Flash

I get the Rose for MVP talk, but I think it's selling short the coaching Thibodeau has done this year. The reason why the Bulls are so tough to beat isn't just that Rose is a tremendous player, it's that he has that team playing ridiculously tough defense from top to bottom. The Bulls have a positive +/- even while Rose is on the bench. Their second unit keeps teams struggling to score, allowing the Bulls to be very, very good for 48 minutes. Nobody would say Rose is a top 5 defensive PG. That's not knocking him though as he's definitely improved this year under Thibodeau, but it's interesting that from a pure offensive standpoint, compared to past MVP's especially, he's not out of this world or even close to them. 2010 MVP: LBJ PER 31 (#1) 2009 MVP: LBJ PER 31 (#1) 2008 MVP: Kobe PER 24 (#7) 2007 MVP: Dirk PER 27 (#2) 2006 MVP: Nash PER 23 (#14) 2005 MVP: Nash PER 22 (#18) 2004 MVP: KG PER 29 (#1) Usually, MVP goes to a guy near the top of PER, mainly because it's been an offensive award for a long time now. Kobe's award in 2008 could've gone to either LBJ or CP3 and Nash's awards have been the most scrutinized MVP awards I can remember. 2011 MVP?: Derrick Rose PER 23 (#12) This isn't hating on Rose because his season has been amazing. Its just interesting where he stacks up compared to past MVPs.

Take Dwight off the Magic and what are they? Exactly, they'd be worse than Cleveland.

Brandon Knight is taking over early against WVU.

Williams is like the anti-Beasley. Only thing holding Michael Beasley back is Michael Beasley.

Irving is the easy answer for Toronto if they get the top pick. If not, then I really like Derrick Williams or Enes Kanter for you guys. Kanter is going to be a star IMO.

I've got 13/16 left in my Sweet 16 in my ESPN one. Haven't lost a game on the left side of the bracket either.

Question for the Rockets fans, how much does Patterson's emergence impact Scola's future with Houston? Gotta believe they'll look at trade options this off-season, no?

I think that makes it more remarkable that LeBron is still second in the league in scoring considering he's playing alongside Wade and Bosh. I'd say Dwight has done the most with less. That team is so horrible besides him its not even funny. But you can also easily make that case for Rose as well.

If you don't think "The Decision" has anything to do with Rose's sudden rise in popularity then you're being naive. He's sorta like this year's version of what Kevin Durant was last year. The nice, young, humble player everyone wants to root for. I'm not saying Rose doesn't deserve the award, because the case can certainly be made for him, but I think Dwight and LBJ should be ahead of him.

Another big reason: http://healthcorpsolutionsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/YahooDOTcom-Sports-Blog-pic-of-LeBron-James-Announcing-Decision.jpg

Because he's this years media darling. He's been absolutely incredible this year, without a doubt All NBA First team, but if I had a vote it would go to Dwight or LBJ.

Thanks a lot, Pacers

Officially the 7th seed in the East unless Philly loses tonight. The Knicks are lucky the Pacers and Bobcats suck, because if those 2 teams had any sort of pulse the Knicks might not be a playoff team.

Only 1 loss so far today but it'll probably be 2 if UNLV keeps looking like pure shit.

Thanks a lot Pacers.

Wade and LBJ have outscored Atlanta 26-11 in this quarter.

Holy shit LeBron is putting on a show. Youngest in league history to 17,000 points.

Three pointers from Wade and LBJ are opening this game up for us. Very nice start to this half.

Kyrie Irving would do wonders for you guys. I'm actually rooting for Toronto to win the lottery this year. I like everyone on that team minus Bargnani.

That dunk sparked a run that eventually tied the game up. What's your point?

UNC just dominating out of the gates here in the second half.

Great defense and rebounding in that first half. Bosh, Magloire and Joel are all rebounding very, very well it seems. LeBron was ridiculous in the first half with 20 points on perfect shooting. Bosh looks outstanding tonight as well. Now we gotta keep our focus and continue to set the pace of the game in the second half.

You gotta realize that Wade's body has gone through more than LBJ's. Wade is older by 4 years and he's had some major injuries so I can see why he would want some more rest down the stretch.

Derrick Williams isn't allowed to play defense lol. SMH @ these refs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTdj-LDuwgA&feature=related