Lmao @ Tnt

[nsrammstein]

Did anyone catch TNT's text in question?

Who will win the MVP this season?
A-Steve Nash
B-Kobe Bryant
C-Dwayne Wade
D-Other

[BERSERK]

who were you expecting them to include? :rolleyes

[exstatic]

If Nash scores a hundred PPG and dishes 50 dimes, he won't win the MVP for a third straight year.

[E20]

Steve Nash.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Dirk is MVP this season, even is Stern is stupid enough to give it to anyone else

People use the dumb excuses about Dirk having a 'good supporting cast' , well what about Nash? He has Amare, Marion, Bell, Barbosa etc etc

Wade shouldnt even be in the discussion, the Heat suck in the East, enough said.

Kobe is up there but he still isn't as dominant as Dirk this season and the Lakers record isnt close to the Mavs.

[timvp]

Dirk Nowitzki should be MVP. Only other player I'd put close to him is Wade if Miami makes a second half charge up the standings.

[BERSERK]

Before the suspension, Carmelo was playing like an MVP.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Before the suspension, Carmelo was playing like an MVP.

yeh but the record wasnt too good. I expect him to play the same when he gets back. If the Nuggets can put together a strong 2nd half and really fly up the standings, then maybe he could be considered in MVP talks.

Ai can't do what Melo did for the Nuggets.

[dave]

i would've said matt bonner, but then he had to get injured

[BERSERK]

yeh but the record wasnt too good. I expect him to play the same when he gets back. If the Nuggets can put together a strong 2nd half and really fly up the standings, then maybe he could be considered in MVP talks.

Ai can't do what Melo did for the Nuggets.

How is it any different from last year? AI was on a tear last year yet he was in the MVP talk too. Carmelo should at least be in the consideration despite the Win/losses category.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

How is it any different from last year? AI was on a tear last year yet he was in the MVP talk too. Carmelo should at least be in the consideration despite the Win/losses category.


Isn't a large part of MVP talk based on records?

I figured Melo would only be among the MVP talk if the Nuggets had a decent record.

[G-Money]

you know last year I hated how people said Billups didn't deserve to be in the MVP race. Well as you can all see, the Pistons struggle with out Billups!!

[BERSERK]

Good point. The Pistons are doing terrible without Billups. He should be in the MVP consideration despite the lackluster stats this year.

[spurschick]

I'd say Arenas is a strong candidate.

[ploto]

What about Yao? We'll have to see after he comes back. He sure looked great before his injury.

[tlongII]

Nash is the MVP right now and it isn't even close.

[NBA Junkie]

Not surprised that Nash won the poll considering that the question was posed during the Suns telecast, and the majority of fans tuning in were Suns fans since TNT holds exclusive rights to their television games.

If the question were posed during the Lakers-Heat game, no doubt Bryant and Wade would be in the lead for first with Nash a distant third.

It's like asking who's better- Dirk or Duncan on a Spurs forum :lol

[lurker]

Steve Nash deserves it the most, but I think people are too reluctant to give it to him a third time when not even Michael Jordan accomplished that. So it might be Dirk's year.

I think Kobe and Gilbert have a better chance than Wade does at this point.

[Leetonidas]

Nash shouldn't have won last year, but he should win this year. He won't though. It'll most likely be Dirk or Arenas.

[peskypesky]

As much as I hate the Mavs, Dirk and Nash are the only two guys who should be considered for the MVP award right now. Their teams are blowing the rest of the league away, and each of them is THE key to their teams' success.

It's not even close.

Arenas is kicking ass, Kobe and Duncan are having good seasons, but c'mon....it's gotta be Dirk or Nash.

[Budkin]

Dirk gets my vote. The guy has added so many weapons to his game. His combination of size and skill make him practically unguardable and now he often drives to the hole at will.

[KB24]

Kobe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nsrammstein]

so let's say nash wins the mvp this year for a third straight time and then next season the suns win the same amount of games and nash numbers stay the same does he win a 4th straight mvp? because thats what is happening this season.

[lurker]

Nash's numbers are better this season than they were last season.

[SilverPlayer]

Dirk is as close to a lock as you can get at this point I think. He should be, he deserves it.

[Leetonidas]

I don't think Dirk should be MVP actually. While he is extremely good, take him away from the Mavs and they can still win, but without Nash, the Suns would suck ass.

[nsrammstein]

so a Barbosa, Bell, Diaw, Marion, Stoudemire lineup would suck?

[Leetonidas]

so a Barbosa, Bell, Diaw, Marion, Stoudemire lineup would suck?
Probably. Without Nash, they would be decent, but they probably couldn't get each other involved. I remember back in 04-05 when Nash was out for a few games, the Suns went like 0-6 in that span after being something like 31-3.

[lefty]

Nash shouldn't have won last year, but he should win this year. He won't though. It'll most likely be Dirk or Arenas.

??????????? Amare played only one game last year; Nash led his team to the conf' finals, and they were close to make the Finals
:dizzy

[ponky]

tonight magic talked about arenas and kenny said, arenas makes areans look great but he doesn't make the team better and barkley names like six guys in the running for mvp, "wade, nash, kobe, arenas, dirk and lebron

[ponky]

you know last year I hated how people said Billups didn't deserve to be in the MVP race. Well as you can all see, the Pistons struggle with out Billups!!


uh, that is some sig you have there....haha, it's actually pretty funny in a slightly disturbing way

[Sacramental]

i would be so pissed if dwayne wade won MVP. the thing that seperates him from the kobe's...the t-mac's, the dirk's is his ability to knock down those SHOTS. for example, nba's best defender ron artest is gaurding tracy mcgrady in crunch time. t-mac has the ball at the top of the 3 pt arch. shoots...bang! right in ron's eye he drains it. kobe does it a lot, too. i dont see wade do that a lot. what he does is take it to the rim, that's easier to do.

[Bob Lanier]

so a Barbosa, Bell, Diaw, Marion, Stoudemire lineup would suck?
Barbosa and Marion are almost useless at both ends in a halfcourt game, Diaw's a unique complimentary piece but hardly a dominant player, Bell is a decent defensive player who's miraculously developed a jumpshot since signing with Phoenix, and Amare Stoudemire scores the majority of his points in the open floor and running pick-and-rolls - yes, it helps to have by far the best pick-and-roll point guard in the game on his team.

They wouldn't suck, but they wouldn't win their division either, even if they had a borderline all-star point guard like Tony Parker, Jason Terry, or Chauncey Billups running the show.

[ponky]

Probably. Without Nash, they would be decent, but they probably couldn't get each other involved. I remember back in 04-05 when Nash was out for a few games, the Suns went like 0-6 in that span after being something like 31-3.

they went 1-1 when nash sat out this season (november?) and year before last (2004-05), when amare was playing, they played only three games w/o nash...they won two of those games (clipper, mavericks) before losing to the celtics in ot

[ponky]

i would be so pissed if dwayne wade won MVP. the thing that seperates him from the kobe's...the t-mac's, the dirk's is his ability to knock down those SHOTS. for example, nba's best defender ron artest is gaurding tracy mcgrady in crunch time. t-mac has the ball at the top of the 3 pt arch. shoots...bang! right in ron's eye he drains it. kobe does it a lot, too. i dont see wade do that a lot. what he does is take it to the rim, that's easier to do.

after the way kobe schooled wade on defense, i would tend to agree...wade had to go to the line 13 times to get his points and kobe went three times but the D kobe played on wade at the end of the game was great...wade took three shots with plenty of time to try and win the game for his team, the last one was the easiest and he couldn't get it done thanks to kobe sticking with him, no double-teams needed

[SoCal Lakeshow]

Yeah all Kobe did was play the drive all night. Wade couldn't hit the shots over him.

[RonMexico]

so let's say nash wins the mvp this year for a third straight time and then next season the suns win the same amount of games and nash numbers stay the same does he win a 4th straight mvp? because thats what is happening this season.

Not if Dirk leads the Mavs to a title this year and the Mavs come out playing like this next season - then it will be Dirk's most definitely.

Either way, Dirk's played like the MVP since January 1.... actually, since he hit that game winner against the Suns... he's got his first legit shot right now at winning it.

[dg7md]

Gilbert Arenas if the Wizards finish a top 5 seed.

[SoCal Lakeshow]

Kobe and Arenas if their teams keep winning.

[ponky]

Kobe and Arenas if their teams keep winning.

Kobe makes his team better, he's upped his assists and gets guys involved, not always focusing just on scoring...Arenas just scores while the rest of his team stands around....and when it comes to defense, there is just no comparison, Kobe >>>>>> Arenas in that category

[RonMexico]

they went 1-1 when nash sat out this season (november?) and year before last (2004-05), when amare was playing, they played only three games w/o nash...they won two of those games (clipper, mavericks) before losing to the celtics in ot

No, in 04-05, they played about 5 without him and went 1-4... they were 30-4, then ESPN ran an article titled "Sunny and 70?" asking if the Suns could win 70 games, and then Nash got hurt and they lost to the Pacers among others on a Eastern swing. I remember that very well because Marc Stein mentioned it in his power rankings and D'Antoni lost the All-Star coaching job to Popovich, which you can see here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=12.

Last year, 05-06, they went 2-2 without him or Amare (I believe) and lots of people credited that to the deeper bench and emergence of Diaw as additional ball handler. One of those losses was a huge blowout against the Spurs on ESPN, where Raja Bell started at point.

[SoCal Lakeshow]

And T-Mac if he doesn't get hurt again and keeps winning till Yao gets back.

[ponky]

No, in 04-05, they played about 5 without him and went 1-4... they were 30-4, then ESPN ran an article titled "Sunny and 70?" asking if the Suns could win 70 games, and then Nash got hurt and they lost to the Pacers among others on a Eastern swing. I remember that very well because Marc Stein mentioned it in his power rankings and D'Antoni lost the All-Star coaching job to Popovich, which you can see here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=12.

Last year, 05-06, they went 2-2 without him or Amare (I believe) and lots of people credited that to the deeper bench and emergence of Diaw as additional ball handler. One of those losses was a huge blowout against the Spurs on ESPN, where Raja Bell started at point.

even better...i made a mistake and meant 05-06, nash was out 3 games, right after the all-star break and that spurs game you're talking about, i'll give you that but c'mon it's the spurs...and they still beat the mavs

anyway, dirk/nash being out is a moot point...neither one of them tends to miss many games and this year, that was my point

nash doesn't deserve mvp but that's moot too...cuz he ain't gonna get it

[RonMexico]

We all know it's Jerry Stackhouse

[Kamnik]

Arenas is like AI mostly....

hogs the ball, scores a lot of points (and likely care about that more than W's)

his team will never go far in the playoff's


Arenas simply isnt even close to the likes of Dirk, Nash, Wade.....

[Sacramental]

kevin martin!

[Sacramental]

can u believe that crap, i mean obviously kevin martin wont win it but hes not even on the ballot to be voted for! he's played a whole lot better than a lot of other players who were on that ballot

[mffl89]

^^^ who were the players on the ballot?

[LEONARD]

Comparing Nash's #'s this year to the past 2 yrs, I don't see how he can't get it again...

It'll come down to Dirk and Nash...co-MVP's... :fro

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Durk.






Good.

[mabber]

so a Barbosa, Bell, Diaw, Marion, Stoudemire lineup would suck?

They wouldn't suck but they wouldn't be nearly as good as a Howard, Terry, Harris, Damp and whoever replaces Dirk (George maybe) Mav lineup. The reason being is that most of the Mav players are very proficient at creating their own shots. Their entire offense is built around them being able to do that (hence the low assist totals). The Phoenix offense is built around a passing game that Nash leads and is extremely good at.

[JPB]

They wouldn't suck but they wouldn't be nearly as good as a Howard, Terry, Harris, Damp and whoever replaces Dirk (George maybe) Mav lineup. The reason being is that most of the Mav players are very proficient at creating their own shots. Their entire offense is built around them being able to do that (hence the low assist totals). The Phoenix offense is built around a passing game that Nash leads and is extremely good at.

I don't agree. Diaw as point forward could take care of the playmaking as he's already doing, in a more half-court game. without Dirk, his points, his rebounding, his clutch plays and first and foremost his almost unguardable side, Dallas wouldn't be much better than the suns.

Nash got it last year cos he deserved it but also cos there wasn't any real contestant. This year, Dirk is very impressive

And don't forget Steve has still no D. That's why I'm waiting the playoffs to really judge the Suns. They won't win 130-115 or 125-110 in those games.

[Bob Lanier]

And don't forget Steve has still no D.
What point guard does?

[JPB]

What point guard does?

Not all PG are grat defenders but Steve has absolutly no D.

Tony has a decent one, Billups a good one... Spurs and Pistons are supposed to have 2 of the best defenses, coincidence ? If the Suns/Nash struggles during the playoffs with their offense in a game, against thougher defenses, they/he couldn't survive it.

[Leetonidas]

What point guard does?
Billups, Parker, Watson... :downspin:

[ponky]

What point guard does?

not saying he kills on D but harris is developing his D and is decent

[Bob Lanier]

Billups plays absolutely no defense about 98% of the time, and isn't much more than average even when he tries. None. Parker isn't that much better than Nash. Watson, Harris, Hinrich, and Kidd are better than nothing... but it's almost impossible for any point guard to effectively prevent dribble penetration with the modern rules.

[BeerIsGood!]

Billups plays absolutely no defense about 98% of the time, and isn't much more than average even when he tries. None. Parker isn't that much better than Nash. Watson, Harris, Hinrich, and Kidd are better than nothing... but it's almost impossible for any point guard to effectively prevent dribble penetration with the modern rules.

You're right from a one-on-one street baller standpoint, but the PG is instrumental in team defensive execution. Parker works well within the Spurs team defensive system while Nash is left on an island due to the Suns not having anything resembling team defense.

[mabber]

Not all PG are grat defenders but Steve has absolutly no D.

Tony has a decent one, Billups a good one... Spurs and Pistons are supposed to have 2 of the best defenses, coincidence ? If the Suns/Nash struggles during the playoffs with their offense in a game, against thougher defenses, they/he couldn't survive it.

Last night...the TNT guys were saying that D'antoni was saying that Nash's D is extremely under-rated. I laughed out loud when I heard that and woke up my wife :lol

[JPB]

You're right from a one-on-one street baller standpoint, but the PG is instrumental in team defensive execution. Parker works well within the Spurs team defensive system while Nash is left on an island due to the Suns not having anything resembling team defense.

yep.
It's not just about stopping your guy but also about positioning and switching.

[Bob Lanier]

Nash is left on an island due to the Suns not having anything resembling team defense.
I don't buy that.

[lefty]

Last night...the TNT guys were saying that D'antoni was saying that Nash's D is extremely under-rated. I laughed out loud when I heard that and woke up my wife :lol
:lol :lol :lol :lmao :lmao :lmao

[JPB]

Last night...the TNT guys were saying that D'antoni was saying that Nash's D is extremely under-rated. I laughed out loud when I heard that and woke up my wife :lol

The divorce is for when ?

[mabber]

The divorce is for when ?

She laughed at the comment as well when I told her why I was laughing. Even she knows (from watching Nash play for 6 years in Dallas) that Nash can't play D :lol

[RonMexico]

You're right from a one-on-one street baller standpoint, but the PG is instrumental in team defensive execution. Parker works well within the Spurs team defensive system while Nash is left on an island due to the Suns not having anything resembling team defense.

All the Suns have is team defense. Watch a game, once please, without the Black and Silver colored glasses.

[angryllama]

I don't think Dirk should be MVP actually. While he is extremely good, take him away from the Mavs and they can still win, but without Nash, the Suns would suck ass.

Yeah, that's great logic. Nash has three other all-stars in the starting lineup. Anyone ever put two and two together and realize that they might make him a little bit better?

[mabber]

All the Suns have is team defense. Watch a game, once please, without the Black and Silver colored glasses.

I watched last night's game vs. the Griz and decided that it couldn't possibly be a good game to judge their new & improved defense on so I'll wait for another game. That game was just silly but it was the Griz and I realize that it's tough to care about playing defense against a lame team like that.

I was impressed with Amare though.

[itzsoweezee]

if the wizards end w/ the best record in the east, then it should be arenas

[cheguevara]

if the wizards end w/ the best record in the east, then it should be arenas

Best record in the east = few games over 500!!!!!

[mabber]

Yeah, that's great logic. Nash has three other all-stars in the starting lineup. Anyone ever put two and two together and realize that they might make him a little bit better?

Marion, Amare and who's the 3rd?

[1Parker1]

Last night...the TNT guys were saying that D'antoni was saying that Nash's D is extremely under-rated. I laughed out loud when I heard that and woke up my wife :lol


:lol I heard that. It was right after Nash took a "charge" and a couple minutes after he had about the 3rd block of his career. What a joke.

If Steve Nash wins it again this year, I will seriously laugh. Yes his numbers are up from last year, yes his team is winning just like last year, however, how valuable can a guy be to his team if he can't even take his team to the NBA Finals, let alone a championship? To win it three times in a row is a huge deal. Duncan a 2 time championship never did it. MJ a 6 time champion never did it, etc.

What I don't understand and someone please explain it to me: What exactly is Steve Nash doing differently in Pheonix these past 3 years than what he did in Dallas all those years???? He's running and gunning his team, passing out crazy assists, and scoring a decent fg%. Why was he never in consideration when he played with the Mavs? They used to go as far as the Suns into the playoffs. Never to the finals and never to the championship.

Anyways, based on this season, I'd give the edge to Dirk. I'd give Nash more consideration if he hadn't won it for the past 2 straight years....

[ploto]

For everyone bashing the Suns defense, it really isn't much worse than the Spurs right now. In terms of opponents FG%- Spurs at 44.8% and Suns at 45.2%. For 3 point FG % the Suns actually hold opponents to a lower % than the Spurs: Suns are at 32.4% best in the NBA. And Phoenix is ahead of the Spurs in point differential this season, as well, a stat Spurs fans have long flaunted.

[spurschick]

And Phoenix is ahead of the Spurs in point differential this season, as well, a stat Spurs fans have long flaunted.

:sleep You hate the Spurs. We get it.

[mabber]

:lol I heard that. It was right after Nash took a "charge" and a couple minutes after he had about the 3rd block of his career. What a joke.

If Steve Nash wins it again this year, I will seriously laugh. Yes his numbers are up from last year, yes his team is winning just like last year, however, how valuable can a guy be to his team if he can't even take his team to the NBA Finals, let alone a championship? To win it three times in a row is a huge deal. Duncan a 2 time championship never did it. MJ a 6 time champion never did it, etc.

What I don't understand and someone please explain it to me: What exactly is Steve Nash doing differently in Pheonix these past 3 years than what he did in Dallas all those years???? He's running and gunning his team, passing out crazy assists, and scoring a decent fg%. Why was he never in consideration when he played with the Mavs? They used to go as far as the Suns into the playoffs. Never to the finals and never to the championship.

Anyways, based on this season, I'd give the edge to Dirk. I'd give Nash more consideration if he hadn't won it for the past 2 straight years....

Suns system is a more passing system than was Nellie's plus I think Nash has been playing better. He has more athletic players (Marion & Amare) than he had in Dallas to pass to as well. I know he's been in better shape with the Suns cuz he made a point to get himself in the best shape of his life prior to his first season in Phoenix. Regardless of what he's said about that whole situation, he was pissed off about the Mavs not offering him a huge contract and has had a chip on his shoulder about it ever since.

Also, it's tough to win a MVP when you have someone (Dirk) on your team who is also a great player.

[ploto]

:sleep You hate the Spurs. We get it.
No- it's just a fact. Guess some Spurs fans just can't handle the truth. People make claims that have no statistical backing. Mine do. Before people start ragging on the Suns defense, they might want to learn something about them and watch some of their games. The Suns ARE holding opponents to a lower 3 pt FG% than the Spurs and their point differential IS better than the Spurs this season. Anyone who is simply writing off Phoenix and saying they have no defense hasn't been watching them play lately. Amare actually plays defense now- blocks shots and fights for rebounds. They picked up players like Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. They aren't the Suns of 2 seasons ago that the Spurs beat in the play-offs. Last year people made the same mistake with Dallas- not understanding that they weren't the same team of a couple of years before. Well, the Suns aren't either. That's not hatred of the Spurs- it's appreciation of a team that is playing well, and I like good basketball. Sorry, if right now there are teams simply playing better basketball than the Spurs. Anyone with any basketball knowledge will admit that. If the Spurs ever go back to defending like they used to, then Spurs fans can gloat about defense again, but they lost that right.

[spurschick]

No- it's just a fact. Guess some Spurs fans just can't handle the truth.

My comment to you has nothing to do with statistical fact. If you were simply making a point to that effect, you would've said:

And Phoenix is ahead of the Spurs in point differential this season. (Period)

But instead, you chose to add:
a stat Spurs fans have long flaunted.

Then you followed it up with:
If the Spurs ever go back to defending like they used to, then Spurs fans can gloat about defense again, but they lost that right.

You can spout numbers all day long and you'll find areas where the Spurs have slipped. If you're argument is based on statistics, then it stands on it's own. Choosing to use words like flaunt and gloat is a sign of bitterness.

Ploto, we all know how you feel about the Spurs organization, even if you like some of the players. You've pretty much lost all credibility when it comes to your comments about the Spurs, so you should probably stick to commenting about the Raptors. Beyond that, you've become nothing short of a troll.

[mabber]

No- it's just a fact. Guess some Spurs fans just can't handle the truth. People make claims that have no statistical backing. Mine do. Before people start ragging on the Suns defense, they might want to learn something about them and watch some of their games. The Suns ARE holding opponents to a lower 3 pt FG% than the Spurs and their point differential IS better than the Spurs this season. Anyone who is simply writing off Phoenix and saying they have no defense hasn't been watching them play lately. Amare actually plays defense now- blocks shots and fights for rebounds. They picked up players like Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. They aren't the Suns of 2 seasons ago that the Spurs beat in the play-offs. Last year people made the same mistake with Dallas- not understanding that they weren't the same team of a couple of years before. Well, the Suns aren't either. That's not hatred of the Spurs- it's appreciation of a team that is playing well, and I like good basketball. Sorry, if right now there are teams simply playing better basketball than the Spurs. Anyone with any basketball knowledge will admit that. If the Spurs ever go back to defending like they used to, then Spurs fans can gloat about defense again, but they lost that right.

All your stats don't mean squat until the national media & public see an improved defense from the Suns in the playoffs. You really need to let this go or it's going to bother you all year. The Suns WILL NOT get any respect for their improved defense until it's seen in the playoffs. I've said this before on here cuz as a Mav fan I know exactly where you're coming from. It's frustrating I know, but you spouting off stats and arguing with other posters ain't gonna accomplish anything.

[BeerIsGood!]

Ploto, we all know how you feel about the Spurs organization, even if you like (one) of the players.

Ploto - the Beno Pimper.