2011 NBA POY Watch 1/24

My version of the NBA MVP list. Updated weekly.

Player (Last Week’s Rank)

1. Derrick Rose (1)

Another week, continued success for the Bulls. With incredible defensive dominance and offensive reliance on Rose, could we be seeing another Iverson-style MVP? This is shaping up to be an MVP race where people meditate and change opinions based on exactly what they decide their philosophy of MVP determination is.

2. Dwight Howard (4)

As others slide, the solid Howard steps up. Still, this Magic team has had a pretty major drop off from last year, hard to imagine Howard will earn his first MVP this year unless his team really catches fire.

3. Dirk Nowitzki (3)

Dirk’s still the guy whose year say “MVP” to me. If he gets back to 100% and leads the Mavs to a strong final record, he’ll probably be my pick.

4. Chris Paul (5)

Paul’s candidacy is a fascinating one this year. In some ways he’s in the same boat as Rose, leading a surprisingly successful defense-oriented team. He’s seem to then have the edge over Rose because of his superior star status in the league, and the fact that Paul’s actually doing his thing with vastly superior efficiency despite having a supporting cast of modest offensive reputation. Efficiency is a great thing, but there’s just no denying that the Hornets offense simply isn’t relying as much on Paul as the Bulls are with Rose. The Hornets had a win this week where Paul went 1 for 8 from the field. Hard to imagine the Bulls getting away with that.

5. Manu Ginobili (6)

Halfway through the year, the Spurs still have easily the best record in the league, and there’s really no debate that Ginobili has emerged of the club. Knock his modest scoring volume if you like, but if it were Duncan with those numbers, I think he’d be getting a heavy dose of MVP consideration.

6. Deron Williams (2)

A nightmare of a week for Deron’s Jazz. 4 losses, 3 of them against bad teams. They better get themselves right in a hurry.

7. LeBron James (7)

Feels like James has taken a quick break before beginning the big push for the rest of the season. I’m optimistic about he and the Heat, but there’s no denying that the team is behind LeBron’s normal Cavalier pace, and I’m not going to forget about that easily.

8. Kevin Durant (9)

Still waiting for the Thunder to take that next step. Hard to imagine giving Durant this award without him actually lead the team into elite territory now that it’s clear what a talented supporting cast he has.

9. Dwyane Wade (8)

Between his own missed games, and the injuries to his team, Wade hasn’t won a game in 2 weeks. Enough to drop him one spot, but it doesn’t feel as damning to me as it sounds. The idea that the team falls apart without LeBron but is fine without Wade is misguided, and like LeBron, it feels to me like he’s getting ready for the big push – though I realize right now he’s dealing with migraines that hardly constitute a fair break.

10. Kobe Bryant (10)

I’ll keep Kobe just on the edge here. Lakers still have a strong record, and I can’t swallow not looking at Kobe as their star. Funny though, their record is just modest enough that it doesn’t scream “Great” while still being good enough that I can’t take seriously the notion that the Lakers aren’t a huge threat for the title.