He had Chris Paul 1st, McGrady 2nd, Bryant 3rd, and I forget the 4th. When he was asked where Lebron James was on the list, he said he was in the Eastern Conference and is null from the discussion because of it. He basically said what I've felt for a long time now with any MVP consideration coming from a player in the East. Lebron is a great player, but that comment just made me laugh.
Reminicent of the FIBA MVP Scola, who was the most valuable to his team. JVG thinks differently on the title MVP as do I. LeBron might be one of the best in the game, but his team doesn't win the games this year. Same with Durant and his team. If he's so good, why doesn't he make others around him better, or is his team just so crappy?
That's true, and the MVP and ROTY awards are nothing but popularity contests. Lebron for MVP? Durant for ROYT? Why? If Cleveland was in the West they'd be lottery bound and Lebron would be #2 on everyone's list behind Bryant. The MVP is the most important impact player on a team that WINS. Cleveland wins because of their sissy conference. ROTY is even more ridiculous. Hey Kevin, shoot whenever you feel like it. Just pad your stats. It's whatever. vs Scola we need you tonight...again. To keep this streak going and get us into the playoffs. We can't do this without you. Fight for those loose balls, get those rebounds, make those defensive plays. Every possession counts. Insert Durant for Scola. Do we win 22 in a row? ROTY is a joke.
If JVG said that about LeBron and wasn't being partially sarcastic, it was a stupid comment. He obviously does not watch many Cavs games. Certainly team success should be considered, but a blanket ruling out of LeBron because he plays for the Cavs is dumb.
Kobe responded in a similar way as well when questioned about bronbron "Put me in the east and we'll see" or something like that.
LeBron has never done well against a JVG coached Rockets team. I think JVG see's holes in Bron's game and takes advantage.
he didn't rule out lebron because he played in the east, he ruled him out because the cavs are 4th in the east and being 4th in that conference is not respectable.
I think James is overrated. Cavs would be the 10th seed in the Western Conference and thats without diluted competition that he faces 4 times a year in the Eastern Conference. Imagine how much worse the record would be if the Cavs had to face every Western Conference team 4 times a year and Eastern Conference teams 2 times a year. An even worse record. I honestly think the team to win a ring this year will come out of the East since the disparity in competition is so weak compared to the West where every series is going to be exhausting. He puts up great numbers but always seems to get worked against the Rockets so thats why I'm not as impressed. At least Kobe has lit up the Rockets and kept the Lakers in playoff contention every year since Shaq was gone in a much deeper Western Conference. He had to get past the Pistons. Big deal. Get through 3 teams just as tough or better than the Pistons in the Western Conference and color me impressed. McGrady would be in the Finals every year if the Rockets were in the East. It's hypocritical for people to call him a loser when he had no help from Grant Hill eating up the salary cap all those years, and dealt with a maturing Yao who has been injury ridden and only started dominating last season until his knee injury, while having an aging Knick roster that were old and washed up. I mean come on. Ryan Bowen? Witherspoon? Charlie Ward? Marc Jackson? Torre Braggs? Juwan Howard injured? Its hard to recall any players on that roster back in 04'-05' that are still in the league or are even productive. Bowen is still a scrub on the Hornets.
You need to watch LeBron play more than just against the Rockets. He has torn up several Western Conference teams this season, including clutch plays at the end of games. LeBron carried a mediocre team into the NBA Finals last season, which included beating a more talented and experienced Pistons squad in the ECFs. If that doesn't impress you, then your standard is too high. Put Tracy on the Cavs for a full season and he would buckle under the weight and pressure of playing 70-80 games with a bullseye painted on his back. If you think Tracy would have led the Cavs to the Finals last year, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
Lebron isn't overrated and is the best player in basketball. Though his MVP argument is slipping if not gone. But Jordan did win the MVP in 88 when his team was the 4th seed in the East and just hit 50 wins. If the Cavs went 12-3 they would hit 50 wins too and likely the 4th seed (barring an insane Orlando collapse). As for anyone figuring out Lebron, I don't know, ask Detroit based on the last two playoff series they have had vs him. They controlled Kobe much easier in their title win.
I've seen him light up teams and take over single handedly but I still think if he had to face 4 Western Conference teams a year opposed to the diluted Eastern Conference his stats would go down. I think he doesn't have to exert as much energy against Eastern Conference opponents, and I think while he is the best athlete in the game right now, he would definitely have more aches and bruises in the Western Conference because of how grueling it is over here. Fatigue and a higher level of competition would get the best of him. I think his stats would die down because of it. And I think McGrady could manage to get the team into the playoffs, though maybe not in the Finals. He has proven he can carry a team full of role players like he did now, and did last year in the Western Conference and with great success as well. I think it would be safe to say that McGrady wouldn't have to exert himself as much in the East, and he could still manage to have the Cavs win anywhere from 45-50 wins a season. McGrady's game has evolved to where he knows when to defer and trust his teammates so his stat lines doesn't have to be impressive. Call me a homer, but I'll acknowledge that Lebron is far better than McGrady and I'd do a swap trade for Lebron in a heartbeat, but McGrady is still a franchise level player.
There is no clear-cut MVP to me, so I'm not sure who I'd vote for. But to say LeBron is overrated is insane. Maybe he's the best player in the league right now, maybe he's not, but either way at the very worst a top 3 or top 5 player. Tough to be "overrated" when you are at that level.
Like I said, you need to watch more Cavs games. If Tracy had to play an entire season with their roster, he would break down. To say "McGrady wouldn't have to exert himself as much in the East" is just a simplistic platitude because you also have to look at the Cavs roster. LeBron exerts far more energy than Tracy. Seriously, it's not even close. Part of the problem is Mike Brown's offense makes JVG look creative. Come playoff time, we'll see if Tracy is still a franchise player. The last couple of months have been great but I want to see what he does the first 7 games against Utah or Golden State. wekko368, the talent and coaching gap in last year's Finals was a disgrace. The Spurs "figured out" that most everyone else on the team was scared to shoot and once LeBron was keyed on by the defense, the Cavs had no answer. I don't know if I've ever seen such a collective choke job during an NBA Finals series.
How could you call that a mediocre team? Ilgauskas, Hughes, Gooden, Pavlovic, Jones, Varejao. They play great defense. In a lot of ways they are a lot like the Rockets. You are right, the Tmac of last year would not have been able to do the same thing, but the Tmac of 2-5 years ago was just as good. Tmac was up 3-1 on the Pistons and their defense disintegrated the last 3 games of the series. Tmac had no one close to Ilgauskas, Hughes or Pavlovic. The rules have changed too, where guys who drive the ball can't even be touched. Lerbon's performance was unbelievable though.
lebron's playoff success is overrated as it's arguable whether or not he'd even make the playoffs most of his career if he was in the west. as a player he's about as good as it gets right now.
Much like actors winning academy awards for movies that aren't there best work, but represent possibly a last realistic chance... Kobe wins the award. He's been nominated for better movies errrrr he's had better seasons, but this is his year -- no way he's not getting MVP. The 2008 season is to Kobe what Training Day was to Denzel Washington.
