Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is widely considered the runaway candidate to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award at the conclusion of the regular season.
However, former Houston Rockets assistant head coach Irv Roland thinks that it should be Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul.
“Chris Paul is the most VALUABLE player,” Roland quote tweeted in response to Jay Williams. “The award says valuable, not outstanding,” Roland told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. “Measuring individual value, this player’s addition took a non-playoff team to the best record in the NBA, I don’t see what the debate is.”
While Jokic’s numbers are considerably better than Paul’s, it shouldn’t be ignored that the Suns currently own the best record in the NBA a season after not even being able to make it into the play-in tournament down in the Orlando bubble. What also shouldn’t be ignored is that CP3 led the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are currently one of the worst teams in the league, into the playoffs last season.
More West Notes
- Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel confirmed that LeBron James will be out for Thursday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, but didn’t completely rule out a return to action on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported that James was expected to be out for both games of the back-to-back.
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The Golden State Warriors have six games remaining for the rest of the regular season with all of them being home games. However, Stephen Curry acknowledges that the team still needs to stay locked in mentally in order to finish the season strong. “Six games at home to finish the season is nice,” Curry said. “That is kind of a trap, though. “You can let your foot off the gas pedal because you’re comfortable being at home [and] seeing our families.” The Warriors currently have a three-game cushion for a spot in the play-in tournament.
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New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson shares that he sought out advice from Draymond Green, saying that he has a lot of respect for the former Defensive Player of the Year. “He has a high IQ for the game,” Williamson said. “He’s a great basketball player. He knows where to take his reaches, when to be physical without drawing the foul.” If Williamson can add a lot of the same defensive tendencies that Green has to his game, then he’ll have a chance to become the best two-way player in the league one day.
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Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant recently said in an interview with Shaquille O’Neal that he’s a top-five point guard “for sure.” Love the confidence from the reigning Rookie of the Year, but there are currently five, if not more, better point guards in the league than him. In due time, though, he can definitely reach that level.
