Dirk vs Rose

[mgent]

They have been the two best players in the playoffs so far.  In my personal opinion I think Dirk's outplayed Rose.  I'd put my money on them meeting in the Finals.

Can someone explain to me how Dirk wasn't 2nd place in MVP voting?  I think he was actually 6th.

[Who]

I was shocked by how low Dirk was on the MVP voting too.

[mgent]

I was shocked by how low Dirk was on the MVP voting too.

He's clearly the most valuable in the actual sense of the word (although Dwight and Rose are close).  The Mavs were like the second best team in the league before Dirk got hurt.  They lost practically all their games without him.

When he's playing good they're unstoppable.  Without him they're just soft and short.

To me the only difference between Dirk and Rose is efficiency.  Rose has to take an extra 4-5 shots a game to keep up with him.

[greenpride32]

In fairness to Rose he was injured for much of that IND series.  I think Dirk or D-Wade are the current postseason MVPs.  But Dirk's regular season wasn't anything spectacutlar (by his lofty standards).  And the league clearly wants to promote it's younger stars.  Remember last year when everyone was saying KD would be the next MVP?  I thought the press practically awarded KD the 2010-11 MVP award in 2010.  But I'd have to say this year guys like Rose, LBJ, D-Wade, were all more deserving than Dirk.

[mgent]

In fairness to Rose he was injured for much of that IND series.  I think Dirk or D-Wade are the current postseason MVPs.  But Dirk's regular season wasn't anything spectacutlar (by his lofty standards).  And the league clearly wants to promote it's younger stars.  Remember last year when everyone was saying KD would be the next MVP?  I thought the press practically awarded KD the 2010-11 MVP award in 2010.  But I'd have to say this year guys like Rose, LBJ, D-Wade, were all more deserving than Dirk.

Durant couldn't win because too much of OKC's success also rests on Westbrook.  Same with LeBron and Wade.

Even if you want to argue LeBron and Durant belong above Dirk because they'd be better if they were on a team by themselves, how does Dwight and Kobe get ahead of him??

[BballTim]

They have been the two best players in the playoffs so far.  In my personal opinion I think Dirk's outplayed Rose.  I'd put my money on them meeting in the Finals.

Can someone explain to me how Dirk wasn't 2nd place in MVP voting?  I think he was actually 6th.

  Trying to make sense of mvp voting is somewhat like making sense of fan voting for all-star games.

[BballTim]

In fairness to Rose he was injured for much of that IND series.  I think Dirk or D-Wade are the current postseason MVPs.  But Dirk's regular season wasn't anything spectacutlar (by his lofty standards).  And the league clearly wants to promote it's younger stars.  Remember last year when everyone was saying KD would be the next MVP?  I thought the press practically awarded KD the 2010-11 MVP award in 2010.  But I'd have to say this year guys like Rose, LBJ, D-Wade, were all more deserving than Dirk.

Durant couldn't win because too much of OKC's success also rests on Westbrook.  Same with LeBron and Wade.

Even if you want to argue LeBron and Durant belong above Dirk because they'd be better if they were on a team by themselves, how does Dwight and Kobe get ahead of him??

  I don't know about Kobe but I'd say scoring about the same while finishing 2nd in the league in rebounding and winning the DPOY probably helped Dwight.
 

[mgent]

They have been the two best players in the playoffs so far.  In my personal opinion I think Dirk's outplayed Rose.  I'd put my money on them meeting in the Finals.

Can someone explain to me how Dirk wasn't 2nd place in MVP voting?  I think he was actually 6th.

  Trying to make sense of mvp voting is somewhat like making sense of fan voting for all-star games.

I wouldn't call it Iverson starting bad, more like Kobe ahead of Tony Allen and Andre Iguodala on the all-defensive team bad.

[mgent]

In fairness to Rose he was injured for much of that IND series.  I think Dirk or D-Wade are the current postseason MVPs.  But Dirk's regular season wasn't anything spectacutlar (by his lofty standards).  And the league clearly wants to promote it's younger stars.  Remember last year when everyone was saying KD would be the next MVP?  I thought the press practically awarded KD the 2010-11 MVP award in 2010.  But I'd have to say this year guys like Rose, LBJ, D-Wade, were all more deserving than Dirk.

Durant couldn't win because too much of OKC's success also rests on Westbrook.  Same with LeBron and Wade.

Even if you want to argue LeBron and Durant belong above Dirk because they'd be better if they were on a team by themselves, how does Dwight and Kobe get ahead of him??

  I don't know about Kobe but I'd say scoring about the same while finishing 2nd in the league in rebounding and winning the DPOY probably helped Dwight.
 

Defense counts now?

Seriously though, I guess Orlando's record wasn't that bad but I wouldn't think a player on such a bad team would win MVP.

[snively]

For the playoffs, Dirk and it's not very close. Rose has not impressed me much in these playoffs.  Settling for way too many 3s (over 6 per game at 26%), not creating great looks for his teammates (although Boozer has not helped him by shooting so poorly).

Dirk has been incredible offensively.  64% TS% (53% for Rose).

[snively]

I was shocked by how low Dirk was on the MVP voting too.

Gaudy stats, especially scoring averages have always dominated MVP voting.  That's how Kobe and LeBron managed to place higher than Dirk despite having MVPish teammates.

[soap07]

I was shocked by how low Dirk was on the MVP voting too.

Gaudy stats, especially scoring averages have always dominated MVP voting.  That's how Kobe and LeBron managed to place higher than Dirk despite having MVPish teammates.

Being a better player also helps.




On another note, there is no way Rose has been the best player in the playoffs. No way. LeBron and Wade have both been better.


Rose 2011 playoffs: 29 ppg/4 rebounds/8 assists/53 TS%/25.9 PER
LeBron 2011 playoffs: 25.1 ppg/9 rebounds/5 assists/56 TS%/26.1 PER
Wade 2011 playoffs: 25.5 ppg/7.2 rebounds/5 assists/57 TS%/28.1 PER

Both LeBron and Wade have been better all-around in the playoffs and way more efficient. After tonight's game, those numbers will skew more towards those two.

[KCattheStripe]

Dwayne Wade has been the best player in these playoffs and the best player in the NBA the past three seasons.

[JT11]

I know they're good and all but my God I have hated two players as much as I hate Lebron and Wade.

[LilRip]

Dirk has been the best player in these playoffs. Not much turnovers and just overall efficient play. Mavs are looking like they're gonna take it all this year.