Simmed game
Los Angeles Lakers - Atlanta Hawks : 106-103
Sice I had only three games in March, it's time for another version of
League Leaders


Players Of The Month
MVP Candidates

The Western Conferense is fairly realistic but Rockets at the bottom and Spurs eliminated?

More on that later.
The East, not bad. Nice to see New York on playoff pace.
Let's take a look at the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the last month of NBA's regular season. First, here are team leaders in the five categories:
Points :
1. Kobe Bryant - 30.0
2. Chris Bosh - 21.0
3. Lamar Odom - 17.6
4. Smush Parker - 9.4
5. Aaron McKie - 9.0
Rebounds :
1. Chris Bosh - 8.4
2. Chris Mihm - 7.6
3. Lamar Odom - 4.7
4. Brian Cook - 4.4
5. Kobe Bryant - 3.4
Assists :
1. Smush Parker - 2.9
-. Chris Bosh - 2.9
3. Kobe Bryant - 2.5
4. Lamar Odom - 2.1
5. Aaron McKie - 1.3
Blocks :
1. Chris Mihm - 2.3
2. Chris Bosh - 1.8
3. Kobe Bryant - 0.9
-. Lamar Odom - 0.9
5. Andrew Bynum - 0.5
Steals :
1. Smush Parker - 1.8
2. Lamar Odom - 1.0
3. Kobe Bryant - 0.8
4. Chris Mihm - 0.6
5. Chris Bosh - 0.5
-. Andrew Bynum - 0.5
Here is the Lakers' schedule for April :
The Lakers should be able to close out their season victorious, with tough games against Miami, Phoenix and Dallas. The team has already secured it's playoff spot.
Coaches, managers furious towards NBA
Jackson claims new feature as an marketing opportunity
The NBA introduced the
Official MVP Candidates Leaderboard brought by NBA's new main sponsor EA Sports this season as a new feature to the NBA atmosphere to accompany current players of the month awards. The first tryout didn't end up as they expected though, and the fans should be scrathing their heads as well.
Currently the board has Tim Duncan ranked number one, followed in order by Jermaine O'Neal, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett and Gilber Arenas. Tim Duncan is playing for the San Antonio Spurs, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs. The fact that the board is being lead by a player of an inferior team has ignited some heated debates about the new feature and the league's deeper motives to promote certain players and teams.
"Duncan currently plays for the worst team and the league and is considered the most valuable player? The new feature is just a marketing gimmick," said Phil Jackson, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. "This is going too far, there clearly is an officiating issue but this makes it clear that the league is clearly putting players in unequal positions."
It is certainly peculiar that there is no consideration for players from the Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns or Denver Nuggets, who clearly are the best teams in the league in addition to New Jersey Nets, who happen to have Jason Kidd on the list.
Let's take a look at the list in order. Stats can be found again at the bottom of the list.
1. Tim Duncan
Duncan is putting up nice numbers, but the fact that his team is the second worst team in the Western Conference and already been eliminated with a month left certainly shouldn't give him consideration as an MVP candidate, yet he is the number 1 choice? Insane... Duncan isn't even in the top 10 in points per game, where does his status come from? The ugliest shoes?
2. Jermaine O'Neal
Yep, the league has lost it's mind. Indiana is the fourth worst team in the league and JO is posting worse numbers than Duncan, except points. No MVP status here.
3. Jason Kidd
The Nets are second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-11, so Kidd's position here is legitimate, out of these five candidates, Kidd is the one who has moderate chance of earning the trophy.
4. Kevin Garnett
The fact that KG is finally getting MVP consideration is good. The bad? The West has six teams above the Timberwolves. Then again, Garnett is competing against Duncan for the best numbers of the PF position of the league, so his spot here is ok, certainly more than Duncan's.
5. Gilbert Arenas
The league's reluctance of promoting Arenas might have come to an end. Arenas, currently in the league second in scoring has Washington 13-11 with the tied fourth place in the East and his spot here is well earned.
Editor's Picks
After all the hussle, here is the editor's picks for the MVP trophy 2006-2007 heading into April:
1. Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
The best team, #1 scorer, what more do you want Kobe to do? The Lakers have been destroying the league with the Kobe-Odom-Bosh trio and one of them should be awarded, who else but Bryant.
2. LeBron James - Cleveland Cavaliers
No love for Bron? 22.1 ppg, 5.8 assists, and the Cavs are third in the East.
3. Jason Kidd - New Jersey Nets
The Nets are doing fine and Kidd has been the key, while Carter has diminished a bit and Jefferson has been nowhere to be seen.
4. Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves have finally turned it around but have some work to do to keep them on the light side. If they make the playoffs, Garnett can stay in this spot, if not, it's out of the Top 5.
5. Anyone from the Pistons, Mavericks, Suns or Nuggets
In addition to the Lakers, these are the only teams to have less than 10 losses with great team play. Billups, Nowitzki, Nash or Melo, anybody?