MVP Rising From The West: CP3 vs Kobe

This has to be the best race for the Western playoffs in years.  9 teams fighting for 8 spots.  Well, 7 teams have locked up a playoff spot and two are fighting for the 8th seed.  Also, the 2008 MVP will also be coming from one of the top two teams in the West.

 

 Chris Paul and the Hornets are having a surprising and amazing season.  They currently own the number one seed in the West and manage to play a great game of team basketball (very similar to the college game).  Chris Paul has stepped up his game to the level he is the best point guard in the game, even ahead of Jason Kidd and two time MVP Steve Nash.  Kidd has yet to demonstrate his talents that have earned him a reputable name, as a Maverick.  The difference between Nash and Paul, is that Paul is a prolific scorer and plays smart defense.  The Hornets have a solid nucleus of Paul, David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakavic to lead them deep into the playoffs this year.  In my opinion, Chris Paul deserves the MVP for being the team conductor on the number one squad in the Western conference.  

 

Standing only a 1/2 game behind the Hornets are Kobe and Lakers.  The Lakers have had a lot going for them this year, especially after Kobe’s erratic off season.  The biggest thing has been the help they have recieved in the middle.  The emergence of Andrew Bynum, the addition of Pau Gasol and the loss of Kwame Brown (now he just needs to leave the NBA and stop embarrassing every team he’s on).  While the Lakers have been surging, Kobe has been playing splendidly.  Has he been playing better than he has in the previous two seasons?  Not statistically.  But, he has been a better teammate with the inclusion of Gasol.  However he has been better in the past two years than this year when considering his overall performance as an individual player.  So far, Kobe still remains on this list:  Greatest Players to Never Have Won the MVP.

 

Usually, if there are two players competeing for the MVP, its often given to the player whose team has the better record.  In this case, both the Hornets and Lakers are fighting for the number one seed.  This will be a tricky season for deciding the MVP and we will here gripes from “media analysts” about both sides.  Chris Paul has been a better all around player deserves the nod for this year’s MVP over Bryant.  Even in the few games where Gasol went down, Kobe struggled to carry the Lakers on his own (not that he couldn’t have by dropping 81 on some poor team).  But CP3 has been more valuable to his team and is one of the best playmakers in the league and should win the MVP this year.  

 

My guess is Kobe will win the MVP because he has yet to win the MVP and he is able to get his team to the top of the Western Conference again.  If this does happens, it will show us again that the NBA is just horrible at determining the MVP year in and year out (and how difficult it is these days with so many budding stars).    

 

(Please don’t let Kevin Garnett be the MVP.  He has two other All-Stars and future Hall of Famers surrounding him and his numbers have taken a dip since his days in Minny.  Anybody that mentions Garnett as an MVP candidate is an idiot)