with five ESPN writers. [rquoter]1. Is Stan Van Gundy correct? Have we already anointed D-Rose as MVP? Henry Abbott, TrueHoop: Anyone with a pulse would be very happy for Derrick Rose, and maybe he should win it if nothing else as a thank-you for the thrills, the work and the wins. But LeBron James is a better player, playing just as he did when he ran away with this award the past two seasons. Beyond bitterness, is there a reason to disqualify him so early? J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: Yes, Stan Van Gundy is correct. The media have decided Rose is the MVP, and the media hate changing the story once it's written. But the media are correct, too. Rose and the Bulls are having a better season than Dwight Howard and the Magic. Kevin Arnovitz: Heat Index: The media and fans like novelty because it keeps the narrative interesting. That means that whenever there's a legitimate candidate for MVP who hasn't previously been in the conversation, we tend to gravitate toward him. And when that candidate's team loses only three times in six weeks, the momentum builds. This is true in basketball or baseball. Chris Sheridan, ESPN New York: I am with Van Gundy on this one, and he is on point: I am as guilty as anyone of anointing Rose the MVP prematurely, but I am on solid ground in doing so. Look where the Bulls are. Then ask why they are there. This guy has been the consummate leader for them, and the leap he has made in his outside shooting has been astounding. Marc Stein, ESPN.com: I would appear to be guilty. The Bulls would have to hit a serious skid here in their last 12 games to convince me otherwise. Howard has played at a higher level of statistical efficiency and has kept Orlando in the top five defensively all season, even though he's surrounded by bad defenders. But the combination of the on-the-court load that Rose shoulders along with the galvanizing effect he's had as a leader for a team that's exceeded all expectations with Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah combining to miss 54 games … yup. Guilty.[/rquoter] Rest of the questions below. See the rest of their responses to those questions here. [rquoter] 2. Are the Bulls the team to beat in the East? 3. Is something wrong with the Celtics? 4. Is it too early to say the Knicks lost the Melo trade? 5. Which lower seed in the West is most capable of a first-round upset?[/rquoter]
It's stupid to think that the MVP award is objective more than it is subjective. Hell, it's almost as bad as the voting in the All-star Dunk Competition.
Maybe, but look at the Bulls. They are where they are and it is mainly because of Derrick. People forget, but Bulls have been banged-up all year long. Boozer, Noah, those are your main guys. Even without those guys, Bulls have been WINNING. I don't care what you or people say, DERRICK ROSE IS THE MVP. I kinda understand where Stan is comming from, Dwight is having a remarkable year as well, that's why he should win MIP
That's very debatable. The Bulls are where they are because they play great defense. Rose is not one of the better defenders on the team.
If you take rose off the bulls, they're still a competitive team, not a cotender, but probably in the playoffs. If you take Howard out of Orlando, they're ****ed.
None of those are pressing. Which lower seed in the WC could have been the exception, except no one mentioned the Rockets.
Why are these pressing? The most pressing quetions/debates would have something to do with the labor negotiation and the state of affair of the NBA.
Honestly I think TT should get more credit than Derrick Rose. Not to say that Derrick Rose has not been playing lights out but look at the Celts with TT helming their defense and look at them now. Perkins is not their issue with staying ahead in games of late. TT coming to the Bulls has had more of an impact than Derrick Rose's improved outside shot. TT's defensive philosophies puts them in a position of Rose to do what he does. If teams play bad coaches get the blame, but when they are winning it's more of who's your best player.
Edit: If teams play bad coaches get the blame, but when they are winning it's more of who's your best player. At least that is how this story is going to go.
So, no one outside of Clutchfans is interested in the pressing debate regarding playing time for TWill?
People fawn over Rose for his improved shooting, but look at where he stands now, not where's come from. 34% from 3 is still below average. His PER is 23. Stan van Gundy has a right to be pissed that Dwight's not even in the conversation. To me Dwight remains #2 behind Lebron. But I remain baffled by the Derrick Rose hype machine. That team has had Deng and Gibson throughout the season; you add Boozer and Noah in there for the stretch and they are absolutely beastly defensively. It's not like Rose is on an island leading his team to the 1 seed. The Bulls are just a well-put together team. All their pieces fit really well together and complement each other much better than teams like Miami, Orlando, or Boston where they might have more talent but less chemistry at the moment.
I think that rose is arguably more valuable to the bulls than howard is to the magic. This is especially evident with rose keeping chicago in it through all the injuries they've had this year
The Bulls win because they're the top defensive team in the league. They have a lot of good defenders, and Rose is not one of the better ones on the team. The Magic also win because of their defense. However, everyone on the Magic except for Howard is absolute garbage on that end of the floor. They can play great defense only because of Howard. Ultimately, I think Rose is more important to the Bulls offense than Howard is to the Magic offense. But Howard is much more important to the Magic defense than Rose is to the Bulls defense. Howard is also more important to the Magic offense than Rose is to the Bulls defense. And since these are defense teams first and foremost, I think that makes Howard the more valuable player to his team.
so Habbot says we shouldn't rule of LBJ? Are you kidding me, he says hes playing similar to the past 2 mvp seasons, so if we want to go there. This guy has less points(understandably), assists(??), steals, blocks, shooting a lower fg percentage, and has more turnovers and most importantly he has considerably better talent on this team yet he will lose more games than he did last year, yet they are still trying to pawn him off as a realistic MVP candidate? That bias is sad 1A. Rose 1B. Howard(I think he should've gotten it if his team record was better) But you couldn't go wrong with either one of these guys.
Chicago is elite because of Thib's defense, but you can't overlook thatRose makes their offense go, if they had no offense or you replaced him with any pg, they would tank and might be 8th seed at best. He changes the defense around with the attention and speed he creates on offense and has made huge plays defensively in the clutch for steals and blocks. Even though there bread and butter is defense, you need offense to match it to win the game and he is what makes it go and makes them win as well, it can't be overlooked that his impact when boozer and noah were out(noah is their best defender) they still won and you can't say that they would've won without rose
