wow...Colin Cowherd is ripping fans that are complaining about the 3rd quarter debacle. Good stuff. He makes alot of good points. The Magic had a terrible game, if you expect to win a game where you have 19 turnovers then you're kidding yourself.
and detroit just plain dried up and died during the third quarter, but the refs gave them just enough of a boost to get them the win.
not blaming the loss on the call, but it did change the game. the bottom line is that this shouldnt have even happened. embarassing for the NBA
Heavily disagreed. IMO, the only two real contenders for the MVP title were Chris Paul and LeBron James. LeBron, while the most overhyped player in the NBA, is singlehandedly taking that horrible Cavaliers team deeper into the playoffs (heck, they don't make the playoffs without LeBron.) Chris Paul, however, turned around an absolutely horrible team into the cream of the western crop; New Orleans sat atop the western conference for most of the season and is now in the process of blowing out the defending champions. Kobe doesn't deserve the MVP award simply because he has too much talent around him to justify being the most valuable anything. Who does Chris Paul have? Better yet, think of it this way: if you swap CP3 and Kobe, do the Hornets still make this fantastic run? I don't think they do.
Sorry, but we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. LeBron deserved MVP consideration. He didn't deserve to win it over Chris Paul, but he certainly deserved to have his name in the discussion--far more than Kobe.
Kobe had the Lakers in the top spot in the West while Lebron had the Cavs as the 4th seed in the East. Plus Lebron missing games over a sprain finger while Kobe tore a ligament in his pinkie opting not to get surgery and miss time. Paul diserved it because he made his team better as a whole. Kobe gets it because he is at the end of his career. It was really a 2 man race for the award.
I think CP3 not having any talent around is is a gross exaggeration. They have 3 all-stars in there starting 5 and a big man in Tyson Chandler who's among the league leaders in rebounds. The team is hardly a 1 man show. And as far as Kobe goes, being on a good team shoudnt eliminate you from MVP consideration.
I'm sorry, but when your supporting cast consists of the likes of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher, you had damn well better finish in the top spot. Take Kobe off the Lakers, move them to the East, and they're going to the conference finals at the very least. Take Chris Paul off the Hornets, move them to the East, and they're getting bumped out of the playoffs in the 2nd round at latest. As for LeBron, the Cavaliers would be nearly as bad as the Heat without him.
What you say is true Cavs are nothing with out Lebron. If the MVP race was about who is most valueble Lebron would win it every year. Lebron will win a MVP award its just with the year Kobe and CP3 had it wasn't meant to be.
Thought I do believe a great PG makes his team better. I don't think the Suns would be good without nash.
I think when the race is as close as this MVP race is that people take past history into consideration, maybe not fair but I think thats what put Kobe over the top. I can't argue with Kobe or Paul getting the award.
Hornets owned the spot for a good part of the yr. The Lakers only got there in the end of the season. His numbers are lower this yr then yrs past, and I cant see how you can give Kobe all the credit for the Lakers success. I think he shares it with Gasol, and Odom, as well as others. As for the Hornets, he has brought his teams play up to his level and has more then pulled his weight turning around a once laughable franchise, sounds MVP worthy to me. Lebron deserved the MVP last yr, I'm not so sure about this yr, but he still is up there.
i cant argue with kobe winning MVP...i think that paul and kobe deserved it and like said a few pages ago...it was for kobe to get one in his career...i hate kobe more than any other athlete in the sports world, but it would be a shame for him to never win an MVP in his career....lebron, paul, and howard will be fighting for MVP for years to come now.....
horford? he is nice, really nice but he'll never have a chance at MVP..durant might, oden might, horford doesn't got a chance...
I dunno he has shown flashes. He wont be in the running right away but I expect his name to be up there down the road.
I think ignoring Kobe and KG is shortsighted. As much as I've ripped on KG in this thread, he's a HUGE part of the biggest single-season turnaround in NBA history. That can't be cast aside, and there's no denying that he was the best defensive player in the NBA this year; his defensive POY award was well-deserved. Combine that with impressive offensive stats and the effect on his teammates, and he's a contender, though I would rate him fourth among the four. As for Kobe, his situation isn't drastically different from Paul's. You can't call New Orleans a horrible team when David West was an all-star, and Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic are better players than the third and fourth best Lakers. (I'm not counting Bynum, given that he's been hurt almost 2/3 of the year.) However, Paul's PER was better, so ultimately, I'd give him the edge over Kobe.
So wait, LeBron takes a poor team (though featuring 2 ex-All-Stars) to the lesser Eastern Conference playoffs and deserves the MVP, but Kobe takes an even worse team the past two years to the Western Conference playoffs and doesn't? I can be ok with Lebron being considered for the MVP but he's not a contender. Kobe and Paul are. Keep in mind, Kobe kept the team winning when it didn't have Gasol or Bynum for a stretch. If things went poorly that time before Gasol came and that time when Gasol was out, Lakers would not be anything higher than a 4 seed.
Been a good defensive game so far. I cant believe the Cavs are winning with Lebron only having like 4 points.
Game 2 should have went to the Magic http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3384577
Maybe the Magic should have played better in the 4th quarter? 1 basket, in the 3rd quarter no less, means the Magic should have won? Hardly.
Lebron wont have another bad game like this. If the Celtics play like this in game 2 its a loss for the C's.
Cant believe Lebron missed that gimme layup to tie the game. Not sure why he didnt dunk it there. Cavs had a great chance to steal game 1 on the road ...
If Lebron just has a below average night, instead of a horrible one, Cavs could be up 1-0 right now. He'll come out next game and score 40 but the Cavs'll lose by 15 lol.
