Why Kevin Love is NBA MVP -- The MVP Debate

There are three things that make a player the MVP. His impact on his team, his stats, and his team's performance. Here's the comparisons of the top MVP candidates and how they stack up:

Most Valuable to Own Team: 
1. Chris Paul -- Last year at this point Clippers were 19-31. They add Chris Pual, they're 29-21. You can't deny the facts, he's more valuable to the Clippers than any player on any other team. 
2. Kevin Love -- Putting his whole team on his back, keeping his team in contention. Without Love T-Wolves are one of NBA's worst teams. 
3. LeBron James -- Tough call between KD and LBJ, went with LeBron. The Heat's various injuries made LeBron the pick here, because without LeBron the Heat would have actually really struggled.
4. Kevin Durant -- There are nights when he's overshadowed by Westbrook, and his team would win without him more often than the Heat would win without LeBron. 


Best Stats:
1. Kevin Love -- 26.6ppg, 13.9rpg, ESPN#NBAMVP rank: 6
Kevin Love is putting up ridiculous numbers. With his 51 point game, and his 40 point 19 rebound game, he's having a ridiculously good statistical season. 
2. LeBron James -- 26.7ppg, 6.6apg, ESPN#NBAMVP rank: 1
If LeBron's PER can remain the same he will have the best PER ever. That's incredible. He's only behind Love because of Love's amazing rebounding rate that goes with his scoring.
3. Kevin Durant 27.8ppg, 8.1rpg, ESPN#NBAMVP rank: 2
Kevin Durant is the best scorer in the NBA, and he's always going to put up impressive stats. This year he's scored less than the two previous years though. 
4. Chris Paul 19.4ppg, 8.8apg, ESPN #NBAMVP rank: 4
With Chris Paul the stats don't show the affect he has on the game being played. While his stats are impressive, they're not nearly as impressive as the stats of the players above. Paul's affect on the game comes with his speed and leadership along with the scoring and passing which he of course also does well. 


Team Record/Quality of players of team (How well team has done compared to expectations)
1. Kevin Durant -- OKC is living up to expectations with the second best record in the NBA, and Durant is a big reason why. 
2. Kevin Love -- With Rubio out for the season the T-Wolves season is fully dependent on Love. He's embraced this, and has gotten his team of NBA draft busts into playoff contention.
3. Chris Paul -- The Clippers were expected to compete for the division and make the playoffs. That's been exactly what has happened, and they are currently leading their division.
4. LeBron James -- It's pretty crazy for a team to be second place in the confrence and be underachieving... but that's the case with the Heat. 

Who Should be MVP:
After looking at the three things that are considered when deciding who's MVP, I've decided Kevin Love should be the 2011-12 NBA MVP. He has the best stats out of the four candidates, and has carried his team by himself like none of the other candidates. Love was the best player in the NBA in March, when he scored more than 35 points 5 times, including a 51 point game and a 40 point 19 rebound game. He's been dominating every team he faces, and the teams play fully relies on him. If Love were not on the Wolves they'd be one of the worst NBA teams instead of a playoff contender.

NBA Players Draft Round 1 -- All Players Eligible

Every year kids from college are drafted into the NBA. Here's what the draft order would look like if GM's got to draft anyone in the NBA, not just college players. (These teams would be drafting these players to their team for many years to come, not just this year)
1. LeBron James (SF) -- Some question how clutch he is, some question his competitiveness, but no one questions that LeBron is the best overall player in the NBA. He's more valuable to a team than anyone else.
2. Dwight Howard (C) -- Dwight Howard single handedly makes his team one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. He also has eight 20 point 20 rebound games this season. He's tough to turn down.
3. Kevin Durant (SF) -- Kevin Durant is the best scorer in the NBA. He's won the scoring title the last two years, and is just 23. The only reason he's third and not first in this draft is that the two players above him are much better defenders than he is.
4. Derrick Rose (PG) -- Derrick Rose has not peaked yet, which is unbelievable for a player that has already won an MVP. He may not be the best point guard in the NBA right now (Chris Paul) but he's just 23 and is still improving. Imagine how good he's gonna be when he peaks...
5. Chris Paul (PG) -- As mentioned Chris Paul is arguably the best point guard in the NBA right now. He's behind Rose though because he's three years older and isn't going to improve as much as Rose will in the future. Paul does have a huge impact on a team though, a perfect example is the LA Clippers.
6. Blake Griffin (PF) -- Blake Griffin's upside is enormous. His offensive game is currently very raw, yet he still averages 21.2 ppg this year. When Griffin learns learns how some good post moves and gets his jumper more consistent, NBA watch out. Also no one sells tickets quite like Blake Griffin which is very important to some struggling franchises.
7. Dwayne Wade (SG) -- Wade falls back to no. 7 because of age and injuries. He's been struggling with a number of injuries this season, which has resulted in inconsistent play. Also Wade is 7 years older than Griffin Rose and Durant, so why pick Wade over those guys?
8. Kobe Bryant (SG) -- Sadly the great Kobe Bryant is getting old (well... basketball old). At 33 no one know how many more great seasons he's going to have. He may be getting old, but it doesn't seem to be affecting his scoring. He's a great scorer and shooter, and will likely be able to put up the amazing numbers he's currently putting up for at least the next 3 years. Kobe is a great leader, and when crunch time comes there's no one in the NBA who's I'd rather have.
9. Russel Westbrook (PG) -- Russel Westbrook is insanely athletic, and can do things at the point guard position that no one else can. The downside is that he's often criticized for shooting too much and not passing to the other star his team, Kevin Durant. If Westbrook is on a team that fits his playing style, he could become a point guard very similar to Derrick Rose.
10. John Wall (PG) -- Similar to Blake Griffin, John Wall has incredible upside. A change of scenery and a new system could turn this much hyped no.1 overall pick into the best point guard in the NBA.
11. Demarcus Cousins (PF) 
12. Andrew Bynum (C)
13. Deron Williams (PG) 
14 Kevin Love (PF)
15. Carmelo Anthony (SF)
16. Al Jefferson (C)
17. Rajon Rondo (PG)
18. Roy Hibbert (C)
19. Ricky Rubio (PG)

20. Kyrie Irving (PG)
21. Rudy Gay (SF)
22. Pau Gasol (PF)
23. Tony Parker (PG)
24. Brandon Jennings (PG)
25. Tyreke Evans (PG/SG)
26. LaMarcus Aldridge (PF)
27. Steve Nash (PG)
28. Paul Pierce (SF)
29. Dirk Nowitski (PF)
30. Monta Ellis (PG/SG)

Why Chris Paul Has The Edge Over Than Derrick Rose

The NBA is currently stacked with talented point guards, including Deron Williams, Rondo, Nash, Parker, Westbrook and many others. The best two point guards though, without much dispute, are Derrick Rose and Chris Paul. I recently did a poll asking who was better between the two point guards and the results were 47% voted for Chris Paul and 53% voted for Derrick Rose. I decided to figure out myself who was better between the point guards. Here's the comparison in all the main aspects of being a point guard.

Scoring:
Chris Paul: Career Stats: 18.7 ppg -- .472 FG% -- .365 3P%
Chris Paul is a pass first point guard. Paul has the ability to score with his very good jumper and ability to drive, but he isn't as aggresive as he could be. When Paul chooses to he can be a huge scoring threat, but often he feels his team will do better if he passes instead of shoots, so he doesn't shoot as much as he should. Paul has the ability to take over games with his very underrated scoring ability.
Derrick Rose: Career Stats: 21.1 ppg -- .468 FG% -- .312 3P%
Derrick Rose is unbelievable at driving in the lane. He consistently cuts past defenders to the basket, and either gets fouled, makes the shot or passes it out. The only problem with Rose's game is his long distance shooting. His shooting has improved over the last few seasons, and he is now a threat to hit 3's, but is still not making them as consistently as he needs to. Rose is a very aggressive scorer, and is allways looking for the bucket.
Analysis: Chris Paul is a better shooter than Rose, but Rose is much better at driving to the hoop. Rose affects games more with his scoring and is much more aggressive on the scoring end. Rose's outside shooting has improved, and if he could become a more consistent shooter from outside he would become nearly impossible to stop. Chris Paul could put up the amount of points Rose puts up if Paul took more shots, but Paul often chooses to pass instead. Rose's aggressiveness and driving ability gives him the edge over Paul's pass first attitude about scoring.
Score: 10-8 Rose
Passing:
Chris Paul: Career Stats: 9.8 apg-- 2.5 turnovers per game 
Last season the Clippers were 32-50, this year they're 22-13. The reason for that is Chris Paul, but mostly Chris Paul's passing ability. Paul has an uncanny ability to find the open man, and even averaged more then 10 assists a game twice with a fairly untalented Hornets team. Paul makes the players around him better by consistently getting them open looks, and has been in most opinions the leagues best passer over the last five years.
Derrick Rose: Career Stats: 6.8 apg -- 2.9 turnovers per game
Derrick Rose is a good passer, but he's not a Chris Paul caliber passer . He has never averaged more than 8 assists while playing on a very talented Bulls team. Rose gets a lot of assists by driving and dishing the ball out at the last second, which can also be very risky and cause turnovers. Rose has improved his passing throughout his career, and if he can continue to improve his passing at the rate it's improving he'd become one of the best passers in the league.
Analysis: Paul has established himself as one of the best passers in the league, probably the best, while Rose is still trying to improve his passing. Paul plays a pass first version of pg, while Rose plays a more aggressive scoring style, which really affects their assist rates. Paul has gotten more assists and less turnovers with a less talented Hornets team then Rose has had with a very talented Bulls team. Overall Paul's ability to consistently find the open man and make his teammates better without turning the ball over gives him the edge over Rose.
Score: 10-7 Paul
Defense:
Chris Paul: Career Stats: 2.4 steals per game -- 0.1 blocks per game -- 104 defensive rating
Chris Paul throughout his whole career has been at the top of the steals leaders for that year. Paul is a master at picking the pocket of the opponent and using that to turn defense into offense. His 2.4 career steals per game is absolutely remarkable, and he's even had two years where he was very close to 3 steals per game. Paul has lead the league in steals 3 times, and has proved that he's one of the hardest point guards in the NBA to score on.
Derrick Rose: Career Stats: 0.9 steals per game -- 0.4 blocks per game -- 107 defensive Rating
 Derrick Rose's stats may not look too impressive but he is actually a very good defensive stopper. Rose is very quick which helps him stay in front of his man and not let opponents drive by him. Rose is great at stopping players when driving to the basket, and when they're isolation situations, but when the player starts running off picks and shooting Rose struggles to close out on the shooters. Rose plays for one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, so when Rose's defense is struggling he hears about it from teammates, and from defensive coach Tom Thibodeau.
Analysis: Chris Paul and Derrick Rose are very different types are defenders. Paul is known for being one of the best defensive point guards in the league, with his ability to pick his opponents pockets and get big steals. Rose is great at defending players like himself who are often driving to the hoop, but struggles to guard players who are great shooters. Paul's stealing ability gives him the big edge in this category.
Score: 10-7 Paul
Winning/Leadership
Chris Paul: Career Stats/ Achievements: 21.9 ppg, 11.1 apg in playoffs -- .539 reg. season win % -- .474 playoff win %
Plain and simple, Chris Paul is a leader. He's one of the most vocal players to ever play point guard, and if you watch him during the game he is ALWAYS talking. Communication is a big part of basketball and Paul is the master at communication. Whether on offence, defence, or on the bench he's allways directing traffic and telling people where they should go and why while congratulating them. Paul is also a very competitive player, and is has shown that with his clutch ability. Paul has been one of the most underrated clutch performers in the NBA, and has hit various game winners throughout his career.
Derrick Rose: Career Stats/ Achievements: 25.2 ppg, 7.3 apg in playoffs -- .585 reg. season win % -- .464 playoff win %
Derrick Rose is also a leader, but a different kind of leader. Rose doesn't lead with his talking like Paul does and instead leads with his actions. Rose has been a huge part of his teams winning, and his many clutch performances have been his way of leading.
Analysis: The playoff and reg. season win percentages for both players have been pretty equal, and have been pretty average. Though their teams haven't found enormous success in the post season, it certainly hasn't been their faults. Both Paul and Rose improved their assists and points once the playoffs came around, and both players were the reason their teams even made the playoffs. Both Paul and Rose are leaders, though in different ways, and both players have yet to make it past the Conference Finals.
Score: 9-9 Tie

OVERALL Score: 
37-33 Chris Paul