DunkinDerozan

I would have been absolutely furious if the raps picked bismack. I think your right about him having bust written all over him. There's no way you can draft someone that high in the draft who has no offensive game.

I thought they should have taken Kemba at the draft when he fell that far, but if they didn't take him I hoped atleast for Brandon Knight. When they called out Jonas I was as frustrated as you. I just thought another damn European player who is going to be another bust. Although he hasn't played a game in the NBA yet, i've definitely changed my attitude towards him. He looks like he could be a monster for our team next year.

I still have hope that he can snap out of how he's been playing so far this year. He has shown glimpses of how he can play earlier in the season where he was putting up 20+ points. Somebody really needs to give him a wake up call and show him some game film or something of a few of his earlier games this year.

I have to agree with you as far as him being best offensive wise.Overall wise I think you've got to hand it to Dwight.

Exactly this.

Nice article.

Thanks for the comments so far everyone. All constrictive criticism is appreciated

That's the only reason I put Rose ahead of Lebron. I just don't think a guy can be named an MVP when the team wouldn't be that bad without him.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2011-05/61376018.jpg With the NBA season just over 3 weeks in, it seems a bit early to start talking about the yearly award watch. The compressed schedule however, has made it so that some teams have played 15+ games, which with only a 66 game season, is nearly ¼ the way through the season. I’d say thats enough games to start looking at the top candiates for the MVP award of 2011/2012. 5. Kevin Love Love is putting up outstanding numbers this year. He’s got career highs in PPG, STL, BLK and ORPG. He’s 5th in the league in PPG has truely been the whole Timberwolves team. No one on Minnesota has over 13 PPG other then him, His 25.6 is 5th in the NBA. Beasley has not carried his load offensively which has forced Love to pick up the slack. Not to mention Williams and Randolph each having under 8 PPG. The only reason I can’t give Love a higher spot on the list is because the team has a so-so record of 6-8. 4. Lebron James I know i’m probably going to get some grief for this, but I don’t feel right placing Lebron any higher on the list. Even though he is 2nd in the league in PPG and 9th in the league in APG I don’t see him being a true MVP. Maybe the “NBA’s best player ” or something like that. But when I think of a true MVP I think of it as where would this team be without this player. He's shown that he can carry a team year in and year out in Cleveland, but he hasn't had to carry the stacked Heat nearly as much. Miami wouldn’t exactly be in a bad position without him. Having a top three SG and a top five PF isn’t exactly the recipe for failure. Bosh alone has shown he can be clutch and win games without Lebron or Wade this year. Not to mention with a player of Lebron's caliber, i’d think they would be sitting with a better position than 6th in the Eastern Conference. 3. Derrick Rose The defending MVP has not shown quite the same dominance this year scoring wise as he did last season. His PPG has gone down from 25.0 PPG to 20.8 PPG. On the other hand though, his APG is up from 7.7 APG to 8.7 APG. But the real reason i’ve still kept him in the top three is the fact that other then Luol Deng, he doesn’t have anyone around him who can consistently put the ball in the basket. You could argue about Boozer, but I haven’t seen enough consistently out of him so far. Rose has carried his team to tops in the Eastern Conference with a record of 13-3. 2. Kevin Durant Kevin Durant has had to create some more of his own shots this year compared to last year. Westbrook, his star PG has had a bit more of a selfishness in his game this year, and his assist numbers have shown that. Durant’s numbers have not suffered this year though, and he has still consistently been the top scoring threat in the NBA. His PPG have only slightly declined, his assist numbers are up, his shooting % is up and his 3PT % is up as well. He has for the most part carried his team to their 12-3 record. 1. Kobe Bryant This one was really a no-brainer. He’s got a league leading 30.8 PPG that also includes a streak of four straight 40 point games (which was all in only 5 nights) and a streak of three 30 point games. Not to mention he’s got 5.5 APG which is nearly an assist more per game then his career average. His 5.7 RPG is also nearly half a rebound more then his career average. That may not seem like a lot, but at 33 years of age, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Plus with Andrew Bynum missing the first 4 games of the season and Derek Fisher declining, he has all but carried this team to their 10-5 record.

I like that hahaha. Chris Boohoo

Haha, ok I know he's probably not really going to demand a trade. Buy you never know with Bosh.

Right now, Washington has got the best chance and is looking like they're going to get him. at 1-12, they don't look like they can beat anyone other then us. Although us being 1-9 in our last 10 is a good sign. i'd say the favourites are Washington, New Orleans, Toronto, Charlotte and Detroit. Although I seem to forget sometimes that in the NBA, the draft lottery is pretty crazy and as long as we finish in the bottom 5 we have a solid chance at getting the #1 pick.

I think it would have to be like a top 7 or 8 for Lowry to be involved. He's really breaking out this year but those 5 guys on the list all deserve a spot over him, and Westbrook could arguably be on the list.

You guessed right. He's a good player, but he is also a baby. I think he's going to get tired of not getting the ball in Miami and ask for a trade. It might depend on if they win a championship this year or not.

He's also a little bitch.

Like what JYD said, when I've watched him play I seem to notice he forces a lot of shots. His turnover numbers are very high as well. I have no doubt that Monta is an allstar-caliber player and is extremely talented, but I am not convinced he's that much under rated.

Lol, nice. Ever since Bargnani has started his Primo pasta adds everyone has made jokes about it

I'm a bit surprised that the GM's think Boston will win the Atlantic. I'd think New York or Philly maybe.

hahahahha I love it. Looks about right. I was a little confused when I saw the title of the thread. lol

I do think this could start to be a problem. I'm not too worried about "non star" players like Cousins starting a trend of any player being able to dictate where they play. Cousins isn't a very good example because he's a bit of a head case.

Kevin Durant wins player of the game.

Though I love Westbrook, I think Deron Williams probably will/should make it over him. And I wasn't much of a basketball fan during the last summer olympics, and I don't watch any basketball outside north america so i'm just wondering, what exactly do you guys mean by the "international game"? How is it any different then NBA play?

In the east I think the Knicks might pull off a deal at the deadline to put them into the running for a championship. In the west I think the thunder and clippers are my front runners right now, and the Lakers might be if they pull off a deal for Dwight.

Now Derozan is going to be our top offensive threat for the next couple games. Hopefully this will be a spark he needs to get out of his slump. If it isn't then god help us we're in for some bad games. Unless Barbosa can play like he did against the Kings.

Ok, I think your getting a little carried away here. Though I rarely watch college basketball until March madness, i've seen enough to know his jumper isn't as bad as Rondo's.