| 31 December 2008
Nearly a New Year, and the final vote for this year for the Blogger MVP/ROY awards is up over at Raptor's HQ!
MVP
1. LeBron James - I'm still unconvinced that Cleveland is the real deal. I am, however, sure that LeBron Raymone James is.2. Kobe Bryant - That old black mamba has me in it's spell... ok, I'm no Ol' Blue Eyes, but Kobe Bryant finally has the Lakers all singing the same tune again. And it's a good 'un.
3. Chris Paul - The Hornets still look unconvincing at times, and that makes me unconvinced about Chris Paul. Which is terribly unfair. I mean... he's averaging 20+ points, and 11+ assists. But, what can I do? Meh... #3.
4. Dwyane Wade - Statistically, better than LeBron James at the moment. It's true. Go look. But there's something missing. Miami: arguably a better roster, 16-13 and sitting 3rd in their division, 6th in the East. Cleveland: 26-4, 2nd best record in the league, a game behind Boston. There's your difference.
5. Dwight Howard - The Dwightmare continues to astound. To borrow a parlance from And1, he's half-man, half-amazing.
6. Tim Duncan - Amazing to think that not so long ago, the Spurs were down near the bottom of the Western Conference. Now they're second only to the Lakers out West. Why? How did they do that when Manu and Tony Longoria were out for so long? One word answer: Timmy.
7. Joe Johnson - Well-rounded. And playing well. The Johnson-lead Hawks are playing with a quiet determination. Just like Johnson.8. Brandon Roy - Guy's playing some phenomenal basketball, when he's on, there's no-one better. But if Nate McMillan's plan to use Roy less to preserve him for later on in the season, then his production will drop. And so will his ranking.
9. Dirk Nowitzki - Just quietly, Dirk's playing very, very well. And so's Dallas. Problem is, so are Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio.
10. Chris Bosh - Barely hanging in this list by the skin o' his teeth. Almost time to put a toe-tag on Bosh's MVP dream for this season.
ROY
1. OJ Mayo - Memphis... want Mayo on that? OJ's surpassed Rose, and has Memphis as a better team now than Rose's Bulls.2. Derrick Rose - Falling to #2 against OJ Mayo is no slight, and the gap between these two is miniscule. I'd expect that the rest of the season will just be a series of jousts between them to see who wins out on the ROY.
3. Michael Beasley - there's daylight between Rose/Mayo and Beasley. He's the goods, and may up being the best taken in the last draft. Just not now.
4. Marc Gasol - Robin to Mayo's Batman, Gasol presents a physical presence that the Grizzlies need.
5. Russell Westbrook - finding someone to put in at the 5th slot was quite tough. Westbrook's it. Just.
You can find blogdom's votes over at Raptor's HQ. Head over there and have a look at what everyone else thinks...
