[Mandyahl]

i don't want to take anything away from dirk...and he certainly is playing incredibly, incredibly well. while the numbers you cited look great, here are kg's:

25 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 1.5 steals, 2 blocks.

so, basically kg scores 2 less per game than dirk, has about the same number of steals and blocks, and rebounds and assists at considerably higher rates.

and here are duncan's:

23 points, 15 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks

fairly comparable to dirk's with 4 less points but 5 more rebounds per game.

while we're at it, look at what lebron is putting up:

28 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2.5 steals, 2 blocks

same blocks and a few less rebounds, but more points, steals and assists...lebron is playing out of his mind right now.

so, while i do agree that dirk is playing at an mvp-level thus far, i don't think that you can call him the best player in the league quite yet. what he's done in 7 games is very impressive, but there are several other players that have put up the same (and better) numbers.

i would be very surprised if, at the end of the year, dirk beats out kg and duncan for mvp, but if he keeps playing this way, people outside of dallas are going to have to start recognizing that he is a top five player in this league...and honestly that's all we need him to be with who else we have on this team.