Tony Parker, MVP candidate?

[1Parker1]

Even, I'm not that much of a Parker homer.....:lol

Future world

Jack McCallum, SI.com


It's a little early to pull out the big predictions, like who's going to win the championship, how many NBA coaches will be fired over the next six months or what postseason avocation Ron Artest will choose to pursue. (I'm thinking roller derby.) But to kick off the New Year, here is a five-pack of more modest predictions. Keep in mind that I loved USC over Texas on Wednesday night.

1. The Indiana Pacers will re-bond after Artest finally lands somewhere, be it Denver or Los Angeles (Clippers, Lakers or Hollywood and Vine).

Rick Carlisle is a grind-it-out coach and that's what the Pacers, who will breathe a collective sigh of relief when Artest is finally gone, are going to do. Which, if you recall, is what they did last year, when Artest was out via suspension.

What does re-bond mean in terms of wins or losses? That's another question. Indiana is stuck in the Eastern Conference Central, perhaps the league's toughest division top to bottom, and will not get by the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Pacers should make the playoffs and, once again, establish themselves as a notch behind Detroit and Miami. Will that make everyone happy in Indiana? No. But without Artest, they will be able to move on in 2006-07.


2. The April 9 game between the Clippers and the Lakers (who play this Friday night) will have -- drum roll, please -- playoff implications.

San Antonio, Dallas, Memphis, Phoenix and Golden State are postseason givens in the West in my book. Denver will make it, too, as long as the fragile Marcus Camby comes back from his pinkie break and doesn't get injured again. That leaves Utah (undermanned and underappreciated), Minnesota and the two L.A.'s fighting for the final two spots. Here's hoping someone can egg Lakers' coach Phil Jackson and Clippers point guard Sam Cassell into a good lip-flapping battle before that April showdown.

3. By the end of the season, Kevin Garnett will be the league's MDS -- Most Disgruntled Superstar.

His competition will be fierce if players such as the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Houston's Tracy McGrady don't make the playoffs. But Garnett is the clear choice. He took a pay cut (I hate to write those words because I am not suggesting we should take up a collection for him) so that the Timberwolves could strengthen their team; instead, they're going to finish the season with a worse record than last season's 44-38. Further, Garnett will be watching as his old coach, Flip Saunders, leads his new team, the Detroit Pistons, into the Finals.

4. This postseason will be the test for New Jersey's Vince Carter.

We've said that before. But this time we mean it. The Nets, who have quietly been the NBA's hottest team over the last two weeks, will go into the playoffs with the East's third seed, and I'm not sure they won't beat out the Heat for second. But in his eight-year career Carter has yet to prove himself in May. He has scored well (25.9-point average) in his 19 playoff games, but has shot poorly (40 percent) from the floor. And last season he couldn't prevent a four-and-out against the Heat in the first round. Sure, playoff advancement falls upon Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, too, but Carter will be the lightning rod.

5. After four dozen stories about how Chauncey Billups won't be named MVP even though he is deserving, the Pistons point guard will, in fact, get the award. Why? For the best of reasons: he deserves it. The media screws up a lot of things, but, in general, they do well on the MVP vote. By the end of the season, Cleveland's LeBron James, Dallas's Dirk Nowitzki, Iverson, Miami's Dwyane Wade, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the Clippers' Elton Brand and '05 winner Steve Nash of Phoenix will all be worthy candidates. But Mr. Big Shot will be the best player and leader of a 68-win team, and he will get the nod.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnWTB0RIg3HjpCcfmqQVfPG8vLYF?slug=cnnsi-futureworld&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

[ZStomp]

:lol

Funny.

[Rummpd]

Why - he leads the league in point in the paint on a team with a 25-7 record, and has increased his PPG, FG% and ASG.

Parker is a lot better than even some Spurs fans give him credit for - see recent game plan of Denver that was designed to stop Parker = that is respect!

[Oh, Gee!!]

it will never happen unless he marries Eva

[Buddy Holly]

MVP... no.

[ZStomp]

Why - he leads the league in point in the paint on a team with a 25-7 record, and has increased his PPG, FG% and ASG.

Parker is a lot better than even some Spurs fans give him credit for - see recent game plan of Denver that was designed to stop Parker = that is respect!


Yes he has. He is playing excellent!

There are a bunch of names out there doing better too.....alot better. And bigger names too.

So uh no- don't see it happening.

[sa_butta]

would he qualify for most improved player??

[Bruno]

would he qualify for most improved player??

No, he was too good last season to be MIP.
Mip front runners are : David West, Zaza Pachulia and Boris Diaw.

[sa_butta]

No, he was too good last season to be MIP.

Thats kinda what I thought.

[ChumpDumper]

On any other team, he would be a sure-fire MVP candidate.

[swashbuckler]

parker hasnt been in the league long enough to garner this coveted award. he may be having an all-star season, but the kid is still young and far from the most valuable player in the nba.

[1Parker1]

I'm not denying that Parker is having an amazing season or that his numbers are up across the boards. But, the major fact is...he's not even a lock in for All star, let alone MVP consideration.

[101A]

Iverson
Kidd
Nash

Now Billups

Go ahead & give MVP to another guard of the moment...wouldn't take me more than a couple of minutes to list 10 players with more value than any of those. MVP used to require sick stats. Iverson is the only one on that list who can claim to have hung stats like that the year he won MVP. All the others stats would be hard to distinguish from any good John Stockton season; what the hell has happened to this award?

[1Parker1]

Iverson, Nash, and Billups are all deserving of MVP award (in this order) for this season. And it isn't just because of the stats. They are the driving force of the success of their teams and have the ability in them to make a team a competitor and threat.

[duncan2k5]

no. tony is the man, but no

[101A]

Iverson, Nash, and Billups are all deserving of MVP award (in this order) for this season. And it isn't just because of the stats. They are the driving force of the success of their teams and have the ability in them to make a team a competitor and threat.

They can make THEIR team a competitor and threat; they cannot make ANY team a competitor and threat. I guess I have a different standard for MVP - a higher one. Iverson might be the lone expection - except his team isn't a threat, so nevermind. Also, after Phoenix gets beat at home on consecutive nights, maybe some of that Nash luster will start to wear off. Dude is a blast half the game; MVP should play CONSECUTIVE minutes, not take every 24 seconds off.

[Parkersgirl9]

he's carried the team for a while now, but still the mvp of the team is tim duncan no matter what.

[abelle23]

it is true that he has improved from last season but he is not mvp material ... at least not yet ..he is still young and tims still the best...

i kinda agree marrying eva might do the trick :angel

[spurjur]

I will not post for a year if Tony Parker wins MVP this season.

Signed,
T-Park

[ducks]

watch him be the mvp to allstar game
he was already a candiate for finals mvp when the spurs played the nets
against the great overrated has been kidd

[1Parker1]

They can make THEIR team a competitor and threat; they cannot make ANY team a competitor and threat. I guess I have a different standard for MVP - a higher one. Iverson might be the lone expection - except his team isn't a threat, so nevermind. Also, after Phoenix gets beat at home on consecutive nights, maybe some of that Nash luster will start to wear off. Dude is a blast half the game; MVP should play CONSECUTIVE minutes, not take every 24 seconds off.


So, let me understand..what exactly is your definition of an MVP? You say stats don't count, then what does?

[101A]

I never said stats didn't matter - I said the stats of the most recent guard MVP's (save Iverson) have been nice, but not awesome - which is my point entirely. Their teams have success, in large part due to good chemistry, and those players fit in those systems. In each case, the player goes from being an MVP nobody (not even an also-ran) to a winner in a single season - because of team success. Nash is a perfect example - his numbers didn't improve dramatically when he moved from Dallas to Phoenix; but PHOENIX did - so Nash is all of a sudden MVP material.

In my mind, an MVP should be a player coveted by EVERY SINGLE team in the league; a player who wouldn't be traded for ANY OTHER PLAYER without serious consideration.

You don't think if the Spurs called Phoenix and offered Duncan for Nash straight up they wouldn't hesitate (after they finished giggling), or if Clevland called and offered James, or Minnesotta Garnett, or LA Kobe, etc.....Hell, just 18 months ago Cuban let Nash leave over a few million - and no players - and now the Mavs are a stronger team! Can you imagine any team that ever had Magic, Bird, Jordan, Robinson, Olajuwon, Duncan, Malone letting THOSE players just go? There have always been great, solid, exciting point guards who performed really well, who never, ever sniffed MVP awards - Stockton being the most notable example. But now, every time a team starts winning, or looking really strong, the media seem to anoint the point of that team as the MVP longshot, and soon, front-runner.

They simply aren't the most valuable players in the league, IMO - or even close to it.

[Tanya]

I would love to see Billups to get this award.
How do you know he can't make any teams better? Look at his stats and the way he is playing. He makes 3's. He nearly doesn't miss any free throws. He doesn't turn the ball over. He can creat his own shots. He makes big shots. He got the cool blood. He is not a selfish player. Well~ the only thing he doesn't do is rebounding. A PG got a package like this can make any team better. Once he wants to leave detroit, I think many teams would be interested in him.

[Spurologist]

He is playing well enough to be considered for the award. I think many people get too stuck up with the bigs stats. MVP means most VALUABLE player. TP has been the most valuble player for the spurs this season IMO. Conderation... yes....winning....even David Stern can't make tp win the mvp.

[MI21]

Two definitions of MVP --

Best Player in the league - Chauncey is definatly not that.

Most Important Player to his team - Chauncey isn't that either.

He isn't an amazing player, he is very good, but hardly a Timmy/Shaq type. Him winning MVP would be worse than Nash winning it.

[Pistons < Spurs]

TP definetly deserves to be on that list. He has carried this team so far this year....tonight is a good example....

I wonder if he'll be able tio keep his numbers up w/ Manu back. Manu missed 10 games, and has played less than typical minutes in another 10. I beleive TP's #'s will suffer a little bit as Manu becomes a bigger part of the offense.

[ChumpDumper]

Forget it, Piston fan. When a college age player has a couple of bad games against the best defenses in the league in the playoffs, his entire career thereafter is a complete write-off.

Get Artest. Make it happen. :tu :tu :fro :smokin

[SpursIndonesia]

Two definitions of MVP --

Best Player in the league - Chauncey is definatly not that.

Most Important Player to his team - Chauncey isn't that either.

He isn't an amazing player, he is very good, but hardly a Timmy/Shaq type. Him winning MVP would be worse than Nash winning it.
I agree that Billups is not the best player in the league this sesason, certainly some others have been playing at higher level -though only to a slight differential. But i do think he IS the Most Important Player to his team at the moment, though the differential is not as big as say, KG compared to his teammates. Very much like TD now, he's still the MIP for SA, but not by a huge margin like those days when Tony & Manu haven't arrived on their own like now

[5ToolMan]

I'm not denying that Parker is having an amazing season or that his numbers are up across the boards. But, the major fact is...he's not even a lock in for All star, let alone MVP consideration.

What Universe have you been on?

Tony has as close as to a coaches vote lock for the Allstar Game as you can get. Coaches throughout the league readily admit that keeping TP out of the paint this year is the biggest concern in stopping the Spurs. Even with this stated focus of coach after coach, Tony continues to shread opposing defenses in the paint like no other player in the league.

While Allstar votes again indicate fans are a little slow in recognition, trust me; the coaches know who Parker is, and what he has done all year for the Spurs.

[TDMVPDPOY]

tp and mvp shouldnt even belong on the same sentence or topic

[bigzak25]

drop him while he's hot. :tu

[T Park]

^^ what a tool.

[T Park]

Forget it, Piston fan. When a college age player has a couple of bad games against the best defenses in the league in the playoffs, his entire career thereafter is a complete write-off.

Get Artest. Make it happen.

:rollin

[Tanya]

Two definitions of MVP --

Best Player in the league - Chauncey is definatly not that.

Most Important Player to his team - Chauncey isn't that either.

He isn't an amazing player, he is very good, but hardly a Timmy/Shaq type. Him winning MVP would be worse than Nash winning it.

It's very important how to define MVP.
Front my point of view, MOST VALUABLE PLAYER is not just the player himself plays good. He must also make teammates around him playing better. I am not saying Billups is the best player. But he is the key of the 26-4 record this year. Shaq is at MVP level? No. Not this year. Shaq can't carry the piston if he replaces Billups.
Eventhough Billups deserves it, I still think Nash is better than him at this point.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Iverson
Kidd
Nash

Now Billups

Go ahead & give MVP to another guard of the moment...wouldn't take me more than a couple of minutes to list 10 players with more value than any of those. MVP used to require sick stats. Iverson is the only one on that list who can claim to have hung stats like that the year he won MVP. All the others stats would be hard to distinguish from any good John Stockton season; what the hell has happened to this award?


AI averaging 31 points on 26 shots shooting 42%(11/26 per game) is definitely sick...

[Frenchise player]

The three teams who are legit contenders for championship in my opinion are the Spurs, Suns and Pistons. Their respective PG are Parker, Nash and Billups, it isn't a coincidence that the best teams have the best PGs, even Jason Kidd's Nets are playing well.
The only PGs who had a an MVP title are Magic, Kidd and Nash I read somewhere, so it's a good thing that they get more recogniton in these days.

[batman2883]

TP will never get MVP he chokes every year as the season winds down.....as i said in the Nash Thread, the only player playing like a damn MVP is Chauncey Billups that motherfucka is sick

[MrChug]

As long as TD is on the Spurs, Tony will never get MVP

WORD. I'm not a TP fan. IMHO it has taken FARFARFARFARFARFARFARFARFAR (okay I'm done) too long for him to develop leadership/floor general skill all the while starting on a championship team.

But-I have to humbly admit----this year he's lived up to some of the hype. He's taken EXACTLY what the defense has given him. For that? He deserves the All-Star nod. I'm SO proud, really. He's gettin a BIT more press as a player because of the Hollywood skank on his arm, but. Beyond that? Defenses should prepare for him and defenders should begin to run under the screen which would force him to shoot the J. He'll only hit about a third of them. But give the boy his All-Star jersey.

MVP? :depressed It scares me that it was even mentioned. :oops

[ChumpDumper]

IMHO it has taken FARFARFARFARFARFARFARFARFAR (okay I'm done) too long for him to develop leadership/floor general skill all the while starting on a championship team.Dang, were you expecting him to be fully developed at 20?

If he played for any other team, especially a bigger market, he'd get a few MVP votes no question. Spurfans are very spoiled.

[5ToolMan]

The three teams who are legit contenders for championship in my opinion are the Spurs, Suns and Pistons. Their respective PG are Parker, Nash and Billups, it isn't a coincidence that the best teams have the best PGs, even Jason Kidd's Nets are playing well.
The only PGs who had a an MVP title are Magic, Kidd and Nash I read somewhere, so it's a good thing that they get more recogniton in these days.

It appears the new rules, or at least they way games are being called are favoring perimeter players who can penetrate. Since the ball is most often in the hands of the point guard, this advantage is amplified with a point who can penetrate and finish or dish.

As you point out, the strongest teams in the league and I would add, the hot teams of the moment are mostly being led by penetrating point guards. If to be among the best teams in the league, requires a penetrating point guard, it clearly states their value, despite the nay sayers living in the past.

[5ToolMan]

TP will never get MVP he chokes every year as the season winds down.....as i said in the Nash Thread, the only player playing like a damn MVP is Chauncey Billups that motherfucka is sick

The only choaking from Tony last year was when he choaked Rip and Bruce choaked Billips, snatching their second rings.

[5ToolMan]

WORD. I'm not a TP fan. IMHO it has taken FARFARFARFARFARFARFARFARFAR (okay I'm done) too long for him to develop leadership/floor general skill all the while starting on a championship team.

But-I have to humbly admit----this year he's lived up to some of the hype. He's taken EXACTLY what the defense has given him. For that? He deserves the All-Star nod. I'm SO proud, really. He's gettin a BIT more press as a player because of the Hollywood skank on his arm, but. Beyond that? Defenses should prepare for him and defenders should begin to run under the screen which would force him to shoot the J. He'll only hit about a third of them. But give the boy his All-Star jersey.

MVP? :depressed It scares me that it was even mentioned. :oops

So Tony, at 23 has taken too long to develop? Please tell us, old wise one; how old was Billips, Nash and Kidd before they had a more impressive NBA resume with age factored in, than the slow learning Mr. Parker? Hint ... it starts with NEVER!

So in your view, it is the defensive game plan to let Tony shred the defense for the most points in the paint in the NBA? Well allrighty then. Did you forget your medication again?

Psst ... last night the Wolves were running under the screens, and Tony still abused them. Now what?