I really think there is a chance Lue being a lacky for Lebron may come back to bite the Cavs this year. I believe any other respected coach for a contender (Kerr, Pops, Spoelstra, Stevens etc) would have sat Irving and Lebron last night and also the game 3-4 weeks ago against OKC.). Many national observers (not to mention linemakers) viewed them as no brainer rest spots because of their schedule and travel. Of course Lue played them in both games including 40+ minutes for Lebron and they lost both games anyways. At 32 years old they are really pushing Lebron harder than ever before. I am not even sure why they want the 1 seed so bad. They would still be heavy favorites against Boston even if Boston had home court advantage. I really am not sure what Lue's thought process is.
James wants a chance for the MVP.
How can Lebron win MVP when a guy with less surrounding talent (I think 99% of people would say Kyrie, Love, Thompson Smith, Korver is better than Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, Patrick Beverly, Trevor Ariza) has better stats and a better team record? It would be pretty insane to give the award to Lebron over Harden this season and that is to say nothing of Westbrook (or Leonard). If Lebron is really playing a ton of minutes to get himself into the MVP conversation than that is stupider than Kerry running the Warriors into the ground last year to chase the wins title.
Because the on/off court numbers are crazy. I don't recall the exact numbers (I heard them on the radio yesterday driving so the Houston game isn't included), but there is something like a 17 point difference when James is on the court vs. when he is off the court for the Cavs. For Harden and the Rockets it is something like 3 points different. The Thunder are actually better when Westbrook isn't on the Court. Again I'm going from memory so don't quote me on the exact numbers.
When you consider the award is supposed to measure the most valuable player, it is hard to find more value than what James provides the Cavs, and when he is also the best player in basketball, he should be the MVP.
As an example, look at the two prior Cavs losses (before Houston). Against the Pistons James played 39 minutes and the Cavs were +18, in the 9 minutes James sat, the Cavs were -23. The game prior to that against the Heat. James again played 39 minutes and the Cavs were +14, in the 9 minutes James sat the Cavs were -22. Those are a bit of extreme examples, but over the course of the season there is a gigantic difference in what the Cavs look like when James plays and when James doesn't play, which is one of the reasons he has been playing so much.
Also of note, James is currently setting his career highs for RPG and APG. He is also having a top 3 shooting season in his career. All things considered, this might just best James' best season ever.
I wouldn't really have an issue if Harden wins the MVP, but if I was voting my vote would be for James with Harden a close 2. I'd actually put Leonard 3 ahead of Westbrook in 4th.
Hes plus 17. Next closest I can find is Jimmy Butler who is +13.3
I think Embiid was right around there as well.
Sounds about right. I think they said when Harden was playing the Rockets were +7.5, and when Harden sits the Rockets are +4.5, so just a 3 point difference. I think they said the Cavs were something like +13 with James in the game and -4 when he isn't on the floor, for a 17 point swing.
I think the fact that Butler is second in plus minus rating should tell you all you need to know about basing your ranking for MVP off of that. I get being an Ohio guy there is a lot of love for Lebron, but it would be pretty unfair to give the award to Lebron over Harden.
I would also be curious what the rationale would be for the Cavs having a worse record this year given their roster. Does Lebron bear no responsibility for that?
Kevin Love has been injured and they have played worse since than, but he has still played close to 50 games.
The Rockets didn't even have a second player up for all-star consideration. It would be tough to figure out who their second best player is.. Eric Gordon? The fact that Lebron on a team with two other all-stars has been struggling to pull away from a Celtics team that has battled injuries all year definitely suggests they don't have the MVP on their roster.
Yeah, obviously if Lebron shares a lot of minutes with a guy like Kyrie or Love and has a weak bench, this can get skewed, but I think if you traded harden and James the Cavs get worse and the Rockets get better. Completely speculatory, but thats the way I see it.
On bball ref, Irving is +6.2 on the court but his on/off is just +5.8. It thus appears Irving doesn't actually do much for the wins and losses and isn't nearly as good as people seem to think.
Do you agree with this? Should he not be an all-star?
in terms of what he brings to the team every day throughout the regular season, id say he had a far lesser impact than nearly any other all-star gaurd.
He is lazy on defense. The ball probably sticks a bit too much and I just dont think hes that great for the flow of the offense. Lebron is a better distributor etc etc.
However, Kyrie is a no-brainer all-star because of the burst of super high impact he gives you in important situations.
Kyrie can create something out of nothing, knock down huge clutch shots and is absolutely perhaps the most lethal shot creator in the NBA today(Harden may have him beat).
Kyrie is more valuable than anyone on the Rockets by far, but I do believe that in the drone of the regular season he has a far far lower impact on w/l than his talent suggests.
He earns his value in the finals and in the last five minutes of big games.
