Joey
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Kobe 8 schrieb:Zudem hast du die Suns vergessen (*klugscheiß)
wieso?? Er schreibt doch über die Suns?? (*oberklugscheiß)
Kobe 8 schrieb:Zudem hast du die Suns vergessen (*klugscheiß)
Kri schrieb:unsere Maves.!
Joey schrieb:Mavs (absolut-ober-ober-klugscheiß)
jetzt ist aber gut
Vash schrieb:Wie schaffen man, dass eine Mannschaft soviele Dreier nehmen kann trotz nur einer einzigen Präsenz im Lowpost ? Haben die jedes Spiel Handabdrücke auf dem Gesicht ?
sefant77 schrieb:Da führen die Suns schon Ende 3. Viertels mit über 30 Punkten und noch immer spielen 4/5 der S5.
Für mich echt eine Kräfteverschwendung bzw ein absolut unnötiges Risiko. Ich warte nur darauf, dass sich einer der Stützen in der Garbage-Time (oder lass es gleich ganze Garbage-Viertel sein) verletzt....
Steve Nash usually laughs when someone asks about his MVP chances.
"I think my mom started that campaign," he'll joke.
If so, Jean Nash must be a persuasive lady.
That's because, at the midpoint of the season, her son is the closest thing to a consensus favorite in the Most Valuable Player race. Except for the Bobcats, every team has played at least 41 games as of Friday, and Nash's role in the rise of the Phoenix Suns would almost certainly make him the trophy winner if ballots were turned in today ... even though history says he has good cause to be so humble.
Actually winning the award this spring would probably rank Nash as the most unlikely MVP of all-time, and not merely because he's a 30-year-old Canadian who has never figured into this debate before. The only recognized point guard to win it in the past 40-odd years is Magic Johnson. It has been almost 30 years since an NBA MVP averaged fewer than 20 points per game (Bill Walton in 1977-78).
Nash has been so good he's put both himself and Stoudemire in the MVP conversation.
Nash's case isn't helped by the reality that his contributions generally only come at the fun end.
However ...
Regular readers know our deal here. The Stein Line's (wholly subjective) criteria for MVP state that individual brilliance is a must, obviously, but that team success is factored in heavily. And no player in the league has had a more dramatic impact in the standings than Nash, as confirmed this month when he missed a few games and the Suns promptly cratered from 31-4 to 31-9.
So when my editor asked for a look at my five-man ballot ... as of today, Nash has to top it.
No matter what Nash thinks.
"There's a lot of guys that really impact this game in a million ways, like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan," Nash said. "I don't know if it's possible that I can have the impact on the game that those guys have. I think my teammates probably deserve a little more credit and I probably deserve a little less. But it is nice."
The top five, halfway through:
1. Steve Nash: Our praise or criticism of star players so often centers on the whole Making Teammates Better intangible. That's the category Nash undeniably leads so far this season, and that's the reason he has generated so much MVP buzz in spite of a 15.7-point scoring average and his defensive shortcomings. Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion have been raised to All-NBA caliber by Nash's passes and proddings, and you saw how lost they looked when Nash was out. Odds are Nash will slip a spot or two when the actual ballots are turned in at the end of the regular season, but if the Suns win at least 60 games ... he'll have a real shot.
2. Tim Duncan: Duncan and reigning MVP Kevin Garnett are starting to suffer from Jordanitis -- impressing people is tough because we expect them to dominate. But before you start bleating about how Duncan's overall numbers are down, look at the standings (and the other Spurs). He's a close second to Nash in the Making Teammates Better rankings and, like KG last season, gets extra credit for scaling back his game some to accommodate the emerging talents of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The Spurs are widely considered the best organization in basketball largely because TD, year after year, makes their system flow smoothly.
At his current rate of progress, LeBron may lock up this award for the next decade.
3. LeBron James: Here's a question we never get: Who was better at 20, MJ or LeBron? Reason being: James has progressed so quickly that he's forcing us to consider whether a reigning Rookie of the Year can be eligible for the Most Improved Player award. His diligent off-season work with former Cavs assistant Bob Donewald -- fine-tuning his shot release, footwork and movement without the ball at both ends -- shows nightly. As does LBJ's beyond-his-years knack for getting lesser players involved. Cleveland would likely have to win the Central for James to move up on this list, but that doesn't sound nearly as outlandish as it would have in October.
4. Shaquille O'Neal: The numbers (23 and 11) are on the muted side, true. It's still a sin that O'Neal, twice the league's scoring champion, has never won a rebounding title and probably never will. Even his new coach, Stan Van Gundy, has urged The Diesel not to be so nonchalant after losses. Eventually, though, you have to stop nitpicking and acknowledge the impact a slimmed-down Shaq has made in Miami, sending the Heat (who sport two undrafted starters and a thin bench) to the top of the East ... while also helping Dwyane Wade redefine the pecking order of the 2003 draft class. This is an NBA Finals contender and thus Shaq has to be here.
5. Dirk Nowitzki: You suspect it'll be tough for Nowitzki to keep KG and/or Kobe Bryant out of the top five come April, assuming the Wolves rally as expected and if the Lakers indeed make the playoffs. Allen Iverson, Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal also drew consideration at No. 5. But Dirk leads them all so far, having found a new level (at both ends) despite losing the MVP leader as a sidekick. The Mavericks' offense doesn't flow as smoothly without Nash, and marquee signing Erick Dampier has been inconsistent (and hobbled), but the 28-13 Mavs are winning more than they expected, carried by Nowitzki through injury after injury.
GitcheGumme schrieb:Unglaublich wie stark die Suns in der Offense weiter machen. Mit Nash läuft es eben. Für mich der Roleplayer schlechthin für die Suns. Ein Kandidat für den MVP-Titel und das wächst nicht mal auf meinem Mist.
Also meines Erachtens müßte man KG scho unter die Top5 zählen. Sogar vor Duncan oder Nash. Ob Nash nun wirklich Chancen auf den MVP hat, bezweifle ich anhand der Stats. Aber wie Stein schon sagt, macht er eben seine Mitspieler zu besseren Spielern und die Suns momentan obwohl das jüngste Team der Liga, zum besten der Liga!
Was die Suns ohne Nash, bzw. seine Mitspieler ohne ihn wert sind, haben wir ja gesehen. 0-5
Also so gesehen, stimme ich Stein zu und plaziere Nash auch auf 1. Nowitzki als Leader würde ich nicht sehen. Aber er ist nun mal der Go-to-Guy, bzw. Punkte- und Reboundleader des Teams. Man kann ihn sicherlich unter die besten 10 zählen.
Shaq egfällt mir persönlich nicht so in Miami, aber das Team hat sich auch enorm gesteigert durch seine Korbdominanz (und seine FG-Quote ist besser als in LAk, wenn wundert's - Osten eben - 60,7%).
Kobe ist ohn Shaq nicht so viel wert, oder fehlen einfach die richtigen Leute? Eigentlich ist nur die SG-Position gut besetzt, ansonsten fehlt etwas das AUßergewöhnliche.
Cuttino schrieb:Gitche is back!
BTW: Ich gebe dir Recht!
PG Garnett war letzte Saison auch MVP, warum sollte Center Nash jetzt nicht auch Rookie of the Year werden?
GitcheGumme schrieb:Ich führe die Niederlage eher mal wieder auf das Fehlen von Nash zurück. Daran sieht man, wie enorm wichtig er für die Suns ist. Das macht eben einen MVP aus! Aber ich glaube trotzdem nicht, daß er es schafft.
George Gervin schrieb:Wo hat Steve Nash bitte gefällt? 38 Minuten war er auf dem Parkett. Aber du hast recht, denn eigentlich für einen Suns Starter is das ja sogar wenig. Durchspielen muss der kanadische Bleckdeckel! :laugh2:
Shawn Marion schrieb:Heute Nacht gehts gegen die New York Knicks, da bin ich mir sehr sicher, dass sie es packen werden, schließlich haben die Knicks gerade einen Losingstreak und anscheinend auch teaminterne Querelen (obowhl Stephon Marbury jetzt gesagt hat, dass das alles doch nicht soo schlimm war), das ist ein Must-Win.