NBA PM: Is Howard MVP?
Is it safe to start some MVP talk?
Lately it’s been fashionable to promote Derrick Rose’s candidacy for MVP. Everyone from HOOPSWORLD’s Tommy Beer to the completely unbiased DerrickRoseforMVP.com have made a case for the Bulls point guard.
The idea can’t be far off the mark. Rose is having his best year from a Player Efficiency Rating standpoint (22.88 as opposed to 18.69 last year) and the Bulls are threatening to capture the second seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Rose’s scoring is up to 24.6 PPG, which is largely because he’s going to the line more (6.3 times per game as opposed to 4.3 last season) and he’s more accurate when he gets there (84% this year, 76.6% last). That’s translated to an extra two points per contest.
The crown jewel of Rose’s candidacy is the way he supposedly held the Bulls together throughout center Joakim Noah’s injury—but that’s where the logic gets iffy.
As it turned out, it wasn’t just Rose that saved the Bulls from a horrible fate. It was the rest of the Bulls.
"Remember, they haven’t played with their whole team the entire season," an Eastern Conference scout told HOOPSWORLD. "Everyone is pushing Rose for MVP, but there are some good players around him. Don’t undersell the bench. [C.J.] Watson is fair. [Kyle] Korver is good. [Ronnie] Brewer is good. Taj Gibson is very, very good when he’s coming off the bench. I like [Omer] Asik. Kurt Thomas has been good. [Luol] Deng has played good basketball this year. [Carlos] Boozer is on the team. [Keith] Bogans does his job and Noah is a top-7 center when he’s healthy. Why is Rose carrying the Bulls?"
Maybe Rose isn’t necessarily carrying the Bulls. Is it possible that he’s just the best player on a very good team? Boozer and Deng have averaged 18.8 and 17.7 PPG respectively and the former is doing it by shooting 53.3% from the field.
And if any one thing is to credit for the Bulls’ recent success, it’s the vastly improved team defense. Last season Chicago captured the eighth seed with a .500 record and a defense that allowed 102.6 points per 100 possessions (10th in the NBA). This year, the Bulls give up only 97.2 points per 100 possessions (first in the NBA) and still have a shot at taking the top seed in the East.
Rose may very well take the hardware, but it’s not because the Bulls would be lousy without him. But if you believe the MVP has to propel an otherwise awful team to a Top-4 seed, perhaps Orlando’s Dwight Howard is your man.
"Compare [the Bulls] to Orlando," the scout said. "[Ryan] Anderson and [Brandon] Bass have filled in since the trade, [Jameer] Nelson has done well. Can you tell me that Howard is not carrying the Magic more than Rose is carrying the Bulls? Go through the nine, 10-man rotation for Orlando. They only have four guys producing."
Besides Howard, the Magic’s only three players with PERs above the league average are Anderson, Bass and Nelson. In fact, the latter’s PER is only 0.3 above the league average while the first two split time at power forward. That means the Magic rarely get above-average production from more than two positions on the floor at any time.
Meanwhile, Howard’s PER (26.5) is second in the NBA behind Miami’s LeBron James, and that statistic doesn’t recognize a significant portion of Howard’s production.
PER—a statistic created by John Hollinger to measure "a player’s per-minute productivity" while adjusting for minutes and pace—can’t quantify the shots Howard denies or the poor decisions he can force upon an offense. Simply having Howard on your team means the opposition will be taking longer, less-accurate jump shots rather than attacking the paint.
There is still plenty of time to argue about MVP candidacy, but let’s not simply hand the award to Rose because the Bulls were a .500 team last season.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Derrick Brown Takes Manhattan
Former Xavier star Derrick Brown made his Madison Garden debut in Wednesday’s win against New Orleans, but he may have a hard time remembering it: four minutes, two fouls, no points.
"I’m fresh of the plane," he told HOOPSWORLD. "I didn’t know one play call. I’m just trying to get adjusted."
The adjustment period could take awhile. New York’s offense is vastly different from Paul Silas’ and Larry Brown’s—Brown’s two coaches in Charlotte. However, the former second-round pick thinks he can pick everything up relatively quickly.
"Not that long," he said. "It’s different. It’s a lot different. I’m glad to be here."
Of course, Brown picked a good time to sign with the Knicks. The team is the top ticket in New York after acquiring Carmelo Anthony and a slew of other players.
"I’m excited," Brown continued. "There are good players here. Everybody’s got to find their way. It’s not just me. I’m excited to be here."
Brown was always stuck between the 3 and 4 while he was in Charlotte, but the 6-8 pogo stick could find a niche in D’Antoni’s system at power forward.
Brown said he doesn’t care which position he plays, just that he’s "ready to run out there and be athletic," which is probably the best only way he can contribute. Brown isn’t a great shooter, but in D’Antoni has always found a place for 6-8ish guys who can run up and down the floor. Don’t be surprised to see Brown siphon off some garbage time minutes while D’Antoni decides what he wants from him.
Nets Take Round 1 in London
London, England wasn’t exactly treated to a battle of heavyweights, but the Nets defeated the Raptors 116-103 in the first of two games at the O2 Arena.
Nets fans should be happy to read that newly acquired Deron Williams played 34 minutes, scoring 16 points and adding 11 assists despite suffering a bruised left hand last week. Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Nets was rookie Damion James, who had 15 points in his fourth game since returning from a broken foot.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Toronto while his teammate Andrea Bargnani had 23 points. Raptors forward Amir Johnson was a -29 for the game.
The official attendance was 18,689 and the two teams will play again on Saturday night.
Grizzlies Land Powe
Leon Powe will sign with the Grizzlies, NBA.com’s David Aldridge reported on his Twitter account.
Don’t sell this signing short. Powe was incredibly effective against the Lakers in the 2007 NBA Finals. It may have been a few surgeries ago, but Powe did drop 21 points against the Lakers in 15 minutes.
Powe will add depth behind Zach Randolph and possibly Darrell Arthur.
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