Who is the Most Valuable Player in the NBA?

Every year, the fight for the Most Valuable Player award comes down to the final few games of the season. Most of the time the award goes to teams of a higher seed in the playoffs but how can that players be so valuable if the whole team is great? This year is no different; we have witnessed players like Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant single-handedly take over games in this shortened NBA season.There is less than a month left, now players are really rising to the occasion and playing at their best while their teams try to make the final push for the best possible playoff seed.

On The Outside Looking-in:

Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic
Notes: Howard posts phenomenal numbers and he is the games best big man. However, the Magic have had some bad losing streaks this year and the problems within the organization are far bigger than Dwight Howard’s play.

Rajon Rondo- Boston Celtics
Notes: Rondo has handled all of the trade talk like a pro and he has continued to play like an all-star despite the rumors. Rondo arguably has the toughest job in the world- feeding Allen, Pierce and Garnett while still keeping everyone happy. Rondo has been a triple-double machine and can defend any guard in the league, lack of scoring keeps him out of MVP talks.

LeBron James- Miami Heat
Notes: The king without a ring is the most gifted athlete in the National Basketball Association. With that being said, he needs to show that he can play in the fourth quarter, with his talent he should be averaging a triple-double. Crazy to think but he should be playing better than what he is showing.

The Top Three Candidates

3. Kobe Bryant- Los Angeles Lakers

Year-in and year-out Kobe Bryant is among the top of the charts in nearly every scoring category. I feel that some people do not understand how much work Kobe Bryant puts in and how determined he is to win. Kobe Bryant is the most dedicated athlete of my generation without a doubt. In this shortened season, Bryant is leading the NBA in scoring and has battled potential season-ending injuries (wrist, nose, etc.). Bryant has been a cornerstone for the Laker franchise for his whole career and he shows no signs of slowing down. With all that the Black Mamba has done this year, just think of how he has handled the problems within the Laker locker room: Bynum benchings, Coach Woodson’s woes and even Pau’s possibility of being traded. Kobe has dealt with everything professionally, he has stood up for his teammates and he goes out an plays at his highest level every night; within the next 3 years, Kobe will either be getting a ring, an MVP award or Steve Nash. Chances of all three happening are very high. Never count Kobe out.

2. Kevin Durant-Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant has been a part of team takeover ever since he stepped into the league.  The Oklahoma City Thunder are the front-runners to win it all according to several  NBA analysts. Durant in my opinion was very deserving of last year’s MVP award as well; he was last years scoring champion (2^nd time winning the award) and he carried the Thunder to the playoffs. This year has been no different, he is 2^nd in points scored with 27.9 (the almighty Kobe Bryant is at 28.1 ppg) and he has had three 40+ point games this season with a handful of game-winners. KD is a quiet guy but he leads by example and knows what to say and how to say it. Not only is he a great player from a marketable standpoint, he is also a player you want leading your team, when people criticize point guard Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant will always stand up for him. Speaking of Russell Westbrook, I feel his emergence could prevent Durant from the MVP honor. With Westbrook putting up the astronomical numbers as a point guard, how valuable does it make Durant look? When you boil it down, Durant is still on of the best players in the league, he is a class-act and a winner; he will earn his share of MVP awards sooner or later.

1. Kevin Love- Minnesota Timberwolves

It is tough to say that any player in the league is playing to a level higher than Kevin Love. This two-time all-star has been getting better each season he has been in the league and he is the perfect franchise guy. Not to knock on the Durants or Aldridges of the league, but, Kevin Love is the total package. Hardworking, dedicated, funny, selfless and charismatic, you instantly fall in Love (no pun intended) with him once you watch him play. With nearly four years completed in the NBA, K-Love is averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds and his stats keep increasing each season. His rookie season he averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds, now he is at a staggering 26.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. Love has taken the state of Minnesota and put it on his back; he has made this team better, mostly by himself and he has created a fun, competitive atmosphere. In my eyes Kevin Love is the MVP this year hands down if the T-wolves make the playoffs. I cannot stress enough that Kevin Love has done it all by himself, yes, he has role players like Ricky Rubio who is now hurt, rookie Derrick Williams and Nikola Pekovic but that doesn’t match-up with other MVP candidate’s teammates. (Durant has Westbrook, James has Wade and Kobe has Gasol).

NBA Preseason Headlines

The NBA season is a week away and this season could be better than ever. There are so many headlining topics just awaiting the start of the season… Will the big three down in South Beach fail again? Are we going to see the old Kobe Bryant now that he had “miracle” knee surgery? What Los Angeles team is better? The 2012 season is going to alter the NBA for years to come; now everyone is trying to create a super team, and while that is taking place, the NBA is showing that they have all the power and can reject trades like this is fantasy basketball or something. (Chris Paul to Lakers got rejected).

I am labeling this NBA season: The Year of the Breakout.

I strongly believe that in a shortened season (66 games in 120 days), the younger, more athletic teams can emerge. This may seem like a bold prediction or it may seem like an early band-wagon departure but I strongly believe the Los Angeles Clippers can be a top 3 seed in this Western Conference. The Clippers are among the top teams in ranking by athleticism (Wizards are most athletic). Chris Paul has been the top point guard in recent years and you can’t even begin to think what kind of show he will put on with Blake Griffin. The thing people do not know about the Clips is that DeAndre Jordan is a phenomenal athlete who will emerge as a top big man in the NBA. Jordan can run the floor, which is what the Clippers are going to do, he can block shots, clean up around the basket and he will be able to receive the alley-oops when Blake is double-teamed. Jordan’s play will resemble the type of year Tyson Chandler had in 2006… if any of you remember how electrifying and dominant he was.

Another HUGE topic is Dwight Howard (no pun intended).

Where will Flight Dwight land? Or is he going to stay in the Orlando airport? Since the night of last year’s draft I have been saying the New Jersey needs that main scorer and if they want to re-sign Deron Williams they will need to bring in a game changer. On that very night the Nets made a trade with the Boston Celtics acquiring Marshon Brooks, the second leading scoring in the NCAA last year. Brooks broke the Big East record scoring 52 points against a tournament-bound Notre Dame squad. Brooks plays a style similar to Kobe Bryant and can score at will. I anticipate that Brooks will take the starting shooting guard job from Anthony Morrow by the all-star break. If the Nets plan on bringing back Deron they NEED to bring in Dwight. It makes perfect sense. Dwight and Deron have openly talked about wanting to play alongside one another, they are best friends, and the Nets have the talent that Orlando would seek in a trade. If a trade were to go down it would most likely be Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu for Brook Lopez, Anthony Morrow, and probably a first round draft pick. If Dwight ends up as a Net, look out. The Nets would have the perfect makeup to make a run in the Eastern Conference, they would have a true PG in Williams, an emerging scorer in Brooks and a multidimensional big man in Dwight, not to mention good veteran play from Jordan Farmar and Shelden Williams.

Will the Thunder finally win the West?

It is very tough to see where the Thunder will fall in the seeding this year. As of right now their starting five is looking like Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. At last year’s trade deadline, the Thunder dealt Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson. This was a head-scratching trade because the Thunder were an athletic team who liked to run the floor and Perkins does not fit that role. It seemed to have hurt Oklahoma City in the playoffs even though they were still a pretty good team. In the offseason Kendrick Perkins lost a ton of weight, however, he is not a finesse player so we will need to see if he kept his tenacity and strength in the paint. Not only do we need to see if Kendrick Perkins fits the team, we also need to see Russell Westbrook mature. This is Kevin Durant’s franchise, therefore, Kevin Durant should be taking the final shots. Westbrook was a shooting guard at UCLA, but now that he is a PG he needs to learn to dish the rock, it doesn’t help the team when you run up court and pull up for a shot with 19 seconds still on the shot clock. Westbrook needs to relax and realize he has role players that can put up point like James Harden, Serge Ibaka and newly acquired Lazar Hayward who should make a name for himself this season. I expect the Thunder to be a top two seed in the Western Conference, they will work out the kinks from last season and they should win around 40-45 games (remember it’s only a 66 game season). They have 3 potential All-NBA defenders (I-blocka, Perk and Thabo Sefolosha) and they will have a top 3 scorer this season in Durantula. The Thunder will be a feared team for any opponent this season.