I don’t think the MVP is a popularity based award. It has a long history of being awarded to the best player on one of the league’s best teams.

Paul Pierce has been clutch throughout his career.

Kobe will have a shot if the Lakers win 65 + games. But he’s going to be penalized (and righfully so) because of his supporting cast. It’s a team based award, but you still have to produce individually. Bryant will have to step his game up to make up ground on LeBron right now.

Lol.

Kobe Bryant blog day was March 11th last year. I haven’t heard anything about KB blog day II yet.

like tsunami said. KOBE!! 4 MVP!!

hoffman could you create a poll for me?

we need to think of some creative nagging little season long injury that KOBE!! can play with. that stinky pinky gag is over and done with.

maybe something like shooters elbow? similar to tennis elbow.

the tendons in his forearm and elbow are worn and brittle. which sends a jolt of pain throughout his body with every text book release. and mamba can still get off whenever he wants.dude is a warrior.

Now I have a man crush on LeBron AND HOFFMAN.

I can’t effing STAND how a INDIVIDUAL REGULAR SEASON AWARD has become “the most popular player on the most popular team” award.

Seriously, Paul Pierce?! He’s made a few clutch shots, but sometimes that is just luck. And his 40% FG percentage should leave him off the ALL-STAR TEAM.

It’s never been about production. The NBA.com guy sounded like he lost sleep putting LeBron over Kobe in the MVP rankings this week. I mean, what more can LeBron do? I have not seen a better individual defender in the NBA this season (yet) – although I haven’t watched Superman play. 10 blocks is SICK though. And he’s hitting his Free throws now, his numbers are up and his minutes are down, and he’s not even looking for his own shot for most of the game.

The media will never celebrate what LeBron does as long as he is in Cleveland.

Right now there is virtually no way to justify NOT giving him the award. But you watch, his numbers will remain insane and the Cavs will cool down (I do not expect them to play .700+ ball this season) and when the season is all said and done the Lakers will have like 64 wins, the Cavs will have like 54 and Kobe will win it again. I have no doubt in my mind. You might as well bank on it right now.

There is NO WAY LeBron wins the MVP unless the Cavs win 60 games this year, and even then, it may not happen.

Also, the Cavs are first in O-efficiency right now and were basically at the bottom last season – no Mike Brown mentions for COTY.

No mentions for Varejao for 6th man.

I wish people would watch the Cavs this year – they are 30x more exciting than the Blazers, Celtics, or the Suns (3 of America’s 4 darlings).

My top 10 right now would be:

1.LeBron

2.CP3
3.Amare
4.Dwight
5.D Wade
6.Duncan
7.Boozer
8.Kobe
9.Gasol
10.Roy

Oh and if you sort guys by PER right now, Shaq is a HAIR below Kobe lol

-Carrying a team that has lost two of its three best players doesn’t give Duncan any slack?

As far as the rookies go:

-Rudy Fernandez is really, really good. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, I’ve been touting Fernandez for like a year and a half now. He’s not just a shooter, but he can create shots, and he’s an extremely creative finisher. Manu version 2.0 anyone?

-Um, so about that Ros kid…yeah…so I guess I was a bit wrong about him, huh? He’s proven that he can be a very effective scorer in this league. I still don’t think he’s Chris Paul/D-Will class, and I think his passing prowess is overrated, but he has certainly impressed in a lot of ways for an extremely young point guard.

-O.J. Mayo has been pretty much what I expected. Scores a lot, though not super-efficiently, gives you a few rebounds and a few assists, and shoots really well from the perimeter. What he doesn’t do well is get into the lane and initiate contact or get easy buckets, something that elite scorers have to be able to do.

-Biggest rookie surprise of the season so far? Definitely Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s emergence as a starting player for the Bucks. The second-rounder with limited offensive skills has unexpectedly become a legitimate rotation player. No, he’s not much of an offensive threat, but he rebounds like a maniac, doesn’t turn the ball over much, and makes an impact on the defensive end.

Amare stared the season on fire. He’s cooled down some lately.

You should expand upon your Hawks analysis.

Pierce gets a vote from me because the C’s have the Eastern Conference’s best record and he’s come up big in the clutch on more than one occasion this season.

I considered Duncan, but when I cast my votes, the Spurs were a sub .500 team. I put more stock in individual production than team success, but I don’t care if a player averages 50 a game, he’s not getting my vote if his team is sub .500.

LBJ is playing phenomenal right now. He’s the clear-cut MVP at this point.

You’re right. Everyone has their definition of MVP. It’s become a team award, when it should be an individual honor.

I probably underrated Howard a tad. His team is 7-3 and he’s putting up monster numbers.

KG is on my list because of his D. Boozer has played big with D. Will on the shelf. It’s going to be interesting to see how the rankings fluctuate this season.

LBJ is my pick for MVP so I don’t expect him to go anywhere.

-Amare is actually playing markedly worse this year than last, the big difference is that his fouls are down, so his minutes are up (thank you Shaq). His efficiency and usage rate are both below last year though.

-Joe Johnson has been really, really good this year, even better than most people think. People keep attributing Atlanta’s success to defense, but they’re actually a worse defensive team (with respect to the league average) right now than they were last year. It’s been the Johnson-led offense that is carrying them.

-The only thing holding Dwight Howard back is his free throw shooting. He’s doubled his block rate, he’s cut his turnovers by a ton, and he’s absolutely murdering people on the offensive glass. Defensively he’s just been dominant. I’d definitely put him above Amare right now, even with the free throw woes.

-Look, I like Pierce, but can we please stop talking about him as an MVP candidate? Yeah, he’s the main offensive option for a great team, but he’s really not at the same level as these other guys. So far, this is his worst season in the last 5 years, but nobody cares because Boston won a title last year. Same with KG, he’s been absolutely terrible offensively this year. While I have no doubt that he’ll rebound from his abysmal numbers, at this point in the season he just doesn’t deserve to be mentioned here, despite his defensive prowess.

-You know who does belong here? Tim Duncan. How can the Big Fundamental not be in the top 10, given what he’s doing right now? He’s posting the highest usage rate and the second-highest efficiency rating of his career (and I don’t think I need to remind you, the man has had a pretty good career). He’s carrying a depleted team that without him would be the worst team in the league. To do what he’s doing at the age of 32 is nothing short of incredible.

-Lastly, if anyone doesn’t think that LeBron is the #1 MVP candidate at this point, they need someone to pound some sense into them. I don’t like PER as a measure, but consider this. James led the league in PER last year at 29.1. This year, his PER is 5 points higher!! That’s craziness. As crazy as it is to say this, we haven’t seen dominance like this since Jordan (and believe me, I’m well aware of how dominant Jordan was. LeBron is approaching that level).

I would agree with James & Paul up at the top. But I’d probably put Dwight Howard as a close 3rd behind them. And if he could make a free throw, maybe even put him at #2.

Defense doesn’t generally factor into these discussions, other than block & steal totals (which isn’t necessarily an indicator of good all-around defense). But if it did, it would probably keep Amare & Boozer down on that list just a bit. And perhaps boost Garnett up.

Derrick Rose has to be the landslide leader for ROY at this point.

Bosh is playing very well, but I couldn’t find a place for him.

I suppose I could have justified putting him at the 9 or 10 spot, but Boozer is carrying the Jazz without Deron Williams.

Boston has the best record in the East and KG is playing great defense again.

Everyone else on my list is pretty self-explanatory.

LeBron has been killing everyone and the Cavs are on a 7 game winning streak.

CP3 is putting up huge numbers. His team is struggling, but that’s through no fault of his own. Peterson and Peja need to start knocking down open shots.

I may have placed Amare a little too high, but the Suns have 8 W’s already.

25pts, 10rbs, 2asts, 1block, 53% from the field, and 81% from the line, with the Raptors ONLY losing to the more competitive teams of the league (with the only argument being the Sixers who were “contenders” at the beginning of the season).

So what I’m trying to say is: Chris Bosh should be on that MVP list my man.