MVN: Most Valuable Network

For all intents and purposes, every team in the NBA is pretty much done with one-third of the regular season.  This may sound a little contradictory and it certainly is to some degree but I hate it when people talk about playoffs and make a statement such as, "If the playoffs started today..." It's arguably the dumbest statement you can make because it's completely hypothetical and at the same time undeniably impossible.  The playoffs will never start earlier than after the last scheduled day of the regular season. It just won't happen.  Shannon Doherty has a better chance of someone asking who her plastic surgeon was because they like that doctor's work.

But people want to know where players stand throughout the season in regards to which guys are winning the awards.  If the season won today, who would win what awards?  Who are the frontrunners?  Who is deserving of what accolades?  It seemingly goes against everything I stated above in terms of "if the season started today" but there is one important difference.  People often get confused when it comes to giving out yearly awards because one good stretch of basketball instead of looking at the whole season in its entirety sways them.  It's dumb to look at the landscape of the NBA and say if the season ended today then so and so would make the playoffs. 

However, it is almost necessary to stop and look at the award races now so that nobody sneaks up on us a couple of months from now.  Here are the award frontrunners thus far in the NBA season:

MVP - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Runner-Ups: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade
Not only is the media dying to give LeBron James the MVP award but he actually deserves it so far.  LeBron James has been the most unstoppable offensive player in this league and is playing the passing lanes so well that the Browns have offered him a deal to be the strong safety next season.  His Cavs team should not be this dominant with the players and talent they have but he's leading them perfectly and has them as one of the biggest surprises in the first trimester (on pace for 69 wins). 
Question You Might Be Asking Yourself - Why is KG on this list?
KG is getting a semi-unfair rep right now for being a trash talker of annoying proportions.  But look at what his team is doing and how he's leading them.  They're on pace to win 76 games and are a historic 26-2 so far.  KG brought a title to this town and has them so focused and intense that they're doing an even better job this despite losing James Posey in the off-season.  The stats don't look like he deserves consideration but the most important number (wins) says it all. 

Check Out the Rest of the Awards Winners Here


Los Angeles Lakers 105, Memphis Grizzlies 96 in Memphis
By Zach Harper

I was originally going to recap the Warriors-Magic game because I thought it would be a good measure between a really good offensive team and a really good and improving Orlando defense. And it was until about two minutes into the game when you realized that the Magic were going to run away with this game and Golden State was laying down faster than Paris Hilton. So while searching for another game to view for this recap, I decided against the Rockets-Nets game (which turned out to be a blowout) and wasn't really interested in the Blazers-Nuggets game because I feel like we talk about the Blazers a lot and Carmelo Anthony wasn't playing. So I settled on a team that I'm starting to fall for -- the Memphis Grizzlies.

Last season, the Grizzlies were completely overmatched and it seemed like Marc Iavaroni didn't belong as a head coach in this league. Fast forward one year and this Memphis team is extremely fun to watch, has a quite confidence for a team with such little proven talent, and Marc Iavaroni still doesn't appear to be worthy of a head coaching position. But going into Monday night, they had a very tough opponent coming to the Garage in Memphis with the Lakers in town.

The Grizzlies put up a great fight against a Lakers team that is reeling a little bit and was trying to stop a two-game losing streak. The Grizzlies played inspired defense, kept the Lakers uncomfortable for much of the game, and even took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies weathered any chance at a run by the Lakers for much of the game and made a couple of big shots to tie the game at 96 with 58 seconds left in the game. But the Lakers used their advantage in talent and experience by not allowing Memphis to score in those final 58 seconds and closing the game out with a 9-0 run, which was capped off by an unnecessary dunk by Kobe Bryant as time expired.

It was the first game as professionals in the NBA that pitted Marc and Pau Gasol against each other, which was mildly significant news in the Gasol house and completely insignificant news everywhere else in the NBA. Pau won the battle with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to beat out Marc's eight points and seven rebounds. Rudy Gay dropped in 23 points and O.J. Mayo nearly matched that effort with 22 of his own. But Kobe Bryant's 36 was simply too much for the Grizzlies. This was a game in which the Grizzlies showed that they are no longer a pushover, no matter who the opponent is.


Houston Rockets (19-9) at Cleveland Cavaliers (23-4) at 4pm PST
By Zach Harper

The Houston Rockets may have the quietest 19-9 record in the history of the NBA. They take that record in search of their 20th win into the Quicken Loans Arena tonight in Cleveland to see if they can give the Cleveland Cavaliers their first home loss of the season. The Cavs have been impossible to beat at home with a 13-0 record and an average margin of victory of 17.2 points per home game. Houston on the other hand has a very respectable 10-6 road record this year with six of those road games coming by double digits.

But let's delve into the Cavs' home dominance a little bit more. They're 4-0 against Western Conference teams at the Q with all of those games ending in blowouts. They beat the Nuggets by 11, the Jazz by 12, the Thunder by 35, and the Warriors by 15. They've also won nine straight home games by double digits with the average margin of victory coming in at 20.3. Often, the fans at the Q don't get to see LeBron James who sits out most fourth quarters now. How have the Cavs been so dominant at home? They're giving up only 89.2 points per game at home and have allowed 96 points or more just four times so far. Their defense has been remarkable.

For the Rockets, they've battled injuries like always in the first third of the season but they've hit their stride since Tracy McGrady came back from injury. Houston is 5-1 since T-Mac returned from his knee injury and four of those wins have come by double digits. McGrady is averaging 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while making 10 of his 23 three-pointers in those six games. The Rockets have a margin of victory of 10.6 during this stretch with three of those victories coming on the road.

Key Match-Up: LeBron James versus Ron Artest/Shane Battier
The key to this game will be the defensive efforts of the Ron Artest/Shane Battier tandem that will attempt to slow down LeBron James. Ron Artest is coming off of an ankle injury that could slow him a bit but with his tenacity and determination in shutting down the best players in the league, he should be up for this match-up. The advantage he has is that there will never be a moment when LeBron gets a breath of fresh air. If Ron isn't in the game then Shane Battier will be on him. If Battier has to guard someone else, Ron will be on LeBron. LeBron will have to attack whenever he gets daylight, get out in the open court and make a living at the free throw line tonight. They defensive tenacity will have to be toned down if he can get Ron and Shane in foul trouble.
Prediction: Houston gives Cleveland their first home loss in an excruciatingly low scoring game


How about you get caught up in some Holiday Week Power Rankings?
By Zach Harper

Brandon Gallawa is out on vacation for Christmas with a lovely cruise in much nicer weather than anything we're getting here. So Zach Harper will handle the duties all alone and let you know what every team wants for the holidays. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming:

2008-2009 NBA Power Rankings: Week 9 Rankings
Rank	Rank (Last Wk)	Team	Week's Games	Week	Rec.	Holiday Wish List
	01 (01)	Boston Celtics	PHI, at LAL, at GS, at SAC	3-0	26-2	They're wishing to take it to the Lakers on Xmas Day and completely demoralize them with a blowout. It will mean a lot in June.
	02 (02)	L.A. Lakers	at NOH, BOS, GS	2-2	22-5	They would like some mental toughness for sure. This team can still be bullied inside despite their size advantage.
	03 (03)	Cleveland Cavaliers	HOU, WSH, MIA	3-0	23-4	A max extension for LeBron to stay in Cleveland along with the Knicks maxing out their cap room.
	04 (07)	Orlando Magic	NOH, at MIN, at DET	3-0	22-6	A go-to move in the post for Dwight Howard. He's still not reliable in the fourth quarter despite his dominance throughout the game.
	05 (06)	New Orleans Hornets	LAL, at ORL, HOU, at IND	3-0	16-7	Some health would be nice and a big man off the bench wouldn't hurt either. As fun as watching Hilton Armstrong battle bigs in the West is, they really wouldn't mind another big guy.