st place. Don't worry about the tough West. LeBron has won 18 games in a row or something like that against West teams so I don't think he'll have loss after loss.

EDIT: I'm not saying Durant doesn't deserve to be the #1 on the list. I'd just be surprised if you gave LeBron the edge on a 1a 1b situation.

I would give Lebron the edge had Miami not had the easiest schedule in the entire NBA thus far. I have to take that into account...

Also, I am also not surprised in seeing you "stick" up for Lebron...

[Joao Saraiva]

I still have Durant at the top with a few others battling for the second spot.

I would put Lebron neck and neck with Kevin had it not been for Miami having the easiest schedule in the league thus far..

Not a surprise from you to have something to not put LeBron at 1st place. Don't worry about the tough West. LeBron has won 18 games in a row or something like that against West teams so I don't think he'll have loss after loss.

EDIT: I'm not saying Durant doesn't deserve to be the #1 on the list. I'd just be surprised if you gave LeBron the edge on a 1a 1b situation.

I would give Lebron the edge had Miami not had the easiest schedule in the entire NBA thus far. I have to take that into account...

Also, I am also not surprised in seeing you "stick" up for Lebron...

I actually have Durant also at #1 right now So you're wrong.