The NBA Playoffs are quickly approaching and the annual Most Valuable Player debate is heating up. I've been watching individual players closely this season, and I have narrowed it down to three possible candidates.
Before we get started, it's important to understand what an MVP is. It isn't necessarily the best player in the NBA. Kobe Bryant is arguably the best player in the league, but if you took him off the Lakers, they'd still make the playoffs. So because of that, his statistics and overall performance must greatly outshine the seasons of players on lesser teams.
The same issue plagues teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Rajon Rondo has been sensational at times this season, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen seem to always make the big shot. The problem is finding that one person who is most essential to his team's success.
The best example of this phenomenon is my first candidate for MVP, LeBron James. In his seven years in Cleveland, I could make an argument for him for MVP at least four times. The meltdown of the Cavaliers this season clearly demonstrates how vital he was to that team.
The same thing can't be said about James in Miami. His 26.6 points per game are the lowest of his career, but teaming up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh was expected to diminish some of his scoring. My concern is the drop in assists and rebounds.
James' seven assists per game is the lowest for "The King" since his rookie season. Playing alongside Wade, one of the elite scorers in the league, should have James averaging almost a double-double this season.
LeBron is 12 turnovers away from setting a new career-high. Out of my three finalists for MVP, James is the worst from the free throw line with a 76 percent average this season. I need to have confidence in my MVP from the charity stripe late in games.
There are just too many factors working against LeBron, and if he didn't play for the Heat, the team would still be playing in the postseason. With James eliminated from contention, my final two MVP hopefuls are Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Chicago's Derrick Rose.
Durant is leading the league in scoring and is on the verge of repeating as the league's scoring champion. He is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the NBA and is leading a Thunder team that is one of the favorites in the Western Conference. He is the best of the MVP candidates in 3-point percentage (36), free throw percentage (88) and minutes per game (39.2), and his 2.7 turnovers per game is the lowest of his career.
With that said, Durant plays alongside one of the most talented young players in the league in Russell Westbrook; and with the development of Serge Ibaka and James Harden, the Thunder would be competitive without "Durantula."
Derrick Rose is my 2010-11 MVP. There isn't another player in the NBA this season that means more to his team than Rose. He's missed only one game this year and it was in the midst of a bout with ulcers that would have sidelined most normal human beings for a few weeks.
The Bulls brought in Carlos Boozer in the offseason to help Rose take the next step, but the big man missed almost half the season. Boozer has played in only 53 games this year, and Joakim Noah has only suited up for 42. Rose has had to play most of the season with a bunch of secondary players, but he never complains and just finds a way to get the job done.
Rose is averaging 25.1 points, 7.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game, all of which are career-highs. He worked on his shooting in the offseason and it has shown all year long. In his first two seasons, Rose made only 32 3-pointers; this year he has drained 120 from downtown.
Did I mention that the Bulls are the top team in the Eastern Conference and only one game out of the top spot in the entire NBA? The job Rose has done this year makes him the clear-cut MVP in my book, and I can't wait to see what he does in the playoffs.
Email: matthew.parrino@ubspectrum.com
