Roland Rating

I came across the NBA Roland Rating today while browsing NBA material and realized how awesome Lebron really is.

From 82games.com, "These ratings represent a player's value to a particular team and are not intended to be an accurate gauge of the ability and talent of the player away from the specific team."

The top:

CLE James 76% 33.5 13.7 +19.8 +3.5 -12.5 +16.0 +18.3
DAL Nowitzki 74% 28.2 15.9 +12.3 +9.0 -7.6 +16.6 +14.0
LAL Bryant 80% 27.2 12.5 +14.7 +9.3 -2.9 +12.2 +13.7
BOS Garnett 60% 27.7 12.1 +15.6 +14.4 +4.0 +10.4 +13.5
NOH Paul 75% 31.8 16.7 +15.2 +8.0 -3.0 +11.0 +13.5
ORL Howard 79% 26.3 12.5 +13.8 +7.4 -5.2 +12.6 +13.3
SAS Ginobili 60% 27.6 12.7 +14.9 +7.8 -0.9 +8.7 +12.4
DET Billups 65% 26.7 13.5 +13.2 +10.8 +0.9 +9.9 +11.8
PHO Nash 70% 24.5 17.6 + 6.9 +10.7 -8.1 +18.8 +11.7
TOR Bosh 57% 27.2 15.7 +11.5 +8.0 -3.3 +11.3 +11.4

Notice how James is +4.3 higher than second, and second isn't even close to that much higher than tenth?

Cleveland needs to go 10-1 to win 50 games and secure Lebron the MVP. Lakers are still tied for first in the West, and them winning without Gasol is not helping my case either. Kobe shot 11-30 from the field on Monday vs. the Warriors. For being a better shooter than Lebron, his FG% does not reflect that. It just shows you how much better Lebron is getting to the basket and finishing. Once Lebron learns how to shoot, he will win the MVP award every year until he's 35. You heard it here first.

King James King of Cleveland; Kobe Stinks

When you ask yourself, "Who is a better basketball player?", one of the first things that comes to mind is how he ranks on his repsective team's all-time scoring list. The answer to this question should give you a little insight on how the MVP voting will be this year: Lebron, 1; Kobe, 4 (Paul, Garnett). Lebron had 29/12/5 in the win over a solid Raptors team. He took over the game in the second half, scoring 23 points to lead the Cavs to a 90-83 victory. Cleveland either needs to go 10-2 or have the Lakers not come first in the West, and the true MVP will be crowned.

The Lakers beat the lowly Sonics but Kobe didn't really do much in that game.

As a special treat, here are the true* NBA power rankings (* The NBA.com power rankings are basically a 'Who's Hot' list, placing the most emphasis on the last 20 games for each team. My rankings will take into account strength of schedule, health of the team, and a whole bunch of other factors that make this the best power rankings on the net):

1. Celtics - When you can complete the Texas Sweep (win 3 consecutice games at Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio) with an injured All-Star, you are deemed worthy of topping my rankings.

2. Pistons - "But they are in the Eastern Conference!"... Blah blah blah; they are 19-8 vs. the West (.703, better than any WC team vs. the league) and have the coolest player in the league in Rasheed Wallace.

3. Lakers - As much as I hate the Lakers and everyting about Kobe Bryant, they are the team to beat in the West. They have had an easy schedule of late, but continue to win without Bynum and Gasol.

4. Suns - Yeah I know, you probably thing I'm a homer and just putting them up here because of their 6 game winning steak. You are wrong. How can you go wrong with two former MVPs, seriously. Their team is built to go deep this year. The adjustment period of the trade is over, and they're not about to roll over, yet.

5. Hornets - They've been within 1 game of first since the All-Star Game. Led by a potential MVP, they will play in one of the toughest second round matches in recent memory.

6. Rockets - They won on the road vs. the Warriors last night. I had a tough time putting them ahead of the Spurs, Jazz, and Mavericks for the fourth spot in the West, but I think if they can secure homecourt in the first round, they can finally advance past it.

7. Spurs - I hate the Spurs the most out of any team in professional sports (sans the Yankees) and I feel dirty placing them high. But I think that the dirty play of Bruce Bowen and Ginobili will give them a good shot at a top 4 seed, and if they play the Rockets in round one, they matchup is basically a toss-up.

8. Cavaliers - Even though they may have a worse record than the top 9 teams in the West and play most of their games vs. EC teams, they have a better chance of winning the title for two reasons: The EC playoffs shouldn't be tough except for the Celtics (they can beat the Pistons (see 2007 ECF)); Lebron James is a God.

9. Magic - They have the defensive player of the year. 'Nuff Said.

10. Jazz - They are my second most hated team in the NBA dating back to the Malone Era. But the Mavericks have been playing like a D-League team of late, and the rest of the East is terrible, so they are here by default.

The final West spot is probably going to come down to the Warriors and the Nuggets. It's going to be sad if the Nuggets miss the playoffs with a +.600 record, and the Atlanta Hawks (who?) make it with their awesome sub-.450 record.

The NBA should seriously consider doing something about this unbalance of talent. My awesome idea is to disallow any sub-.500 team from making the playoffs, provided there is a +.500 team in the other conference not in the playoffs. Example: The Sixers are the 7th seed with a .493 winning percentage right now. The Nuggets are 9th in the West with a +.500 record, so they take the Sixers spot. Same goes for the Hawks (who?) and the TrailBlazers. Then, the East could place the two West teams where they belong in the seeding according to their records. David Stern, I am a genius.

Lebron slows down the Pistons

In a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, Lebron's Cavs handily defeated the Pistons 89-73. James had another solid night, putting up 30/7/6 without turning the ball over once.

In the West, the Rockets had their streak snapped on Tuesday by the best team in the NBA, the Celtics, and continued their losing "streak" on Wednesday vs. the Hornets. I still believe that if the Lakers finish first in the West, Kobe is a shoe-in for MVP. They are currently tied with the Hornets for top spot, but the 7th place Mavericks are a mere 2.5 games back.

Pheonix has finally settled in with Shaq, with the longest current winning steak at 6games. I picked them finish 1st in the West right after I heard that Shaq was traded to the Suns. They have a tough next three games (Houston, @Detroit, @Boston), but if they can take 2 of 3 there, I'll be happy. The Lakers will obviously lose to Utah tomorrow because Utah doesn't lose at home. Then when Pheonix beats Houston on Saturday, they will be tied with the Lakers (and Houston if they beat Golden State on Friday) for top spot in the West, somewhere they have not been for a while.

Lakers can't win without Gasol

Gasol sprained his ankle early in the Lakers-Hornets game on Friday night, and consequently, Kobe's lakers could not hold off the Hornets, losing 108-98. Kobe had 36/9/3 in the loss. The Lakers are now tied for first in the West with the red hot Rockets, who have won 21 straight.

I have a feeling that if the Lakers get the top spot in the West, Kobe will be wrongfully chosen as the MVP, and if they finish in the top 4, it will depend on how the Cavs finish the season. If the Lakers finish 5th or lower (quite possible since Dallas, the 7th seed, is only 3 games back of first), Lebron should be unanimously selected as the MVP.

I won't be updating this until Sunday due to excessive drinking, when the Cavs beat the Bobcats, and the Lakers fall to the Rockets.



Where 21 in a row happens.

Cavs fall to the Wizards

The last two days the Cavs had back to back games and lost both. Lebron James missed a buzzer-beater with no time remaining against the Wizards on Thursday night. Despite averaging 33/10.5/9 the last two games, the Cavs have fallen five games back of the Magic for the third spot in the East. They will probably need to win 15 of their last 18 to have a 50 win season, and any chance of James being the MVP.

Meanwhile, the Western Conference is shaping up to be one of the tightest races of all time. The top 7 teams are within 3.5 games of each other, and Golden State and Denver are fighting for that last playoff spot. Houston is playing some amazing basketball of late, and after they beat the lowly Bobcats on Friday, they will have a chance to win their 22nd game in a row against the Lakers on Sunday, simultaneously taking over the top spot in the West.

Just for fun, I'm going to predict the final standings and playoffs right now, to see how accurate I can be.

Eastern Conference:

1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Philadelphia
8. Chicago

Western Conference:

1. Los Angeles
2. San Antonio
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. New Orleans
6. Pheonix
7. Dallas
8. Denver

Playoffs:

(1) Boston in 4
(2) Detroit in 5
(3) Orlando in 5
(4) Cleveland in 6

(1) Los Angeles in 5
(2) Spurs in 7
(6) Pheonix in 6
(5) New Orleans in 7

(1) Boston in 7
(2) Detroit in 5

(6) Pheonix in 7 in the best playoff series in the history of the NBA
(5) New Orleans in 7

(1) Boston in 7
(6) Pheonix in 7

(6) Pheonix in 7

It is no coincidence that my favourite teams also happen to be doing very this year. I really don't care who wins out of the East unless it is the Magic. In the West I'm liking the way the Suns have played this past week, and think this is their year to win it all. I'd also like to point out that I absolutely despise the Spurs, and hope they never win a championship again (well, at least until Manu Whine-obili retires).

The NBA - Where Bad MVP Voting - happens.

Triple Double for Lebron too much for Blazers

Lebron had 24 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds last night vs. the Blazers and showed once again why he should be this year's MVP. It was Lebron's 7th triple double this season, and 17th of this career.

Lebron leads Kobe in every major statistical category (pts, rebs, asts, stls, blks, FG%) and has less turnovers per game. His also supporting cast a great deal worse than Kobe's. These are the two main reasons Lebron is this year's MVP. The Lakers are winning %12 more games than the Cavs this year, but I guarentee if Kobe and Lebron were not on their respective rosters, the Lakers would win way more than 12% more than the Cavs. If that is not proof enough that Lebron deserves the MVP I don't know what to say.

The MVP in recent years has seems to be more about "the best player on the best team" and less about "the most valuable player". From wikipedia:

"The award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Voting is done by 125 members of the media;[1] three from each of the 30 NBA cities and the rest a mix of national writers and broadcasters. Since the 1982-83 NBA season, only players from teams with 50 or more wins have won the award, all but assuring that the MVP will be from a playoff-bound team."

I hope these so-called sportswriters smarten up and realize who the most valuable player to his team is. Right now the Cavs are only on pace to win 47 games which doesn't help Lebron's cause.

The new "Race to the MVP" article was posted today, and Kobe is erroneously at the top. I am amazed at how stupid some sportswriters can be. The only thing Kobe has going for him is his team record, but alas, I guess that is what the once-coveted MVP award has become, the MVPOTBT.

Lebron For MVP

The MVP race this year is coming down to two players, Lebron and Kobe, and it looks like one of them is guarenteed to win it. Despite James having a godly season, people still believe Kobe should be awarded the MVP. They are wrong.

Lebron is outperforming Kobe in the 5 major statistical categories, has a higher FG%, and gets less turnovers per game. Over the next month, I will provide in depth analysis why Lebron is the clear favourite for the MVP, even though the Lakers are atop a tough Western Conference, and the Cavs are a second-tier Eastern Conference Team.