Is Kobe Bryant the best player in the league? Skills-wise yes, though LBJ is closing the ranks each year. Of course, most of us would build a team around Duncan over Kobe, so right there we know best does not equal most valuable.Lamar Odom nailed it when he said Kobe has been the best player for the last two or three years. He was a top five player for about the last five or six years. He won three rings and two scoring titles. And as he was on the verge of presumably winning a few MVPS, all of the sudden there was the Shaq riff and then the alleged rape in Colorado.
But Kobe made his own bed. At one point, he was playing for MVP while his team was playing or not playing for the eight spot. After three years of Duncan, KG dominance of the trophy, we saw three years of finesse dominance by Nash and Dirk. At no point was Kobe snubbed, like stars in the past (ala Jordan winning his first MVP over Bird).
We all knew the best player was not the most valuable player in the league. But we feared that this created a subtle guilt that lingered in the back of many elite media types. We knew it could snub someone and it did!
For this, Kobe does win the just invented ShotsHeard 3MVP award. It goes to the third most valuable player. He's used to that honor at least. Twice, his previous highest finish in the MVP voting was third.
My interchangeable one and two on my MVP ballot goes to Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett.
CP3 did it at both ends of the court with 21.6 points and 11.6 assists. At 5'11" (6'0" officially) he was just too fast and crafty. Guys like Stojakovic and Chandler who have sub-par one on one games, looked like proverbial studs all year long with Paul dishing them the rock. Oh and Paul did it on the defensive side too, with 2.7 steals per game.
How valuable was the addition of KG to the Celtics? We all know about the 42 game turnaround. How about the fact that the Celtics went from a negative 3.1 pt. differential to a 12.0 pt. advantage. That's a 15.1 pt swing. Besides anchoring the offense, he anchored a defense that gave up only 87.1 points a game. T-Mac said it was the toughest defense he ever played against.
Meanwhile, the people trying to justify Kobe's MVP were talking about how he deserved it because he was finally making his teammates so much better. It's a preposterous argument. Bynum's time was due, Fisher is still the same gritty player he's always been and the Gasol trade proved to be the real difference maker in their quest for the one seed. The Gasol-less Lakers were blown out by the Rockets in the middle of defending the Lakers defending their all-time win streak against the Rockets (Going for 21 of the needed 33 to break the record). The Lakers were 5-5 without Gasol.
And of course, Odom is the same inconsistent swing man he's always been. Bryant did not ever come close into turning Odom into his Pippen. Odom's lack of zeal for Kobe's MVP status was also evident in his radio interviews. This is typical of the general feeling for Kobe among Lakers over the years. Kobe seems to not warrant much more respect than the Giants players ever gave Bonds.
For all the talk of Kobe "getting it" and sharing the ball with his teammates, why are his assist numbers not up? With Lakers improvement, it is true he realized he did not have to take as many shots (down to 20.6 from 22.8 last year, while logging two less minutes per game). So Kobe shooting less makes him more valuable? Almost across the board, Kobe's stats are worse this year than the last two years.
I have Kobe ranked third on my MVP ballot. But unlike my number 4 and 5; LBJ and Ginobili, he's within the margin of error so that I can accept the legitimacy of his first MVP award on some level. That level being that on a fair playing field, Kobe played at a similar level of Paul and KG. But it is clear that this was a lifetime achievement award and not an MVP. Still, Raja Bell has to be turning over in his future grave at the third most valuable player receiving the MVP award.
But Kobe made his own bed. At one point, he was playing for MVP while his team was playing or not playing for the eight spot. After three years of Duncan, KG dominance of the trophy, we saw three years of finesse dominance by Nash and Dirk. At no point was Kobe snubbed, like stars in the past (ala Jordan winning his first MVP over Bird).
We all knew the best player was not the most valuable player in the league. But we feared that this created a subtle guilt that lingered in the back of many elite media types. We knew it could snub someone and it did!
For this, Kobe does win the just invented ShotsHeard 3MVP award. It goes to the third most valuable player. He's used to that honor at least. Twice, his previous highest finish in the MVP voting was third.
My interchangeable one and two on my MVP ballot goes to Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett.
CP3 did it at both ends of the court with 21.6 points and 11.6 assists. At 5'11" (6'0" officially) he was just too fast and crafty. Guys like Stojakovic and Chandler who have sub-par one on one games, looked like proverbial studs all year long with Paul dishing them the rock. Oh and Paul did it on the defensive side too, with 2.7 steals per game.
How valuable was the addition of KG to the Celtics? We all know about the 42 game turnaround. How about the fact that the Celtics went from a negative 3.1 pt. differential to a 12.0 pt. advantage. That's a 15.1 pt swing. Besides anchoring the offense, he anchored a defense that gave up only 87.1 points a game. T-Mac said it was the toughest defense he ever played against.
Meanwhile, the people trying to justify Kobe's MVP were talking about how he deserved it because he was finally making his teammates so much better. It's a preposterous argument. Bynum's time was due, Fisher is still the same gritty player he's always been and the Gasol trade proved to be the real difference maker in their quest for the one seed. The Gasol-less Lakers were blown out by the Rockets in the middle of defending the Lakers defending their all-time win streak against the Rockets (Going for 21 of the needed 33 to break the record). The Lakers were 5-5 without Gasol.
And of course, Odom is the same inconsistent swing man he's always been. Bryant did not ever come close into turning Odom into his Pippen. Odom's lack of zeal for Kobe's MVP status was also evident in his radio interviews. This is typical of the general feeling for Kobe among Lakers over the years. Kobe seems to not warrant much more respect than the Giants players ever gave Bonds.
For all the talk of Kobe "getting it" and sharing the ball with his teammates, why are his assist numbers not up? With Lakers improvement, it is true he realized he did not have to take as many shots (down to 20.6 from 22.8 last year, while logging two less minutes per game). So Kobe shooting less makes him more valuable? Almost across the board, Kobe's stats are worse this year than the last two years.
I have Kobe ranked third on my MVP ballot. But unlike my number 4 and 5; LBJ and Ginobili, he's within the margin of error so that I can accept the legitimacy of his first MVP award on some level. That level being that on a fair playing field, Kobe played at a similar level of Paul and KG. But it is clear that this was a lifetime achievement award and not an MVP. Still, Raja Bell has to be turning over in his future grave at the third most valuable player receiving the MVP award.
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