MVP Discussion [19/20] [part I] - voting reopened

[Yuri36]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

[TwoStarz]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

And they also played the knicks twice...whom they lost to twice

[mabundo_nagumbe]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

Mavs statistically had one of the easiest schedules at the start of the season. They played a bunch of teams from the east, at least 8 games hey played were labeled as 'easy win' and.they messed up against Knicks. and it will get harder for them in december and january. They have at most 6 games against bad teams, the rest of their schedule is just full of PO contenders.

[Yuri36]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

And they also played the knicks twice...whom they lost to twice

So what? because they played and lost twice to a bad team in 14 games doesn't necessrly mean their schedule has been easy.

[iamworthy]

Top 3 players in the league in term of efficiency :
1. Giannis with 36.4
2. Doncic with 34.9
3. Harden with 32.5

The MVP will probably be one of those 3 guys with an outside chance for LBJ and Kawhi if Lakers or Clippers have a 60+ wins season.

That's a pretty random stat that seemingly doesn't have anything to do with the MVP. Curry was 7th in eff when he won, harden was 6th, yannis was 1st,

[Yuri36]

Top 3 players in the league in term of efficiency :
1. Giannis with 36.4
2. Doncic with 34.9
3. Harden with 32.5

The MVP will probably be one of those 3 guys with an outside chance for LBJ and Kawhi if Lakers or Clippers have a 60+ wins season.

That's a pretty random stat that seemingly doesn't have anything to do with the MVP. Curry was 7th in eff when he won, harden was 6th, yannis was 1st,

Au contraire, that's probably one of the best stat to judge a player's season, except if you're a shooting guard shooting lot of 3's like Curry (and Curry is quite clearly an anomaly anyway, there has never been a player like this).
Add to that player's team record and for me, you have the ultimate combo to define a MVP.

[greekbuck34]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

You played 8 games at home out of 14 overall.
Only 4 games were against top teams(Lakers, Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets) and 5 if you want to count the Blazers.
You had only one b2b yet against mediocre teams.
That's an easy schedule and based on stats it's the 4th easiest in the league.

The Bucks for example played 10 games on the road against better teams and tonight they complete their second b2b.
That's the 2nd hardest schedule.

[SeniorWalker]

As of today, LeBron would be my MVP. Quite surprised to see that actually, because I did not expect this at age 35. However the season is very long. I dont expect the Lakers to be the 1 st seed all year. If they do and LeBron maintains his numbers, he's a lock for his 5th award.
I've said it numerous times but I dont think LeBron is the actual best player now and he doesnt even have the best stats anymore. But MVP is usually the best combo of winning and stats and he looks great there. More value goes to the players on teams that are winning but they have to have greats stats or very clear impact to back it up.


If the Lakers start slipping at some point and the bucks are a top 2 seed, Giannis will get it. He is clearly better than LeBron IMO at this point and probably the best overall in the league. He may break the single season PER record this year, which in terms of raw dominance is quite a feat; I've been saying for at least the last year or so that he may end up capturing the greatest peak of all time at some point. The trend is there.

Harden will be close too, as much as I loathe acknowledging it, with his output he will definitely be in serious talks. Dont think he'll get it unless the rockets win the conference though.

[Perishable517]

Lebron probably gets more votes not only off play but narrative. If he keeps it as close as it is now he’ll get the MVP award. Comeback season and everyone calling him washed etc leads for the perfect story line.

Narrative matters and right now LeBron has the strongest narrative. There is a reason that LeBron is going hard with the 'washed King' angle. If Lakers finish with the best record then good luck defeating LeBron for MVP.

I'm a homer and want to see Giannis win again, but your point is VERY strong. Also, his winning it, if they are a top 2-3 team, would not bother me in the least. He probably should have won it more in his career.

[ItsDanger]

Giannis. Look at that roster, very ordinary without him. LBJ has AD. Harden got manhandled in Denver so easily last night.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I don't know if Luka can keep putting 30p triple doubles for the rest of the season but Dallas had one of the easiest schedules so far and they already lost twice against the Knicks. It will become very difficult for them to get wins in the future especially for such a young team.

One of the easiest schedule so far?
Wait a minute, didn't they already play the Lakers (a game they should have definitely won had it not been for a referee missing DH's foul on last play), the Nuggets in their ownpatch (a game they won), the Celtics (a game where they compete right until the end until Kemba went in god mode) and even the Blazers who before the season were considered as a PO team?
So they've basicly already played the current 2 teams with the best record in NBA + a team which made Western conference final last year + a team which made the Western conference 1/2 final last year.
So much for the easy schedule...

You played 8 games at home out of 14 overall.
Only 4 games were against top teams(Lakers, Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets) and 5 if you want to count the Blazers.
You had only one b2b yet against mediocre teams.
That's an easy schedule and based on stats it's the 4th easiest in the league.

The Bucks for example played 10 games on the road against better teams and tonight they complete their second b2b.
That's the 2nd hardest schedule.

I wouldn't bang on that drum too loud. Bucks have played good teams when they were resting players. I'm happy where are at with the schedule, but to say our schedule is so hard based on statistics and not mention KAT, Butler, George, Leonard, Embiid(?), Lillard, have sat out. We have played well against good team with their players, though: Rockets, Celtics, etc.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Lebron probably gets more votes not only off play but narrative. If he keeps it as close as it is now he’ll get the MVP award. Comeback season and everyone calling him washed etc leads for the perfect story line.

Narrative matters and right now LeBron has the strongest narrative. There is a reason that LeBron is going hard with the 'washed King' angle. If Lakers finish with the best record then good luck defeating LeBron for MVP.

I'm a homer and want to see Giannis win again, but your point is VERY strong. Also, his winning it, if they are a top 2-3 team, would not bother me in the least. He probably should have won it more in his career.

Yeah, LBJ plays 70+ games and is as good as he has been with the Lakers a top 3 team in the West, he deserves the award. Doesn't mean Giannis wouldn't deserve it, but it would be close enough that is it a matter of judgment.

The narrative is the easy part. Playing that well for that long at his age is the hard thing to do. Will also need AD to be healthy so LBJ doesn't have to play 40 minutes a night to keep up the record.

[LakersSoul]

I don’t think Luka can separate himself from the lack and Dallas doesn’t have the horses to stay top 4. This, Luka is out.

At this point, I would say it’s between Giannis, Harden and LeBron.

[Yuri36]

I don’t think Luka can separate himself from the lack and Dallas doesn’t have the horses to stay top 4. This, Luka is out.

At this point, I would say it’s between Giannis, Harden and LeBron.

The Mavs are 9-5 despite having a KP clearly far from his best and still rusty.
If KP just improves a tad bit and Luka keeps going or even ups his game (which is entirely possible with this guy), Dallas can really make it in the top 5 in west

[Forte IV]

I think its clearly Giannis so far

[Raps in 4]

It has to be Luka right now. He's putting up monster numbers and leading a mediocre team to a playoff spot (which I strongly believe they'll hold on to).

Runner-ups are Harden, Giannis, and Lebron. Harden and Giannis are in similar situations (superstars leading mediocre teams to success) so I wouldn't be opposed to either of them winning it either. Lebron is playing great, but he's also playing with **** Anthony Davis.

[mudsak]

1. Giannis
2. Lebron
3. Doncic
4. Lillard
5. Harden

The surprise is Doncic... what an amazing player. I hope Porzingis polishes off the dust and get's his game back up to par. Mavs have something special with Doncic.

[User_friendly]

Narrative matters and right now LeBron has the strongest narrative. There is a reason that LeBron is going hard with the 'washed King' angle. If Lakers finish with the best record then good luck defeating LeBron for MVP.

I'm a homer and want to see Giannis win again, but your point is VERY strong. Also, his winning it, if they are a top 2-3 team, would not bother me in the least. He probably should have won it more in his career.

Yeah, LBJ plays 70+ games and is as good as he has been with the Lakers a top 3 team in the West, he deserves the award. Doesn't mean Giannis wouldn't deserve it, but it would be close enough that is it a matter of judgment.

The narrative is the easy part. Playing that well for that long at his age is the hard thing to do. Will also need AD to be healthy so LBJ doesn't have to play 40 minutes a night to keep up the record.

How can you consider LA are top seed, as an argument for Lebron against Giannis, if he is doing it with AD, while Giannis has the opposite of that HUGE help, and MIL is also top seed? (In the East, yes, but in elite company)
Isn't there any other way to evaluate impact than NARRATIVE?

[SeniorWalker]

I think its clearly Giannis so far

I think Giannis has clearly been the best player so far with the best overall stats. If the bucks get the 1st seed again and the Lakers don't I agree he will win it.

LeBron is playing very well though and does have the narrative. And frankly, most people did not see the Lakers as a 60 team this year. I certainly didnt, and I will tip my hat to that.

Still very early though. Last year around this time people thought Steph was going to get it. The true candidates wont be known until February.

[KqWIN]

To this point it’s gotta be Giannis. I try to stay away from “and it’s not close” statements, but in this case I actually don’t think it’s close. He’s a force on both ends and nobody can match his two way impact. He has arguments for being a top 3 player on either end, maybe even higher than top 3.

After Giannis, I have Harden and LeBron in some order as distant 2a and 2b.