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With the regular season officially over, an MVP race that has been close all season long has come down to two likely candidates. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose appear to be the frontrunners for the NBA’s most prestigious regular season award.

Orlando’s defensive force in the paint appears to be on the verge of winning an unprecedented third straight Defensive Player of the Year award, finishing second in the NBA in rebounding (14.1 per contest) and fourth in blocks per game (2.4).

Charlotte Bobcats’ head coach Paul Silas believes defense should factor into MVP voting just as much (if not more) than offensive numbers.

"Absolutely [defense plays a large factor in MVP voting]," Coach Silas told HOOPSWORLD recently. "You look at Bill Russell and how many MVP’s he had. Why? Because he was a great defender and the team did great. So Dwight Howard, people don’t understand how tough it is to defend and rebound. You’ve got to come with it every night. As on offensive player your going to have ups and downs and that kind of thing but not as a rebounder and defender.

"Every night you’ve got to come it with and I like the way [Howard] does it. People don’t fight him back very much."

Although Howard has been spectacular, many around the league believe Rose — who has kept an injury-riddled Chicago team afloat with his high level of play all season long — should be the choice for MVP. The Bulls’ point guard finished the season seventh in the NBA in scoring (25 points per game) and 10th in assists per game (7.7).

{AUTHOR_BOX}Coach Silas recently gave HOOPSWORLD a rundown of candidates for MVP and concluded Rose should finish on top, but insisted it was a close call between Howard and the Bulls point guard.

"I think [Howard] has close competition," Silas said. "Derrick Rose is getting it. Of course you’ve got Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron [James] and all those guys. So [there's] a lot of competition. Then I think you look at the team and what the team is doing also and what affect that particular player has on the team. Kobe’s team [is doing well], LeBron’s team is going up and Derrick Rose is just killing people, and his team is doing that as well.

"The thing I love about Derrick Rose is that when the team had injuries, he still carried that ball club and now that everybody’s back it’s full speed ahead. So, if I had to say, I’d give him the edge."

Both Howard and Rose are worthy MVP candidates, but only one will be hoisting that MVP Trophy in the next few weeks.

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