John Hollinger Murders Derrick Rose's MVP Candidacy (Link ESPN Insider Only) - I don't like stepping on the toes of my links too much usually, but since this one is insider only I'm gonna. Hollinger out right destroys the idea that D-Rose should be MVP. First, he goes back and rips the Nash and Iverson MVPs and Jason Kidd's 2001 MVP candidacy as all about the story. He shows how all of those guys had better years in other years but received no MVP support in their better years because there was no story. Derrick Rose's candidacy is all about the story and the improvement of the Bulls from last year and that they have been good in spite of all their injuries. But that doesn't make him the MVP. His team doesn't get as much worse when he leaves the floor as the Heat do when LeBron sits or the Magic do when Dwight Howard sits. And their defense, their league best defense, actually gets better when he comes off the floor. Hollinger comes to the conclusion that Rose is definitely not the MVP and Dwight Howard is the clear cut MVP and I'd have to agree with him.
Bill Simmons Breaks Down The NBA Season - Simmons wrote an 800 page basketball bible... So when he writes about the season itself, you should take a look at it. This link is to part one of his two part review. He power ranks all the non-contenders in this column as the look for the future.
