DAMN, Brand has a good chance at the MVP!

Brand and Kaman outrebounded the whole Bobcats' squad!

 

In their last game (a loss to the Pacers), Brand had 29 and 12 and Kayman had 13 and 16. These guys seen to really be coming into their own as a front line.

 

I have been a huge fan of Brand since he entered the league. I love it that he finallyplay's for a team that has a chance of getting in the play-offs. The clippers are now my second favorite team.

 

The clippers get all my love!

 

I don't think Brand has a good chance at the MVP. Kobe, LeBron and AI are all solidly ahead of him.

 

Yeah...my biggest problem with Brand for MVP is he never averaged more than 20 PPG before now (25 PPG this season), he's led his team to the top of the division before now, career highs in a couple other categories.......

What changed?

I'm less inclined to believe all this is because of him. More to the point, I'd say the Clippers' and Brand's success may actually be more in favor of Sam Cassell for MVP.

Evan

 

You can't discount Brand as an MVP candidate because of what he's done in the past.

The 2005-06 MVP is for this year, right?

Few players earn MVP honors on their own. They are generally part of winning teams.

Would Nash have been MVP last year without Amare Stoudemire to dunk his lob passes?

You could say McGrady has the talent to win MVP. But will McGrady ever win MVP (or a playoff series, I hate to say) if he continues to play with give-a-f*** players who don't bring it every night?

 

Brand has no chance in hell for MVP, you can bet your life on that.

It will be one of the usual suspects: Duncan, KG, AI, or Kobe if the Lakers manage to play well throughout the season and make the playoffs as a top 4 seed.

 

Maybe Lebron, but not the other two. MVP almost always hinges on team performance as well. The Sixers, I suspect, will hover around .500 all season. I can't see how the Lakers are doing as well as they are, especially considering we just beat them, but Kobe will get some consideration if they do. But not above Brand, imo.

Brand is 8th in scoring, 6th in rebounding, shoots 54%, 6th in blocks, 1st in efficiency, dishes out over 2.5 assists a game. He is having a fantastic year.

That said, Hakeem had a run of about ten years where you could easily argue, stat-wise at least, he had better years, and he only won 1 MVP.

My money is on Lebron right now, Brand second.

 

You may end up being right, but with Kobe playing out of his mind in the same city, Brand has no chance IMO. I'd say it's a 2 horse race between Kobe & LeBron right now, with AI a distant 3rd because his team is broken. Brand had a great game, but in 2 weeks nobody will remember because it was Kobe 62, Mavs 61 after three quarters.

 

Iverson will not get the MVP as long as his team hovers around the .500 mark. Might be unfair, but that's the way it is. Kobe I think is also a long shot because the Lakers are gonna have to fight just to make it into the playoffs. I think the best candidates are Duncan, Brand, Lebron and Nash.

As a side note I think Sam Cassell is routinely overlooked (maybe not here but everywhere else) for what he brings to a team.

 

Brands been doin the same thing for a while and gettin' no love from anybody..don't see that changing much. Besides the clips could still slide, and i think Cassell (and even mobley) have alot to do with the Clippers success so far in the season, at least as much as brand.

Kobe gettin' MVP would make Shaq really f***in angry! I think Nash deserves alot of credit for Phoenix's season, he really has done a great job leading that team to where they are right now. I'd still make him my pick this season., i thought they'd be crap without amare.

I think it depends on the talent around you, the success of the team and obviously how valuable you are to your team. Not just the best player on the best team (duncan). The Cavs improvements are largely to a bolstered roster that wasn't in Cleveland last season. I think the same can be said for the Clippers and their extra firepower and experience. If the Lakers can get a seeding higher than 8th and Kobe can continuously play the way he has lately, including getting his teammates involved, i think he has a great chance and deservedly so.

IF tmac can rally our Rockets to a 6th seed from where we are now-i think he deserves it. Nobody has had more of an effect on their team than Tmac - and no team has looked as lost without their superstar as Houston. I hope he gets it. He was my pick before the season.

Alot of ifs, but so far for me its Nash.

 

I'd say there's a difference. Consider KG, who was always good enough to keep scrub teams in the mix and make the playoffs, but needed Sam & Spree to go deep. I considered him a very legit MVP that year.

Jason Kidd was never really a candidate until he hit New Jersey, but it was crystal clear that he was the dominant factor behind their franchise turnaround. Didn't win the MVP, but was runner-up and it's justifiable to think he was snubbed.

I don't consider Elton Brand to be another example of this. If he were to win, I'd consider it less legit than when Malone got his as a lifetime achievement award. How did the Clips turn things around? Did Elton really come in after 4 years of mediocrity looking to flip their record with his play? He's played with rosters as talented as this one before. Or is it Sam Cassell working the same magic he did with the Bucks and Wolves when he arrived there? Personally, I'm more inclined to believe Sam is leading this team than Elton. I also believe Sam is helping Brand up his stats, instead of denying him opportunities like the former Clips. Unless there's an interview where Elton talks about how he found Jesus over the summer and discovered the inner leader within himself, I cast heavy doubt that he is even the MVP of his own team. I consider him to be the Amare to Cassell's Nash.

And if you consider Brand a frontrunner for MVP, how do you discount Dirk? Higher PPG avg, much better record so far (21-7 vs 16-10), and, before you cry defense, the Clips are no better a defensive team than the Mavs (94.7 PPG allowed vs 94.3). Plus, Dirk is much more of a leader (IMO) on his team than Brand is.

Evan

 

Also consider one reason Brand's stats have jumped is because Maggette and his 22 PPG have been out going on a month. When he comes back in late January, Brand's numbers (and the MVP talk) will decline.

 

Not that I disagree with some of the other points, but I don't see how this is an argument against Brand. Taking your game to the next level when a key player is out - isn't that what you expect of MVP's?

 

There are still people on this board who would rather have Yao than Brand.