With our final Race to the MVP scheduled to publish next Friday, April 17, we wanted to step into the Internet version of a time machine (thanks, Google!), to not only see where our mind was when the season started, but we also wanted to look at how our first attempt at ranking the league's best compared to today's top 10.
In retrospect, we did pretty well, as six of the current top 10 were in our first Race to the MVP from this season. None of them, however, will finish in the spot where we first placed them. It would have been seven of the top 10, but San Antonio's Tim Duncan, who was ninth in our first rankings and ninth last week, tumbled out of the top 10 this week.
(Sorry, Timmy.)
The other three players who are no longer in the top 10 -- Boston's Paul Pierce, who started the season at No. 3, Toronto's Chris Bosh, who was No. 5 and Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire, who debuted at No. 8 -- fell out of the top 10 for different reasons.
Pierce's fall out of the top 10 was the longest, but it had more to do with the Finals MVP hangover and how the Celtics were constructed than anything with Pierce's play.
Releated Stroy
In The Finals, Pierce showed he could be the man, and did so often during the 2008-09 regular season, hitting clutch shots and carrying the team at times. But the Celtics' success rests on their defense and their combined talents of the Big Three of Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Allen has had one of his best seasons as a pro -- and is another reason the Celtics are close to winning 60 again -- and Garnett has shown how valuable he is by his absence.
Bosh, with 22.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, has put up better overall individual numbers than Pau Gasol, Yao Ming and Chauncey Billups (three players ranked in this week's column). Yet, there is one number that trumps all -- 48, as in losses.
As we have discussed many times, winning is key to being in the Most Valuable Player discussion. Bosh's slide out of the top 10 coincided with Toronto's slide under .500 when they lost to Denver on Dec. 2 to fall to 8-9. It was also after that loss that the Raptors relieved coach Sam Mitchell of his duties. Combine all those factors and Bosh's MVP candidacy never recovered.
Amar'e's candidacy also took a hit when the Suns were slow to adapt to then-coach Terry Porter's half-court style. Amar'e took exception to the Suns' new slowdown style and made his thoughts about it public. The players' general malaise and their reluctance to walk when they knew they could run hastened Porter's exit out of Phoenix.
The Suns and Stoudemire showed promise after the All-Star break by scoring 282 points in their first two games after Alvin Gentry took over. But Stoudemire suffered a season-ending eye injury and that was that.
So, now we have two interlopers: Denver's Chauncey Billups and Portland's Brandon Roy.
If anyone tells you they thought Billups would be an MVP candidate this season, don't believe anything they ever say again. He started the season with the Detroit Pistons and has emerged as possibly the most valuable player outside of our top five of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.
No one saw Billups' MVP candidacy coming, and it goes deeper than his moderate numbers.
It all changed when he was sent to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson and Antonio McDyess on Nov. 3. Billups, the 2004 Finals MVP, changed the tenor and the tone of the Nuggets from a throw-it-up team who would throw up all over themselves at crucial times (especially the Playoffs) to a measured and solid defensive squad.
With Billups running the point, the Nuggets have leadership on both ends of the floor and are poised to be the No. 2 seed in the West. Valuable? Very.
As for Roy, the former Rookie of the Year was overshadowed by the arrival of one big rookie, Greg Oden. But as Oden struggled, Roy emerged as The Man in Portland. Steady and possibly most importantly, clutch, Roy has put the Blazers onto his shoulders and helped them navigate the nasty Western Conference. His poise and his presence will make him a mainstay in these rankings for seasons to come.
Finally, at No. 10, there's Pau Gasol. We've been enamored with Gasol's work with the Lakers since they acquired him last February for his brother, Marc and the loose change Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak found in the cushions of his office couch. As we noted in Gasol's blurb this week, it would be tough to find a big in the NBA who fits the Lakers' triangle offense better than the eight-year vet.
In addition to the reigning MVP, Gasol has been the other reason the Lakers have been able to weather Andrew Bynum's injuries in back-to-back seasons. His solidifying presence in the paint is the reason he merits mention here.
Well, that's it until next week when we reveal our final top 10 including who we think should win the 2008-09 Most Valuable Player. And readers, if you have a great reason as to why anyone in this week's top 10 -- from LeBron to Yao
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