The fifth edition of the blogger MVP/RoY rankings has just been posted at Pickaxe and Roll.
Here are links to the previous four editions:
MVP/RoY rankings, Part I
MVP/RoY rankings, Part II
MVP/RoY rankings, Part III
MVP/RoY rankings, Part IV
Here is my complete ballot exactly as I submitted it (MVP and RoY votes are scored on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and 5-4-3-2-1 basis respectively, so Bryant is my top MVP pick and Durant is my top RoY pick):
10-Kobe Bryant: With Bynum out, Kobe has shown that he will do whatever it takes to keep the Lakers afloat--scoring 48 points against Seattle and passing for 11 dimes against Denver. The Lakers have a killer road schedule coming up but if Kobe can help them go 5-4 or 4-5 during that stretch then they will not lose too much ground in the standings before Bynum returns.
9-LeBron James: A deadly scorer and passer but even he says that Kobe is the best player in the league.
8-Dwight Howard: He is physically overpowering yet cannot take over a game as consistently as Kobe and LeBron can.
7-Kevin Garnett: His individual stats are down but the numbers that best reflect his impact are the won-loss records of the team he left and the team he joined.
6-Tim Duncan: Somehow, in recent years he is not mentioned much in MVP talk. The main reason his regular season numbers are not as gaudy as they used to be is that his minutes are down a bit.
5-Chris Paul: He hasn't scored 20 points in a game since January 9 but he continues to rack up the assists and the Hornets keep winning.
4-Dirk Nowitzki: Last year's MVP is still trying to make people forget Dallas' first round exit but he and the Mavs are playing very well.
3-Steve Nash: He still is the player who makes the Suns' high octane offense go.
2-Amare Stoudemire: His scoring, blocked shots and field goal percentage are all up from last year as he continues to show that he has fully recovered from the microfracture procedure.
1-Allen Iverson: He is a big reason why Denver started out January with an 8-4 record.
ROY
5-Kevin Durant: Seattle is 0 for January so far and Durant's game has remained the same: he alternates 4-13 shooting nights with 12-23 shooting nights and it all averages out to a field goal percentage that hovers consistently around .400. He provides minimal contributions in the other statistical categories.
4-Al Horford: He is averaging more than 9 ppg and 9 rpg while shooting a good percentage from the field.
3-Sean Williams: Athletic big man who blocks shots, rebounds and shoots a good percentage.
2-Yi Jianlian: Like all of these rookies, he has been up and down but he looks like a promising player overall.
1-Luis Scola: Solid scorer and rebounder off of the bench.
MVP/RoY Rankings, Part V
