Two Honorable Mentions for this years MVP Race

Let me start off by saying that this year's MVP race does not have a clear cut winner like there have been in the past. This year there are five lagitiment candidates along with some honorable mentions. I'll start off by naming two honorable mentions.

Photo Credit: http://d2x0ksaw3us1xg.cloudfront.net
/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Marc-Gasol.jpg

First up is Marc Gasol. I'm giving the first honorable mention spot to Gasol because of the season his team has had. The Grizzlies have held the two seed for most of the season and have only recently slipped to three behind the Rockets. The Grizzlies success this season is mostly thanks to Gasol. Gasol is averaging a career high 17.5 points per game (ppg). He is also has 7.9 rebounds per game (rpg) and 1.6 block per game (blkpg) to go with his 17.5 ppg. Gasol deserves some more praise. His stat line doesn't shout MVP material, but he could easily put up a double double on any night. He is also probably the only center in the NBA that can dominate on both ends of the floor. Gasol could make a jumper from the top of the key on the offensive end and then could get a block the very next play. Not many centers in the NBA can do both of those things. Many forget he was the defensive player of the year in 2013. Gasol is a threat on both ends of the floor, something that is missing in the NBA today.

Photo Credit: http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content
/blogs.dir/258/files/2014/02/8165544.jpg

The second honorable mention goes to LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge is averaging a double double for the season with 23.5 ppg and 10.4 rpg. He is also averaging 1 blkpg. Oh yeah. Did I mention he is doing all of this with a torn ligament in his thumb? He tore a ligament in his thumb back in January and has decided to play through it. Thanks to Aldridge and Lillard's outstanding play the Blazers currently sit in the fourth seed in a tough western conference. I think Aldridge should be brought up in MVP conversation more often, but this year there are so many candidates he fall out of the top 5.

Has it become the Wild East?

Photo Credit:
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/prosportsteams/images/f/ff/Eastern_Conference_(NBA).gif/revision/latest?cb=20120914185141

In the Eastern Conference it has become a dog fight for the last two playoff spots. Over the last two months six teams have been leaping over each other and changing positions in the standing. Detroit, Indiana, Miami, Charlotte, Boston, and Brooklyn all have been struggling to hold on to one of those two spots. Miami seemed to have a good grip on the seventh seed, while the other five were trying to snag the eight seed. Then Miami lost Chris Bosh and with him they started to slip.
Two weeks after the all star break it looked like the Nets were going run away from the pack taking the eighth seed and looking to take Miami's seventh seed. Detroit fell down a few spots, but were still in striking distance, while Charlotte and Boston hit some speed bumps. During it all Indian quietly raised through the ranks.

Tim Fuller USA TODAY SPORTS

Fast forward two more weeks to today and things have drastically changed again. The Detroit Pistons had a good fight while it lasted, but loosing there last eight games they have blown there opportunity at a playoff spot. It's not entirely there fault. They lost arguably there best player Brandon Jennings for the rest of the year and without him they were going to struggle.

Photo Credit:
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com
/2014/01/netsmain.jpg

The Nets seem lost. The had a 4-2 stretch against the NBA's top teams including wins against Dallas and Golden State. It looked like the Nets could be a threat to a top team with the reemergence of Deron Williams and newly acquired Thadeus Young. Two weeks later and the Nets look flat. They've lost there last five games and two of them came to Charlotte and Miami, two teams they needed to win against to build a cushion for the eighth seed. Being four games out of eighth with only 19 games left the Nets really need to get it together. I would say there chances are slim, but with games against Indiana, Boston and Charlotte still left on the schedule they aren't out yet.

Charlotte is playing very inconsistent. They can go in one night and beat a good team or win an important game by 20 or 30 points and then lose the next game to a lottery team by 20. With this kind of inconsistency I wouldn't expect Charlotte to make the playoffs. Especially with there schedule. Its not favorable that they win any of there up coming game.

Photo Credit:
 http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/
celtics/extras/celtics_blog/isaiaha.jpg

Boston has to be the most shocking team in the playoff race. They were bound to be a lottery team this season and have gathered many picks to draft well for the future. They also traded Rondo early in the season and then waived or traded the guys they got for him. It looked like a tanking in progress. But anything is possible in the east. The Celtics have a pretty favorable schedule coming up. They have some games against weak teams and they also have Miami, Brooklyn, Indiana, and Charlotte all circled on their calendar. Don't forget they added Isaiah Thomas at the trade deadline. I think the Celtics have a legit shot at making it.

Photo Credit:
 http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/
105/files/2015/01/paul-george-nba-
boston-celtics-indiana-pacers2-850x560.jpg

Indiana is a sleeper team. Many people expected them to fall into the lottery this year and have a quick rebuild for next year. Just like the Spurs did in 1997. After losing Robinson for a whole season the Spurs added Tim Duncan with the number overall pick. Robinson and Duncan won two championships together. Well it doesn't look like Paul George will be getting a new running mate next season. Instead he is planning on coming back this season and helping his team make a playoff push. Indiana is in a great spot right now. If they make the playoffs they'll have George on the court and if they don't they can get a young prospect in the draft. The Pacers have six must win games coming up. Two against the Nets and Celtics and one against the Heat and Hornets. If the Pacers win all those games and the games against teams below .500 they will be a lock for the playoffs. They are 8-1 since the all-star break with no signs of slowing down. The Pacers are definitely a team that everyone should keep an eye on.

Photo Credit:
 http://www.trbimg.com/img-54ebdd94
/turbine/sfl-miami-heat-philadelphia-76ers-s022315
-001/900/900x506

Miami is the last team of the six. Currently in the the eighth seed a half game back of Indiana and a half game ahead of Charlotte. Miami could go either way at this point. They won an important game against Brooklyn last night, but there schedule is unpredictable. If Wade and Dragic stay healthy and Hassan Whiteside keeps up his level of play they should make the playoffs as an 8 seed. It's unfortunate what happened to the Heat. It looked like they formed another big three then Bosh was ruled out for the season by blood clots in his lungs. I really don't know what to think of the Heat. I think they can either fall in the standings or rise all depending on the health of the team.

Could Deron Williams Become Himself Again?

Photo credit: https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/deron6.jpg?w=720&h=480&crop=1

Deron Williams has been a huge disappointment thus far in his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. When he signed his brand new contract in the summer of 2012 he was number nine in ESPN's player rankings. I still can't believe it. Nine out of the 500 or so players. I mean nine! Since then his play has been nothing impressive. In fact it's been mediocre at best. In game two of last years playoffs he scored 0 points. This had to be Williams lowest point. In the off season he had surgery on both his ankles hoping to come into this season the healthiest he's been since his last year in New Jersey.

Williams looked promising putting up numbers good enough to notch him eastern conference player of the week for week one. Since then his production has gone down. He has also dealt with injuries along the way. Heading into the all-star break Williams was only a shell of his former self. 

After the all-star break Williams has played in a way that I haven't seen since his last year in New Jersey. He was putting up decent scoring numbers while tallying up double digit assists each night. It seemed like Williams was finally contributing to the team again. Then he went into Dallas and put up 25 points. He went 4 for 6 from three. Not only did he shoot well, but he shot in rhythm. Each shot he took looked like it was going in. Also his body language was good. He looked comfortable taking shot and was willing to shoot. Something that I haven't seem in Williams in a long time. His crossovers were smooth, but also very explosive. He was able to take guys off the dribble to the rim. And once he got that going he was able to pull off hesitation moves to get an open jump shot. 

I hope that Williams continues to play this way and make a great playoff push. 

I've been waiting for Williams to have game like last night because sometimes all it takes is the ball going through the hoop to get your confidence back. Even if he doesn't have the best shooting night tomorrow, I want him to continue to shoot. As we all saw last night he still have the explosive and quick dribble moves to get his defender off balance now all he needs is some shooting confidence.