MVP LADDER

 

The NBA MVP race is heating up with a little less than a month left in and the MVP Ladder has shifted since my previous article speaking on the MVP Race a month ago.  The MVP has two contenders and one dark horse as we approach the final weeks of the season.

 

3. Stephen Curry

Steph is coming off an amazing run where he scored 30 or more points in 11 straight games. This is a record that was previously held by Kobe Bryant. Steph is a dark horse since he can fill up the hoop effortlessly. The one thing going against him is his team’s record. The Warriors are currently in 9^th place in the Western Conference. This puts them in position to be in the Play in Tournament at the end of the season. For Steph to have serious consideration the Warriors would have to be at least the 6^th seed. 2016-2017 season when Russell Westbrook won the MVP he averaged a triple Double and the Thunder were 6^th in the West. The Warriors won’t make the 6^th seed so no MVP award for Steph this year.

2. Joel Embiid

Embiid is having a great season this year and has the Philadelphia 76ers un a top 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. He is averaging 30 Points, and 11 Rebounds. With the 76ers have a good chance of having the best record in the Eastern Embiid has a strong case for the MVP award. My only drawback is from giving Embiid the MVP is the fact he has missed 18 games this year which accounts for 25% of the season. In the 1977-78 season Bill Walton won MVP while playing in just 58 games. Which is good for Embiid which shows there is precedent in his favor winning the MVP award.

1.       Nikola Jokic

Jokic has had a tremendous in which he is currently on the 4^th best team in the Western Conference. Jokic is averaging 26 points, 11 rebounds and 8 Assist a game. He has 17 triple doubles and 51 double doubles this season. He has been the definition of consistent this year and has not missed games this year. The MVP award is Jokic’s to lose.

NBA Play in Tournament Prediction

 The NBA’s Play in Tournament to determine the 7th and 8th seeds is  a month away. There will be 3 games played in each conference which will see the 7th seed vs the 8th seed. Also the 9th seed vs the 10th seed. The winner of the 7 vs 8 game becomes the 7th seed in the playoffs. The loser from the 7 vs 8 matchup will play the winner of the 9 and 10 matchup to determine the 8th seed of the playoffs. As you can see it is worth trying to get the 7 or 8 seed so you give yourself 2 chances at being officially in the playoffs. 

The Western Conference is more of a 2 team race between the San Antonio Spurs who are in the 10 spot and 2 games up on the New Orleans Pelicans.  The Spurs should be able to hold on to this spot due to their experience and the fact that 4 of their next 8 are winnable games including a matchup with the Pelicans which can help in a tiebreaker situation if needed. The Pelicans are still a upcoming team who are terrible defensive team ranking 27th in defensive rating. Until the Pelicans mature and show effort on defense they will never take that next step most people are hoping for. 

The current Eastern Conference Standings has 3 teams vying for the 10 seed and all are tied in the lose column with the Toronto Raptors in the 10th spot. The Chicago Bulls in the 11th spot but they will be without All-Star Zach Lavine for minimum 6 games; this is due to the league’s health and safety protocol. The Bulls are currently on 5 game losing streak ,and 6 of their 8 games to finish April are against playoff teams.

The Washington Wizards will benefit most from the Bulls misfortune and move up the standings . The Wizards who I believe will ultimately get in the tournament, are on a 3 game winning streak. They also have the best duo of any Eastern Conference team fighting to get into the Play in Tournament. When the Wizards get in and secure a playoff spot don’t be surprise if they take a top seed to 6 games.

Put Respect ON DEVIN BOOKER NAME

This week ESPN put out their top 25 of players who are 25 and under. The list was made based on future projections by a panel of analyst. There were several players who aged out of the list including Zach Lavine, DÁngelo Russell, and Karl Anthony Towns. The top spot went to Luka Doncic which no one would argue. This is because he a tremendous player who has shown the ability to run a team and make his teammates better.

 

The biggest surprise of the list was the fact that LaMelo Ball came in at number 3. LaMelo has had a great rookie season and will likely be the Rookie of the Year this season. He will be good player but to put him all the way at number 3 is a lot of credit to give to a rookie. This is because how do you put him ahead of players who have proven that they can perform in the playoffs, such as, Donovan an Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and Jamal Murray to name a few.

 

My biggest disappointment in this list is the fact that Devin Booker is listed as 8^th! Devin Booker is walking bucket his scoring ability is unmatched, he once scored 70 Points in a game. Also, this unfortunately may mean Booker will want to get out phoenix soon. The Suns are currently 2^nd in the Western Conference and Devin Booker is a key reason as to why they are in this position. He played excellent in the bubble last year leading the Suns to an 8-0 undefeated record and has just carried those performances over to this season. The NBA world will finally get to see Booker in the playoffs this season. With Booker not being named initially to the All-Star team this year and this list; you can sense some potential frustration that may be building for Booker. He tries to let his play do the talking for him, but it seems no one is listening, and he may have to make a move via trade. Booker has scored 30 points or more 15 times this season. I can see him forcing his way to place like the New York Knicks who have the draft capital to make a trade of this magnitude occur. I cannot wait to see Booker put on a show in the playoffs this year and watch him get the recognition from both fans and media that he deserves.   

Changes for NBA Buyout Market

 

This past weekend in the NBA saw some of the best teams in the NBA get better by adding players that were bought out of their contracts from their former teams. The Brooklyn Nets added former All-Stars Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge to their rosters. The Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers added players through the buyout market as well. George Hill, Austin Rivers signed with the Bucks and Andre Drummond with the Lakers.  The question is what can be done for the teams that are a middle of the road team.

 

Many of middle of the pack teams are disappointed at what the buyout market has become, which is a place where the top teams get the best players for little to no cost. The top 3 sought after buyout candidates signed with their teams for less than $4 millions combined between the 3 players.  Which is extremely low for 3 players who were all starters in the NBA.

 

My solution that would likely make it a little bit more of an even playing field is when it comes to signing buyout candidates is that teams,  should have to spend approximately 10% of the amount the player was bought out for.