Case against Kobe for MVP
March 30th 2008 12:37
Kobe Bryant for MVP seems to be almost a given among pack-following sports journalists at the moment. I believe this is just another logic-defying choice for MVP in the NBA. Let's go through the different arguments for a most valuable player:
The best player on the best team:
This is the only argument for Kevin Garnett's candidature with Boston's supreme record. In the West, New Orleans have been the best team this season and Chris Paul's Hornets are 2-0 vs. Kobe's Lakers.
The player with the best statistics:
Lebron James wins on this one averaging a crazy 31 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists a game. John Hollinger's PER, the advanced stats player efficiency rating, has Lebron just ahead of Paul with Kobe ranking eighth in the league.
The player with the most value to his team:
Lebron and Paul are ahead of Kobe in this one too I. The Cavs have been disgraceful in games that Lebron's been out and there's no way goes anywhere without him. Paul has transformed the Hornets, elevating his game and his teammates. Both Lebron and Paul have better statistical on-court influence and are loved by their teammates. Kobe has had a good team-playing season but the Lakers have been so good because Bynum blossomed into an exceptional big-man, Memphis gave the Lakers one of the top 20 players in the league for nothing in Gasol, and Phil Jackson is an excellent coach who gets the whole team contributing. Since Gasol has been injured the Lakers have gone 4-5 with Bryant overshooting taking 26 shots a game at only 43% from the field
To me there were two-defining games that have me continuing to question Kobe's ability to play within the team. The first was when he scored 48 points on 44 SHOTS to lead the Lakers to a close victory against the lowly Sonics. Almost any player is going to score 48 points if they take 44 shots.
The second came the other night when the Lakers lost to the lowly Memphis team with Kobe scoring 53 points in an effort that as spectacular as it was, froze out his teammates, and didn't involve them in the game.
Conclusion: Across all of these factors Chris Paul holds up well and ranks ahead of Kobe in every one. He's my choice for MVP.
So why is Kobe set to win this award?
Because it's media-voted and therefore all about the amount of press you can generate and Kobe's never had a problem with this, playing for the most-covered team in basketball. This coverage has someone enabled him to carry the moniker of being the best basketball player in the world.
Chris Paul doesn't have the coverage yet. People are slowly catching on that he's the best point guard in the league by a mile right now but they still aren't ready to accept that he's also the best player.
Lebron James seems to be sure to win this award in the future goes the way of thinking in the press and Cleveland's record hasn't been overwhelming,
In the end the reason for Kobe winning is, he hasn't won before and people think he should have. The same reason that Karl Malone inexcusably won the award over Michael Jordan. The award's ridiculousness continues.
The best player on the best team:
This is the only argument for Kevin Garnett's candidature with Boston's supreme record. In the West, New Orleans have been the best team this season and Chris Paul's Hornets are 2-0 vs. Kobe's Lakers.
The player with the best statistics:
Lebron James wins on this one averaging a crazy 31 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists a game. John Hollinger's PER, the advanced stats player efficiency rating, has Lebron just ahead of Paul with Kobe ranking eighth in the league.
Lebron and Paul are ahead of Kobe in this one too I. The Cavs have been disgraceful in games that Lebron's been out and there's no way goes anywhere without him. Paul has transformed the Hornets, elevating his game and his teammates. Both Lebron and Paul have better statistical on-court influence and are loved by their teammates. Kobe has had a good team-playing season but the Lakers have been so good because Bynum blossomed into an exceptional big-man, Memphis gave the Lakers one of the top 20 players in the league for nothing in Gasol, and Phil Jackson is an excellent coach who gets the whole team contributing. Since Gasol has been injured the Lakers have gone 4-5 with Bryant overshooting taking 26 shots a game at only 43% from the field
To me there were two-defining games that have me continuing to question Kobe's ability to play within the team. The first was when he scored 48 points on 44 SHOTS to lead the Lakers to a close victory against the lowly Sonics. Almost any player is going to score 48 points if they take 44 shots.
The second came the other night when the Lakers lost to the lowly Memphis team with Kobe scoring 53 points in an effort that as spectacular as it was, froze out his teammates, and didn't involve them in the game.
Conclusion: Across all of these factors Chris Paul holds up well and ranks ahead of Kobe in every one. He's my choice for MVP.
So why is Kobe set to win this award?
Because it's media-voted and therefore all about the amount of press you can generate and Kobe's never had a problem with this, playing for the most-covered team in basketball. This coverage has someone enabled him to carry the moniker of being the best basketball player in the world.
Chris Paul doesn't have the coverage yet. People are slowly catching on that he's the best point guard in the league by a mile right now but they still aren't ready to accept that he's also the best player.
Lebron James seems to be sure to win this award in the future goes the way of thinking in the press and Cleveland's record hasn't been overwhelming,
In the end the reason for Kobe winning is, he hasn't won before and people think he should have. The same reason that Karl Malone inexcusably won the award over Michael Jordan. The award's ridiculousness continues.
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