It's NBA time

[unit300021]

I don't see Dwight leaving LA for Dallas or Atlanta. Only way is if he does a sign and trade to Brooklyn. I think Dwight just loves the limelight and attention he gets from being in LA or would get in New York. Dwight was on the Ellen show, that doesn't happen if he is in Dallas or Atlanta.

[Phunkevil]

Dwight pulling a Dwight again?

[santasutt]

That's 3 in a row for the re-charged Celtics.

Avery Bradley is the difference maker for the D.

Huge win at MSG tonight.

[Chillzzz]

Love living in LA right now with Clippers winning and Lakers losing

[vulcandeathgrip]

http://youtu.be/dWRFkElwTxc

so gangsta

[tyles]

Love living in LA right now with Clippers winning and Lakers losing

It's like living in bizarro world. I feel bad for Lakers fans... kinda.

[thom cobain]

Don't feel bad. Laker fans have seen worse. And we will be back.

[tyles]

Don't feel bad. Laker fans have seen worse. And we will be back.

Sure, but now they'll have to deal with a Clippers franchise that has gotten a taste of what winning is like. Unless Sterling and co. let CP3, Jordan, and half the team go, I think the cross-town rivalry is going have a Golden Age. Should be nice.

[thom cobain]

It's about time. I thought the Clippers would suck forever.

[unit300021]

All things considered for tonight's game for the Lakers, they played a lot better then I thought they would.

[stuporfly]

Is "we lost, but it could have been worse" the current reality for Laker fans?

[theklein25]

Bye bye queens and welcome back supersonics http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlespo...r-500-million/

[eddiebrock]

steve nash video had me dying.

I was at that lakers-nuggets game a couple of days ago crowd was awkward as fuck for the first half. you could literally hear the ball bouncing on the court from the top stands. Picked up in the second half though. Overall, this doesnt seem like a team thats even in contention for a championship. Moves have to be made.

Gasol is usually the scapegoat but at this point i dont think they can get much value for him. Heard the grizzlies are shopping rudy gay. Someone like that would definitely shake things up. Time for Mitch to put his big boy pants on and try to give memphis back the goods he stole a few years ago.

[lehorne]

the roaches in the ceiling rafters weren't chanting "MVP" for Kobe like they did in the pre-season? CP3 is being is being discussed with merit.

Can Chris Paul win the MVP award? Are CP3's numbers good enough to keep LeBron James from winning again? By Kevin Pelton | ESPN Insider



Listen closely during tonight's broadcast as the Los Angeles Clippers host the Dallas Mavericks -- or any future Clippers game, for that matter -- and you're likely to hear "M-V-P" chants when Chris Paul heads to the free throw line. Because MVP voting isn't the same as All-Star voting, the biased opinion of the Clippers' faithful won't make a difference, but the team's performance has made Paul a legitimate candidate to become the first Clipper chosen as MVP since the franchise was in Buffalo. Can Paul actually win the award? Let's take a look at his candidacy.

With an even 8.0 wins above replacement player (WARP) through 35 games, Paul is on pace for 18.7 over the full season. That's on the low side for an MVP. Dating back to 1979-80, the typical MVP has posted 21.3 WARP, and more than two-thirds (23 of 33) have cleared the 20-WARP mark. However, Paul looks much better when we consider the per-minute aspect of the rating system, player win percentage. Paul's .748 mark is nearly average among MVPs (.756).

Of course, MVP voters are unlikely to make their selection based solely on advanced stats, as seen during the debate over Derrick Rose's selection two years ago, or the recent Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout AL MVP discussion. Historically, writers have tended to favor basketball's equivalent of the triple crown stats: points, rebounds and assists per game, with a healthy dose of team performance. When Insider contributor Justin Kubatko came up with an MVP predictor for Basketball-Reference.com, he was able to predict two-thirds of MVP selections using just those four factors.

It's hard to compare Paul's production with that of the average MVP, because the production of point guards is very different from the stat lines for big men. So let's instead focus on the six awards won by lead ball handlers in the past three decades -- Magic Johnson (1986-87, '88-89, and '89-90), Steve Nash (2004-05 and 2005-06) and Rose (2010-11).

Comparing past MVP PGs to CP3
Player Year Team Win% WARP Wins ORtg APG Rank
Magic Johnson 1987 LAL .796 22.4 65 1 1
Magic Johnson 1989 LAL .809 23.2 57 1 2
Magic Johnson 1990 LAL .811 23.8 63 1 2
Steve Nash 2005 PHX .693 14.7 62 1 1
Steve Nash 2006 PHX .718 17.4 54 1 1
Derrick Rose 2011 CHI .679 16.6 62 11 10
Chris Paul (projected) 2013 LAC .748 18.7 63.3 4 2
Average .751 19.7 60.5 2.7 2.8

A few factors are clearly required for a point guard to win MVP. He must play for an elite team led by its offense (the Lakers and Suns led the league in offensive rating during Johnson's and Nash's MVP campaigns) and he must be near the top of the assist leaderboard (Johnson fell behind Utah's John Stockton twice). Rose is the oddball candidate here; it appears that because Rose is a score-first point guard, voters evaluated him more as a combo guard in the vein of Allen Iverson rather than a pure point guard.

By these standards, Paul does OK. If the Clippers can maintain their current 63-win pace, they will actually be among the best of these teams, though they've become contenders thanks more to balance (their defensive rating ranks third in the NBA, just ahead of their fourth-ranked offense) than sheer firepower. And Paul is currently second in the league in assists per game behind Rajon Rondo, a spot he'll surely have to hold to fill out his MVP résumé.

Paul's problem is the Clippers might actually be too good and too deep. The same factor that limits his WARP also hurts his per-game statistics: Paul is playing just 33.1 minutes per game, which would be the fewest of any MVP in NBA history. Only Nash (34.3 in 2004-05) and Bill Walton (33.3 in 1977-78) have won the MVP while playing fewer than 35 minutes a game.

Much of the difference between Paul's per-game statistics and those of the typical MVP point guard can be explained by playing time, with pace of play also a factor. (Though the Clippers have pushed the tempo this season, they still have far fewer possessions per game than Johnson's Showtime Lakers during a faster era, or Nash's Seven Seconds or Less Suns.) During their MVP seasons, Johnson and Nash averaged 21.3 points, 11.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game, better than Paul's 17.0 points, 9.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Adjusted to Paul's pace and minutes, the stats of past MVP point guards look much more similar to his line. Johnson and Nash would average 18.5 points, 9.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds over an equivalent number of possessions.

The larger obstacle to Paul's candidacy happens to wear No. 6 for the Miami Heat. LeBron James, winner of the award three of the past four seasons, remains an unstoppable force. James is on pace for 25.0 WARP, with an .800 winning percentage. In the past, such a lofty performance has virtually guaranteed an MVP unless another candidate is putting up similar stats. When James was beaten by Rose in 2010-11, his individual numbers (including 21.2 WARP) were down while he adjusted to playing alongside Dwyane Wade in Miami.

The best hope for Paul, or Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder (on pace for 22.5 WARP himself), is that voters simply get tired of writing James' name and want a new, fresh story. In that case, the battle for the top seed in the Western Conference also could serve as a runoff for MVP votes, with the San Antonio Spurs playing spoiler. Because Paul won't beat James on stats, he'll have to do so on the strength of a compelling narrative. If the Clippers can beat expectations by finishing with the NBA's best record, Paul just might have a chance to make those MVP chants come true. Otherwise, they're just a nice gesture from adoring fans.

[eddiebrock]

melo mvp tbh

[weeklymix]

[Chillzzz]

I love how at Laker games fans still chant MVP for Kobe at the freethrow line as if a player on an under .500 team with slim playoff chances could possibly be the MVP.

[unit300021]

CP3 should be a serious contender for MVP it just the majority of the fourth quarters he spends most of the time on the bench. And I got a feeling Durant is winning it this year.

[gam3g3ni3]

It's getting so hard for me to watch Laker games. Lord they are atrocious. Gonna stick with watching the Spurs

[Chillzzz]

Durant will win it because it'll go to whoever has the best record and voters are going to get tired of voting for Lebron, CP3 should get serious consideration though.

[vulcandeathgrip]

I reckon Durant will win and is worthy. He has improved again this season. CP3 is having an amazing year and should be right up there.

I am really enjoying the impact and contributions by some of the lesser hyped additions teams made in the off season. Guys like Matt Barnes, Jarrett Jack, Reggie Evans & Nate Robinson have been integral to their new team's success.

[TomAz]

fuck the spurs, david stern's little boy favorites. go fuck yourself with a giant hitler dildo stern you fucking embarassment to fair play.

[weeklymix]

fuck the spurs, david stern's little boy favorites. go fuck yourself with a giant hitler dildo stern you fucking embarassment to fair play.

Hahaha.

[eddiebrock]

I love how at Laker games fans still chant MVP for Kobe at the freethrow line as if a player on an under .500 team with slim playoff chances could possibly be the MVP.

kobe fucked your bitch or somethin?


30.2 ppg
5.10 rpg
4.8 apg
+25.36 efficiency

5 time NBA champion
2 time finals MVP
2008 League MVP
5th all-time nba scoring leader

i think he's fifth place in mvp race right now which is right where he should be since the lakers suck. but with numbers like that some chant shouldnt bother you much.

[WhyTheLongFace]

LOL at Kobe being in the MVP race. That's like saying Megatron is in the NFL MVP race.

[eddiebrock]

5th place is hardly in the race

[bobert]

Dwight Howard has looked great the last couple games - actually looks like a top-3 center again. If he can maintain this level of play and help the Lakers reach the postseason I'll take back all the mean things I said about him.

[bemerritt]

He still gets the ball stripped from him way too many times down low

[bemerritt]

Also, is it just me or is Crawford the worst ref in the nba?

[bobert]

He still gets the ball stripped from him way too many times down low

Yes, and he's terrible at freethrows and not very intelligent, but improvement is improvement.