Dirk for MVP - Page 15 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

kriD · 04-14-2006, 09:07 AM

Dinner With Ric

OK, No Dinner. Just A Dirk Argument

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com

I generously decided my friend Ric Bucher of ESPN, he of sudden "Dirk-doesn't-belong-in-MVP-conversations'' infamy, needed me to throw him a rope so he could save himself.

Instead, ol' Ric ties the damn thing into a noose and sticks his head in there!

While in my Tuesday afternoon email conversation I did get Bucher to concede that maybe Nowitzki is on Elton Brand's level -- "I probably should've substituted Elton with Dirk in the category of 'players who are statistically impressive on teams that are better than expected,' Ric tells me -- I was otherwise a persuasive flop. In fact, the longer we talked the more Bucher actually strengthened his preposterous anti-Dirk position. By the time we were done exchanging emails, Ric had essentially asserted to me that:

• Dallas would have a harder time replacing Josh Howard than replacing Dirk.

• Billups, Nash and Bryant are more indispensible to their teams than Dirk is to his.

• Dallas is improved on defense for reasons unrelated to Dirk.

• Dirk doesn't do the little things that make his team better in a manner that is vital to Dallas' success.

And that therefore, in summary. ...

• Ric thinks he was right all along in saying Dirk is not among the top six players who deserve to be mentioned for MVP-type honors.

Now, before I ring up Mark Cuban and demand Ric's American Airlines Center press pass be revoked, I note that Ric and I have known each other for. ... gosh, almost 20 years. We were both peach-fuzz-faced kids covering the San Francisco 49ers in the late 80's. (So peach-fuzzy that there was no way he could have sprouted his on-again/off-again soul patch back then.) Despite what you've electronically shouted at him, he is neither a "loser'' or a "gomer'' or a "Communist'' or a "douchebag.'' ...

His opinion on this subject is "loserish,'' "gomerish,'' "Communistic'' and "douchebaggy.''

But he's not.

How this all started: Bucher wrote a piece for ESPN.com that . He did so despite creating six different categories for players:

MEP, or the league's Most Excellent Player. For others, it's MVPOAWT, or Most Valuable Player on a Winning Team. Here's a popular one: MSIPOATTWBTE or Most Statistically Impressive Player on a Team That Was Better Than Expected. Generally, the easiest and safest pick is MVPOTBT: Most Valuable Player on the Best Team. This year has brought a new one to the mix: MDPDTSOATTFS, or Most Dominant Player Down the Stretch on a Team that Finished Strong. And, finally, there's MIP, or Most Indispensable Player, as in the guy whose team would absolutely fall apart without him.

And despite all that, no award for Dirk. No mention of Dirk.

So I start getting emails. And the DB.com Discussion Board starts spewing volcanic lava. And Ric does a chat where he gets buried by emailers from Texas (including, I presume, you, dear reader). And finally, when pushed, Ric concedes that Nowitzki should indeed get one of his acronym awards:

"MUSPG: Most Underrated Saxophone-Playing German."

Eeek.

So I throw the rope. And the next thing I know, Ric kicks the chair out from under him.

Snippets of my Tuesday afternoon email conversation with Ric Bucher:

FISH: Ric, should you have created another category tailored to recognize Dirk's worthiness?

BUCHER: "i could've, and probably should've, substituted elton with dirk in the category of 'players who are statistically impressive on teams that are better than expected.' as i said in my column, mvp selection has a lot to do with how you define MVP. for me, being indispensable and tailoring your game to exploit the abilities of your teammates are vital components. if you take billups, nash and kobe off their respective teams, they would not come close to doing what they've done this season. take dirk off the mavs and they would certainly suffer, but how much? whose game would be most affected? i don't believe he has the same impact on the rest of the mavs that those other players do on their teams.''

FISH: Do you really view Dirk as someone who 'doesn't create shots for others, doesn't play help D, etc,'' and is therefore unworthy? Isn't that kind of trite, given the fact that when you actually play a game of basketball -- even a pickup game -- you realize that an excellent teammate by definition makes your job easier, draws more and better defenders, clears out room for you, and the like? You don't think Dirk has made JET a better shooter, that Dirk's presence helps big men get rebounds, that Dirk's presence clears out room for others to work, one-on-one, sometimes one-on-none?

BUCHER: "to be fair, it's not that he never creates shots for someone else or doesn't help on D. he just doesn't do those things to the extent that they are a vital part of the mavs' team. my personal feeling is that they'd have a much harder time replacing josh howard and his role on the team than what dirk does.''

FISH: Ric, you're almost saying that Josh Howard is more valuable than Dirk. Actually, you DID say that in your chat. "Josh Howard fits my idea of an MVP more than Dirk.'' Is that what you meant to say? What GMs/coaches would possibly agree with that? You don't see that God created a lot more Josh Howards than he did Dirk Nowitzkis?

BUCHER: "i'd argue that the reason the mavericks are so much better this season is because josh howard is so much better and that the team, collectively, has bought into the defensive mindset avery johnson has asked for. dirk is better, to be sure, but his improvement is one of several reasons, not 'the' reason the mavericks are where they are.''

FISH: But again, Ric, isn't, by definition, ANY candidate for MVP a guy who makes his team better? Really, aren't all five guys on the floor interlocking, in the sense that while, say, Kobe makes Odom better, Odom also (in theory, anyway) makes Kobe better? Is there a great player who makes his team worse? That seems more than trite. ... it seems like nonsense.

BUCHER: "dirk is a unique player, no question -- but what he does for the mavs is not indispensable. take away josh, on the other hand, and you take away their best offensive intiator and their best perimeter defender. it's no accident that avery decided this season to post up josh as a staple of their offense, run plays through him in order to create chances for dirk to spot up or dribble drive. the mavs have never used dirk the way the spurs use, say, tim duncan or even the timberwolves use kg.''

FISH: But I go back to where each team would be without their top guy: I think most people thought Dallas, with dirk and relatively unknown supporting cast, would be a 50-win team IF he continued to play as he did last year, when he was third in MVP voting. So, they instead win 60 and he's BETTER than he was last year! When you talk about what you think a team would be without their star. ... take into consideration that you thought Dallas would win 50 even with him! Oh, and as far as Detroit, if they didn't have Billups, they'd still have three All-Stars. If Dallas didn't have Dirk. ...

BUCHER: "anyone who wants to say dirk, as far as his skills, is the best all-around player the mavs have would not get an argument from me. i'm not saying josh is a better all-around player. but that's mep, not mvp, as i see it.''

FISH: Ric, thanks for taking the time. I know you're swamped with regular work, plus with the s---storm your take here has caused. And keep up the good work. ... "good,'' that is, except when you're as wrong as you are on this one! Oh by the way: Why don't you re-grow that soul patch? Kind of like hockey players grow playoff beards?

BUCHER: "the reason the patch probably won't resurface is that far too many people have them now. the host of 'Cheaters', for God's sake, has one -- and, yes, it is a bit troublesome that i know that.''

There was a time when I thought the omission was related to deadlines for ESPN The Magazine. Then I thought it was an accidental oversight that I'd help repair. Then I thought maybe Ric left Dirk out on purpose, just to be controversial. Then, after the column and then the chat and now this conversation, I'm convinced:

Like Sampson's strength and his hair, the absence of Ric Bucher's soul patch has robbed him of all his deductive reasoning ability.

kriD · 04-14-2006, 09:09 AM

Cuban: Vote Dirk

DB.com Xclusive: A Mavs' MVP Nudge

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com

"Dirk should win the MVP,'' Mark Cuban tells DallasBasketball.com in what is the Mavs owner's first-ever such declaration.

For most of the season, Cuban has stayed out of the campaigning business. But apparently nudged by my column/conversation with ESPN's Ric Bucher he is now moved to offer his definition of what the MVP is -- and how well Dirk fits it.

"The best reflection of a player making his team mates better is not his teammates' stats, but the record of his team,'' says Cuban, checking in from the Mavs West Coast roadie. "If one guy could carry a team, Kobe would have 60 wins. Nash -- who has a sidekick MVP candidate in Shawn Marion -- would have 60 wins.''

The Mavs, at 59-19 as of Wednesday, are zeroing in on 60, and will join San Antonio as the only team in the West at that plateau. Detroit, with 62 wins, is the only East team in that range. A quick scan, by the way, suggests that MVPs usually come from teams with top-three regular-season finishes.

Continues Cuban: "Dirk makes his team better. His team wins games. That's making your teammmates better. No one has helped make his team as successful as Dirk has. ... Dirk should win the MVP.''

Conventional wisdom has the field now narrowed to six candidates: (in alphabetical order) Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Suns guard Steve Nash, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

A glance at the six:

Chauncey Billups -- Team record: 62-15. Stats: 19.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 8.7 apg, 0.88 spg

Comments: Billups has been terrific. Why he might not win: The Pistons are a total team effort with several players just as important as Billups is.

Kobe Bryant -- Team record: 42-37. Stats: 35.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.58 SPG, 44.4% FG
LeBron James -- Team record: 47-30. Stats: 31.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.58 spg
Steve Nash -- Team record: Stats: 19.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 10.4 apg, 51.3% FG
Dirk Nowitzki -- Team record: 59-19. Stats: 26.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.05 bpg
Dwyane Wade -- Team record: 51-27. Stats: 27.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.92 spg

Do you buy Bucher's "makes-his-team-better'' argument? To me, all six of the above seem to qualify. Does "makes-his-team-better'' include making it better than the "experts'' thought it would be last fall? Because there is an interesting angle here.

Guess where Ric Bucher of ESPN predicted the Mavs would finish this season back before it started? Ric said "third'' in the Southwest Division and sixth in the West overall. And he added, "I see them living and dying in the middle of the playoff pack.''

So Dirk let a team that ESPN thought would win 50 to somewhere in excess of 60 wins? Isn't that the epitome of "making them better''?

There, we can add Cuban's sharper definition: "The best reflection of a player making his teammates better is not his teammates stats, but the record of his team.''

Dirk finished third in the MVP voting last year. He's been better this season, and so has his team -- 10 or 15 games better than most people thought it would be. How is he anything but a finalist in everybody's eyes?

An unfortunate twist on the fact that this may be the widest MVP race ever: Despite the fact that there seem to six guys who will garner votes, my understanding is that the ballot only leaves spaces for five names. So someone worthy of mention. ... in the end, won't even get mentioned.

Now that Cuban is doing some "mentioning'' himself, hopefully -- logically -- that person won't be Nowitzki.

kriD · 04-14-2006, 09:11 AM

HAVE WE CHANGED RIC'S MIND?

ESPN's Bucher Reconsidering Dirk As MVP

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com

ESPN's Ric Bucher started a spitstorm for himself this week by writing an MVP-related article to that didn't include Dirk Nowitzki among his worthy candidates.

That caused you to bury him in correspondence. It caused me to try to talk some sense into him, thus provoking a dozen or so emails back and forth between the DB.com Towers and Bristol, Conn. -- which you can read [in post #561]. It even caused Mavs owner Mark Cuban to issue to DB.com his first-ever comments on the MVP race, as he makes a push for The UberMan in [the] exclusive story [above].

Now, the update: You will be happy to know that Ric Bucher is backing down.

Re-considering, even.

Some of what Ric wrote me late Thursday:

ON RE-CONSIDERING DIRK AS MVP: "Just so you know, I've made a number of calls to people around the league who have seen more Mavs games than I have. I also have several Mavs games on tape I'm going to review. Short of it is, I'm reconsidering my position on Dirk because of those conversations.''

ON DIRK'S UNIQUENESS (WITH SOME 'BUTS'): "I still haven't come up with an acronym to describe Dirk's MVPness, but he certainly is an unorthodox candidate. He doesn't break people down off the dribble and he doesn't post up to draw double teams, which, in one way or another, every other candidate does. That's a big part of what makes them so valuable. The best part of his game is as a face-up or step-back jump shooter, and you can't name another MVP in the history of the game who had that as his calling card. But looking at the tremendous success of the Mavs, despite a ton of injuries, with the one constant being Dirk, I'm willing to take a second look before I make up my mind.''

ON THE CUBAN ARTICLE: "Cuban's contention creates two issues. One, if it's all about wins, then Tim Duncan has to be on the ballot as well, widening the race further. You can say his numbers are down, but you can't dispute he's the best player on a team that could have the best record in the West.

Two, Cuban stumping for Dirk probably works against the lanky German. A lot of voters out there don't like to be lectured at and Mark has had a history of doing exactly that with some of them. In all likelihood it wouldn't stop them from voting for Dirk if they felt he was worthy, but it certainly isn't going to persuade someone to change their mind and vote for him.''

ON ANOTHER AWARD-WORTHY MAV: "Here's my other disclosure: Avery will definitely be on my Coach of the Year ballot.''

ON WHY HE'S SOFTENING: In my story about our exchanges, I scribbled something about how Bucher is a reasonable man -- though his anti-Dirk arguments were unreasonable. I said something about how, contrary to the emails you'd been sending him, he's not really a gomer, a loser, a Communist or a douchebag. So why is he softening? Because, Ric writes, "I am, after all, a reasonable man. A reasonable, gomerish, loserish, Communistic man.''

HexNBA · 04-14-2006, 10:03 AM

Quote:

ON RE-CONSIDERING DIRK AS MVP: "Just so you know, I've made a number of calls to people around the league who have seen more Mavs games than I have. I also have several Mavs games on tape I'm going to review. Short of it is, I'm reconsidering my position on Dirk because of those conversations.''

That's just retarded. So first he wasnt good enough and Josh Howard was the real MVP of this team, and now he admits he hasnt really watched the Mavs all that much? Unbelievable

a.weidner · 04-14-2006, 10:13 AM

This is just embarrasing. So he actually confessed that he didn't care to watch enough games before making his argument. Unbelievable. But even if he would have looked only at the stats, he should have noticed that Howard is not exactly the Mavs playmaker. He is either completely incompetent, or utterly careless. In both cases, he shouldn't get paid for writing columns for what probably is the biggest sports portal on the net. And he sure as hell shouldn't get a vote in the MVP ballot. What a joke.

Murphy3 · 04-14-2006, 10:13 AM

Wow, Dirk doesn't break people down off the dribble? He doesn't watch alot of Mavs games. Dirk doesn't post up and draw double teams? Well, maybe he doesn't post up enough for some, but he definitely does post up. And yeah, he's virtually the only Mav that is ever doubled.

dude1394 · 04-14-2006, 10:28 AM

He continues to be about the most idiotic "big-time" commentator I have ever heard.

Very little of what he says here is correct.

Dirk doesn't get in the low-post to draw double teams but??
- Nash, Kobe, Bron-bron do? How idiotic can you get. Just like those guys he draws a double-team wherever the hell he is.

Dirk doesn't break down guys off the dribble?
- How the hell does he think he goes to the FT line 9th in the league? By just shooting jumpers? What a moron.

Hell he basically lives off of breaking guys down off he dribble, however in Ric (Waterboy) Bouche's mind, this can't be breaking a power forward down off the dribble, it has to be another perimeter player.

This guy is really stuck on stupid and he really should shut up because he's just proving it the more he talks.

As Cooperstein stated. "Everything he writes from now on has to be taken with a grain of salt".

Also :: Where the heck is his email address so I can let him know how stupid he is personally.

dude1394 · 04-14-2006, 10:31 AM

What we are really seeing here is how weighted the media is towards the two coasts because.....drumroll....

THAT'S WHERE THEY LIVE BUDDA'.

If you look at any of the blogs done by these guys it's 90% east/west coast, about 60% of that is east coast.

So this moron gets a vote on the mvp ballot and he can't even be bothered to look at the team with the third-best team in the league. Heck he even doesn't have much opinion on the word-champion sp*rs for that matter.

Stuck in la-la-land.

jthig32 · 04-14-2006, 12:27 PM

Bill Simmons' MVP column is up. He has Dirk third, behind LeBron and Kobe, but he is very complimentary:

Quote:

Dirk Nowitzki
Averaging an astonishing 29-and-10 since the All-Star Break (the only two forwards to average 29-and-10 since the ABA/NBA merger were Bird and the Mailman). He's the only All-Star on a 60-win Dallas team. He shows up for every game. He's an underrated rebounder and superior free-throw shooter in crunch time. He solved the whole "Let's stick a smaller, more athletic guy on him!" strategy by punishing defenders with a variety of herky-jerk moves on the high post. He's German, which makes him fun to dislike whenever he starts sneering at his teammates or arrogantly celebrating after a big bucket. Out of any over-25 player, he made the biggest leap this season; it's hard to imagine anyone meaning more to his team.

Quick Nowitzki story: Clips-Mavs, Monday night, tie game, 18 seconds left. Nowitzki is 5-for-18, but we all know he's getting the final shot -- right at the top of the key, where he's been thriving all season. Naturally, we assume that Dunleavy will send a second guy at him, since you never want to get beat by a franchise guy. So Dallas brings the ball up and feeds Nowitzki on the high post, only Chris Kaman (a gawd-awful defender) switches onto him. And we're waiting for the second guy. And we're waiting. Hell, even Dirk is waiting. Never comes. Finally, with the clock winding down, he puts a quick move on Kaman, upfakes him and drains a 16-footer to win the game, followed by a goofy gesture in which he coldly pulled his jersey out with both forefingers, almost like dueling shotguns. And then his teammates practically chest-bumped him to death.

Here's the point: I wasn't even remotely surprised. Not by any of it. (Well, except for Dunleavy being dumb enough to single-team Dirk with Kaman.) There are franchise guys, and then there are FRANCHISE GUYS. This season, Nowitzki added the caps.

Here's the whole article, it's long but well worth the read I think.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/060414

bernardos70 · 04-14-2006, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

What we are really seeing here is how weighted the media is towards the two coasts because.....drumroll....

THAT'S WHERE THEY LIVE BUDDA'.

If you look at any of the blogs done by these guys it's 90% east/west coast, about 60% of that is east coast.

So this moron gets a vote on the mvp ballot and he can't even be bothered to look at the team with the third-best team in the league. Heck he even doesn't have much opinion on the word-champion sp*rs for that matter.

Stuck in la-la-land.

And I just don't find that acceptable when you do it for a living.

mary · 04-14-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jthig32

Bill Simmons' MVP column is up. He has Dirk third, behind LeBron and Kobe, but he is very complimentary:

Here's the whole article, it's long but well worth the read I think.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/060414

I haven't read the whole thing, but I agree that its very complimentary.

dude1394 · 04-14-2006, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mary

I haven't read the whole thing, but I agree that its very complimentary.

It's refereshing to see east-coast media do their homework. I don't really give a rat's ass if boucher believes dirk is the MVP or not, but it is frustrating to see someone so patently unqualified spouting such drivel.

jthig32 · 04-14-2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

It's refereshing to see east-coast media do their homework. I don't really give a rat's ass if boucher believes dirk is the MVP or not, but it is frustrating to see someone so patently unqualified spouting such drivel.

Simmon is actually former East Coast, now West Coast. Originally from Boston, now lives in LA and has Clippers season tickets.

But the point remains, it's refreshing to see any national media actually put some effort and time watching games into an opinion.

Murphy3 · 04-14-2006, 01:15 PM

The truly sad thing is that many of the voters haven't seen dirk play much. Bucher admitted as much. How in the world can he have an MVP vote if he hasn't even paid attention to all of the candidates?

vjz · 04-14-2006, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jthig32

Bill Simmons' MVP column is up. He has Dirk third, behind LeBron and Kobe, but he is very complimentary:

Here's the whole article, it's long but well worth the read I think.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/060414

Oops, you beat me to it! I just posted it in the "Around the NBA" section.

And that column is the best complement ever in Dirk's career by the mainstream sports media (read: ESPN).

mav_love · 04-14-2006, 05:11 PM

out here in DC, it's as tho they don't even know who Dirk is.... this is sad. i hope the PTI guys get a vote....

Not Much Separates MVP Candidates

By Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 7, 2006; 3:30 PM

excerpt:

Dirk Nowitzki

The Mavericks are one of just three teams that could finish with at least 60 wins, often the benchmark for the MVP award, so Nowitzki has an outside shot. While there is no argument that Dirk is the best player on a talent-laden team, it's hard to really consider him the MVP, because he doesn't impact the game much aside from scoring. His rebounding, assists, steals and blocks are also down from last season.

whole article:

Not Much Separates MVP Candidates

By Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 7, 2006; 3:30 PM

It would be so much easier if the usual suspects were in consideration, if Tim Duncan's plantar fasciitis hadn't limited him to being the second-most productive player on his team; if Shaquille O'Neal's age, injuries and persistent foul trouble hadn't restricted him to career lows in minutes, points, rebounds and blocks; or if Kevin Garnett's team hadn't been foundering into another lottery abyss.

It would be so much easier if the best player in the league -- a Michael Jordan of sorts -- played on the team with the league's best record. Or it would be easier if a player had changed teams and produced a dramatic turnaround in his new location.

That is not the case this season, which makes it very difficult to pick the NBA's most valuable player. It's not that there are so many deserving candidates; there just isn't much separation between the top candidates. They have cases that are equally solid and flimsy.

Since the season began, a number players has held the baton, but there hasn't been a clear-cut winner with the finish line less than two weeks away. In the first month of the season, Elton Brand was the leading contender as he led the laughingstock Los Angeles Clippers to unlikely success. By the end of December, Chauncey Billups' campaign picked up with the Detroit Pistons on pace to challenge the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the best record in league history.

After that, Kobe Bryant had a historic, improbable 81-point performance that vaulted him to the status as the league's best overall talent and most feared offensive machine. Reigning MVP Steve Nash emerged as the favorite near the all-star break, with the Amare Stoudemire-less Phoenix Suns making another run at the Pacific Division crown.

Since then, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Miami's Dwyane Wade, Cleveland's LeBron James and even San Antonio's Tony Parker have entered the discussion.

No criteria exists for the MVP. It can either be the award for best player in the game, the player of the year, or the player who has the most impact on his team's success. All that exists on the official ballot is a list with five empty spots. It will be hard to just put five names on the ballot this season.

Nash, Billups, Bryant, Nowitzki, Wade and James can all make legitimate arguments that the MVP trophy belongs to them. That's six guys -- and that doesn't include Brand, who has led the Clippers to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, or Parker, who has been the best player for the Western Conference-leading Spurs this season. Boston's Paul Pierce and former MVP Allen Iverson of Philadelphia have had incredible individual seasons, but their respective teams are so lousy they cannot be considered genuine contenders.

Steve Nash

Last season, the choice was either Nash or O'Neal, an easy debate since both players completely turned around their teams, leading the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat, respectively, to the top two records in the regular season and the conference finals. In a close decision, Nash was awarded for his unselfish play and serving as the catalyst behind the most frantic, unpredictable offense in the league. (His victory also sparked controversy over such issues as race and size.) Nash may not have been the best scorer or rebounder on his team, but he made everyone around him better.

This season, Nash has been better. He's scoring at a career-high clip (19.2), dishing out one fewer assist than last season (10.2) and he has led the Suns to the fourth-best record in the NBA despite a huge offseason roster turnover (Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson were out; Kurt Thomas, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Eddie House and James Jones were in) and a serious knee injury sidelining Stoudemire for practically the entire season.

He has turned former castoffs Diaw, Bell, House and Jones into productive contributors on a division champion, but it's too easy to just hand him the trophy again. The impact of Shawn Marion, whom people often forget was an all-star before Nash arrived, cannot be diminished. And, the Suns have been decent, not dominant this season. They are on pace to win just 54 games this season.

Excluding the lockout shortened season in 1999, only one league MVP has won fewer than 57 games since the 1985-86 season -- Jordan in 1988. That season, the Bulls finished second to Detroit in the Central Division with a 50-32 record and Jordan averaged 35 points per game. No player has averaged that many points in a season since -- but Bryant is well within range, averaging 34.9 points this season.

Kobe Bryant

Bryant has carried a young, mostly inexperienced team that many didn't believe would qualify for the postseason to the seventh-best record in the Western Conference. This has been a season of redemption of sorts for Bryant. He has made up with O'Neal and he is poised to lead the Lakers into the postseason for the first time since O'Neal relocated to Miami, a move blamed largely on Bryant. But aside from his 81-point game -- which will live on as the most memorable moment this season, whether or not Bryant wins the MVP trophy -- USA Basketball is hoping that Bryant will bring the nation back to elite status around the world and has decided to build its team around his immense talents. Bryant has been regarded as a one-man team this season, becoming the first player since Jordan in 1990, to score more than 2,500 points in one season. His scoring barrages have even been encouraged, at times, by Coach Phil Jackson. But his MVP campaign is hampered because his production comes often at the expense of his teammates -- and the Lakers are on track to win just 43 games. The most they can win is 46. Without Bryant, though, the Lakers would've been lucky to win 23.

Dirk Nowitzki

The Mavericks are one of just three teams that could finish with at least 60 wins, often the benchmark for the MVP award, so Nowitzki has an outside shot. While there is no argument that Dirk is the best player on a talent-laden team, it's hard to really consider him the MVP, because he doesn't impact the game much aside from scoring. His rebounding, assists, steals and blocks are also down from last season.

Chauncey Billups

The Pistons have had the best record all season, but through no fault of Billups, he is a member of the best starting five in basketball. They had the same starting lineup for the first 73 games this season -- not only is that crazy, it's unprecedented. Although Billups has been the engine behind the best machine in hoops, where would Detroit be without Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince? They've all been essential to Detroit's success, which makes it difficult to single out Billups. It's not as if teams enter games with intentions to shut down Billups exclusively. If they do focus on Billups, any one of the Pistons' starters could easily take over the game.

Dwyane Wade

Since Jordan retired the second time in 1998, the Eastern Conference has produced only one most valuable player -- Iverson in 2001. Given the depth of the Western Conference, there certainly has been a West Coast bias in MVP voting that could negatively impact Billups, Wade and James.

Wade and James have been awesome in their third seasons, staging a classic showdown last week during a nationally televised game. Both players have their respective teams in position to make noise in the postseason, a first for James and a first for Wade in the role of team leader.

With O'Neal in the midst of a decline, Wade has carried the Heat to a Southeast Division title and the second-best record in the East, averaging career-highs in scoring (27.7), rebounding (5.8) and steals (1.87). He has arguably been the best all-around player in the league this season and the Heat is on pace to win 54 games this season -- the same as Nash's Suns. But Wade hasn't been able to lead the Heat to victories against the league's elite: Miami is 2-12 against division leaders this season.

LeBron James

At age 21, James has led the Cavaliers into the playoffs for the first time in eight years and has them in position to claim homecourt advantage in the first round -- despite missing Larry Hughes for 45 games with a broken right finger. James will become the fourth player in history to average 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a season, joining a small fraternity that includes Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. He ranks second in the league in player efficiency, behind Garnett, and first in the "Roland Ratings" at 82games.com, which is the equivalent of the hockey plus-minus ratio and compares how well a team plays when someone is on the floor and how poorly it plays when he's off it.

James still, justifiably, receives criticism for failing to take shots in the clutch -- but he has put his team ahead for good in the fourth quarter nine times and assisted on several game-winning baskets. Some could also argue that Cleveland doesn't have enough wins to justify James winning the award, but his campaign is almost identical to Jordan's campaign in 1988 -- Cleveland is on pace to win 50 games and finish second to Detroit.

The Winner?

So who should win the MVP? Reluctantly, it's Nash, by a nose. For now. The race still isn't over.

© 2006 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive

Murphy3 · 04-14-2006, 08:01 PM

But his FG%, 3pt%, and FT% are up. His TO's are down. So, he has more help on the glass this year. That's great. So, he doesn't have many jumpshooters on the team that can take advantage of him passing out of double teams in a manner that leads to assists. So what? They lead to good scoring opportunities.

Dirk doesn't impact the game much from scoring? Well, he makes the game much easier for everyone else on offense. Plus, he's a very good defensive rebounde and an above average defenderr. Some of the same ol' same ol' that has gone around for years without merit based upon his recently play is unfortunate...

chumdawg · 04-15-2006, 02:24 AM

Steve Nash said tonight that Dirk gets his vote.

dude1394 · 04-15-2006, 08:44 AM

The talent-laden team conventional wisdom comment sorta bugs me. It's been used as a backhanded way to slap dirk and the mavs around imo.

Stackhouse/Keith are luxuries, but the rest of the team is pretty pedestrian. But the media can throw the talent-laden term around and diss the mavs accomplishements and dirks.

They certainly are no more talent laden than the sp*rs or detroit for example.

Murphy3 · 04-15-2006, 10:08 AM

Stack and Keither are luxuries that have either one of the two things all year long:
1. Been injured
2. performed well below expectations.

Perhaps Dirk might get penalized for having a couple of decent names on his team.... even if they're underachieving names at that.

jthig32 · 04-15-2006, 11:45 AM

I don't get the talent laden argument at all. How can someone possibly say with a straight face that the Mavs have significantly more talent than the Spurs, Suns, or Pistons. Or the Heat for that matter.

Doesn't make sense.

mary · 04-15-2006, 11:54 AM

Here's another sportswriter who doesn't even mention Dirk's name in his MVP piece.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/c...07_112604_2080

mary · 04-15-2006, 12:07 PM

MVP Race in NBA Still Too Close to Call
By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
8:14 AM PDT, April 15, 2006

Dirk Nowitzki leads a short-handed Dallas team into San Antonio and scores 30 points, carrying the Mavericks to a huge victory in the Western Conference playoff race.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich afterward called it "an MVP performance."

So is Nowitzki the NBA's most valuable player?

To answer that question in this year's crowded race, you first need to tackle the tougher one: "What is an MVP?"

The best player? The most important player on a winning team? The one whose team could least afford to lose him?

Any way you look at it, as many as six players seem to have a case why they should be the winner.

Mark Cuban doesn't need any convincing.

"There should be no question that Dirk is the leading candidate," the Mavericks owner said. "You can't look at any other team with a single All-Star and find one who has been more valuable to his team and has led his team to more wins."

What about LeBron James? He scored 37 points the following day as Cleveland went to New Jersey and snapped the Nets' league-best 14-game winning streak. In his next game, he made the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left to beat the Hornets.

Maybe he is the best choice.

"LeBron had a spectacular year, which has really helped our team take the next step," Cavs general manager Danny Ferry said. "And we did it with injuries, and we did it with a first-year general manager, first-year coach, all those things, and he really led the way."

Nowitzki and James are far from the only worthy candidates in what is shaping up as one of the deepest MVP fields in years. There's plenty of support for Steve Nash, last year's winner in Phoenix, as well as Chauncey Billups of Detroit and Miami's Dwyane Wade.

Oh, and don't forget Kobe Bryant's choice: Kobe Bryant.

"I'd vote for myself," the Lakers star said with a smile.

And if he couldn't?

"I wouldn't vote at all."

The people who will vote have until the day after the regular season to get their ballots in, and they may want to wait right up until the deadline to sort through the choices.

The race seems headed to a finish like 1999, when Karl Malone, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Duncan were separated by fewer than 100 votes; or the 1990 vote when Magic Johnson edged Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.

Before voters decide who is the most valuable player, they first have to decide what is a most valuable player.

"What's the criteria? Make your team better," Knicks coach Larry Brown said. "And then look at the record. Look at the people around them and then you make a decision.

"You pick five guys out on Detroit. You look at the teams that are winning in the league. You look at Dallas right away, you look at absolutely LeBron, you look at Steve Nash not having (Amare) Stoudemire. There's a lot of pretty neat stories."

Nash won a close race last season, beating Shaquille O'Neal by 34 points. He seemed to be the favorite among players during the All-Star break, and has led Phoenix to a second straight Pacific Division title even though the Suns only had Stoudemire for three games. But the Suns stumbled a bit down the stretch, possibly opening the door for someone who has a strong finish. Nowitzki and James could be the most likely candidates in that case.

Dallas had to play for portions of the second half without regulars Josh Howard, Adrian Griffin, Devin Harris, and Keith Van Horn, but Nowitzki's play has kept the Mavs neck-and-neck with the Spurs for the best record in the West. "He's as valuable to his team as any player in the league," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "The most unusual thing about Dallas is that they lose last year's MVP and still get better. It's mind-boggling."

James had a sensational stretch to lock up the first playoff berth of his career. His run of nine straight games with 35 points made him only the third player since 1970 with such a run, topped by only Michael Jordan (10 games in 1986) and Bryant (13 in 2003). In those nine games, James averaged 38.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists. The last player to post at least those averages during a nine-game span was Oscar Robertson during the 1964-65 season. Most importantly, James' play prevented the Cavs from the type of second-half collapse they had last year. As Ferry said, "The guy was driven not to let that happen again this year." Still, James says he doesn't get caught up in trying to become the first player since Allen Iverson in 2001 to be the MVP of the All-Star game and the regular season in the same year. "I never worry about individual accolades," James said. "Never have and never will. I feel like the individual awards will come with the team's success. They recognize that, people who are voting for the MVP race, and they'll probably realize who the MVP of the league is."

Bryant wants to win. And if the award went strictly to the best player, he probably would. He's set to win his first scoring title and provided the signature moment in the NBA this season with his 81-point game in January. But the Lakers are at the bottom end of the West's playoff race, and with so many voters focused on a team's record, some might say Bryant isn't even the best candidate in Los Angeles -- instead preferring the Clippers' Elton Brand. "Kobe's going to have a lot of detractors," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Unfortunately, we're not 10 games over .500. We are going to be in the playoffs, that says something about his performance."

If a team's winning percentage is so important, then Billups is the obvious choice. Detroit has gone wire-to-wire with the league's best record, and he always seems to come through when the Pistons need a big shot. "An MVP has to be a great player that makes his teammates better and makes huge plays in clutch situations to lead his team to victories," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Chauncey Billups fits that description and that's why he would get my first-place vote for MVP."
Billups doesn't lead his team in scoring -- then again, neither did Nash -- and Detroit's balance could work against him.

Wade has superb numbers, but there is a large shadow over his campaign: Some voters will always point to O'Neal as the reason for Miami's success. "Dwyane was a guy that nobody really knew about, and now everybody knows about him because of his play," O'Neal said. "And it's unfair that people always say 'Oh, he's having a great season, but he's only having it because Shaq is there.'" Wade could end up being disappointed, but so will a number of other deserving players. And if they don't understand why they didn't win, neither did a former winner who came up short last year. "Over the last five, six years, the award has become diluted to me," said O'Neal, the 2000 MVP. "I don't really know what the definition of MVP is anymore. Is it Most Valuable Player, what you do, or what your team does? That award is not really important and that's why I don't try to go for it anymore."

* __

AP Sports Writers Jaime Aron in Dallas, Larry Lage in Detroit, Tim Reynolds in Miami, John Nadel in Los Angeles, and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basket...ball-headlines

Milles · 04-15-2006, 12:37 PM

This is from an LA Paper. I don't think Nash will win, I am now thinking it will be either Dirk, or James.

Quote:

April 14, 2006
An MVP update

Some early informal polling of voters indicates that there's little chance Kobe Bryant wins the NBA MVP this season. He's getting left off some ballots entirely (voters list five players in order) and not getting many first-place votes. Seems like it'll be Steve Nash.

In response to an e-mail inquiry about how voters get selected, sportswriters or broadcasters are given ballots either directly from the NBA when they cover the league at large or through the specific team that they cover regularly. There are a limited number of ballots (127 last season) available, so not everyone gets some ballots gets every one, obviously. In my first few seasons covering the Lakers, I never received the MVP ballot (I was told that was the only award Chick Hearn wanted to vote on). The last couple of years, I've gotten six of the seven ballots -- this season's exception being Rookie of the Year.

http://blogs.ocregister.com/lakers/a....html#comments

kriD · 04-15-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Oh, and don't forget Kobe Bryant's choice: Kobe Bryant.

"I'd vote for myself," the Lakers star said with a smile.

And if he couldn't?

"I wouldn't vote at all."

Wow.

Thespiralgoeson · 04-16-2006, 03:21 AM

Seriously, does anyone remember exactly what Charles and Kenny said on Thursday when they picked Dirk for MVP? I didn't get the chance to hear it, but I do want to know what they said.

dongtouch · 04-16-2006, 09:12 AM

Both Chuck and Kenny went with Dirk as the MVP but Chuck said he didn't think Dirk would win it. He said the top 3 would be Kobe, Lebron and Nash. Kenny said this might be the only time that he doesn't think the MVP could lead a team to the title. Although I think he's right that the Mavs are not going to win the title (even though I want them to win as much as anyone of you), last year when everyone picked Nash, I don't think people picked his Suns to win the title.
Anyways for the record, Reggie picked Marion, probably because Marion idolized Reggie, or maybe not.

aexchange · 04-16-2006, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dongtouch

Both Chuck and Kenny went with Dirk as the MVP but Chuck said he didn't think Dirk would win it. He said the top 3 would be Kobe, Lebron and Nash. Kenny said this might be the only time that he doesn't think the MVP could lead a team to the title. Although I think he's right that the Mavs are not going to win the title (even though I want them to win as much as anyone of you), last year when everyone picked Nash, I don't think people picked his Suns to win the title.
Anyways for the record, Reggie picked Marion, probably because Marion idolized Reggie, or maybe not.

maybe its because both marion and reggie miller look like they came from the sam cassell school of ugliness.

jthig32 · 04-16-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dongtouch

Anyways for the record, Reggie picked Marion, probably because Marion idolized Reggie, or maybe not.

No one, and I mean no one, loved Reggie Miller the player more than me. But wow does he continue to disappoint as an analyst. Shawn Marion???

Very disappointing.

rakesh.s · 04-16-2006, 11:41 AM

go to nba.com and watch inside the nba from thursday night...they have all the shows archived on there.

Thespiralgoeson · 04-16-2006, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jthig32

No one, and I mean no one, loved Reggie Miller the player more than me. But wow does he continue to disappoint as an analyst. Shawn Marion???

Very disappointing.

He's about as bad as Scottie Pippen. Actually, I think Pippen's probably worse. I mean, last year the dude picked Seattle to win the title. Friggin Seattle!

V2M · 04-19-2006, 11:13 PM

Dirk-V-P!!

Tonight's game was yet another indication of Dirk's importance to this team. This Clippers team was without Brand and Cassell and they were playing on the 2nd night of a B2B... yet we were never in the game! Even with Terry, Josh and other starters, in the 1st quarter, we were playing catchup.

When people talk of how Dirk doesn't improve his team-mates, they need to ask themselves who on this earth thought at the beginning of the season that we'd win 60 games this year with 2 castaways, Diop & Griffin as our starters!! Tell me, which other playoff team in the West (or the East!) can they start or even play any extended minutes?!

In the last 2 years, we lost league MVP Nash, our 2nd leading scorer Finley and a future HOF Coach (the only one that Dirk ever played for in the NBA!) and guess what happens?? Dirk just adapts his game to Avery's style, takes more of a leadership role, works on his weaknesses as he always does, and just produces game-in, game-out to lead us to 60 wins, 3rd best in the league, and 8 more than when all of the above-mentioned were still here.

With all the myriad injuries to Stack, KVH, Josh, Devin, Marquis, Griffin, etc., the one constant this team had (yes, more than AJ's coaching!) was DIRK!!! Without him, we would be one of the bottom 5 teams, no question about that in my mind! I mean just check out the squads of GS, SEA, Utah, etc., and look at Dallas without Dirk. There's no way we'd be ahead of them!!

Anyway, I'm glad the long regular season has come to an end and to me this would be memorable for only 1 reason and that's Dirk and his MVP season... yes, whether he's chosen by the media or not, HE'S MY MVP!!!

DIRK-V-P!!!

Jerry Stackhouse · 04-20-2006, 01:58 AM

Dirk has too many good players around him to be considered the MVP. As Ric Bucher indicated, it's not even clear that he's the MVP of his own team. How many past MVPs have had awesome, near-MVP level superstars coming off their team's bench? My vote would go to Kobe. He is amazing. I wish I could somehow be on a basketball team with Kobe someday.

rabbitproof · 04-20-2006, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Stackhouse

Dirk has too many good players around him to be considered the MVP. As Ric Bucher indicated, it's not even clear that he's the MVP of his own team. How many past MVPs have had awesome, near-MVP level superstars coming off their team's bench? My vote would go to Kobe. He is amazing. I wish I could somehow be on a basketball team with Kobe someday.

Hahaha.

Consider me killed. That is gold.

Milles · 04-20-2006, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Stackhouse

Dirk has too many good players around him to be considered the MVP. As Ric Bucher indicated, it's not even clear that he's the MVP of his own team. How many past MVPs have had awesome, near-MVP level superstars coming off their team's bench? My vote would go to Kobe. He is amazing. I wish I could somehow be on a basketball team with Kobe someday.

JS, you are the best.

If you don't play well during the playoffs, you may get your wish. However, I hear the Hawks, Blazers and Knicks could be looking for someone like you. Hmm, Blazers, now that sounds like a good fit. It is a young team, you could be the respected veteran superstar and voice of reason on a team like that. A unifying force on a splintered team. Yup, if you don't play well, it is Portland purgatory for you.

dongtouch · 04-20-2006, 10:38 AM

when do they announce the award?

Five-ofan · 04-20-2006, 12:07 PM

BTW dirk finished number 1 in per at 28.20. Lebron was second at 28.17. Yet dirk is the only possible candidate that never got an article about it. Sadly im not so sure he will win as i was earlier. I mean seriously Wade, Lebron, Nash, Melo, and billups have all had recent national articles saying they were the mvp. Dirk hasnt had any.

Pongo · 04-20-2006, 04:09 PM

Dirk's averaged 26.6 points per game and 1.93 TOPG
How many players are there who averaged at least 26.6 ppg and less turnovers? (no, that's not a rhetorical question

)

edit: this season, no one... looked at some stats from the nba's greatest players, still haven't found one

dude1394 · 04-20-2006, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

BTW dirk finished number 1 in per at 28.20. Lebron was second at 28.17. Yet dirk is the only possible candidate that never got an article about it. Sadly im not so sure he will win as i was earlier. I mean seriously Wade, Lebron, Nash, Melo, and billups have all had recent national articles saying they were the mvp. Dirk hasnt had any.

Hmm...so these are the hollinger stats? Wonder if he's got dirk on his ballot? Was he one of those that had their picks?

dude1394 · 04-20-2006, 04:46 PM

It will sure be nice to see some more trophy's being held up by the big German.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...r944791310.jpg

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...dna10504200317