Re: Rumors were right

[KK <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

"R. Bentz Kirby" wrote:
> 
> The rumors were correct, Karl Malone is MVP.


I can't for the life of me figure out how Malone deserved the MVP more than
Duncan (leaving the other possible candidates aside for the moment). 
Reasons:

1) Malone's team was inferior to Duncan's team both in the regular season
and in the playoffs;

2) Malone relies heavily on Stockton, "Malone Rules" that allow him to live
at the FT line, dirty tricks, and elbowing people in the face to be as
effective as he is;

3) Despite these advantages, Malone was still less effective than Duncan,
who was better than Malone in more statistical categories. Both the stats
and subjective criteria (like what Brian Grant has been able to do against
KM and TD) suggest that Duncan is the better defensive player. Offensively,
the case is less clearcut, but the fact that Malone's point production and
FG % dropped in the playoffs (to 21.8 and 41.7%) while Duncan's numbers went
up (to 23.5 & 50.9%) suggests that they are at least equal in offensive
ability.  

IMO, Malone was neither the MVP, nor the best player in the NBA this year.
Admittedly, the MVP criteria are fuzzy to me. Still, whether it's the player
with the largest overall contribution to his team, or the best overall
player, people like Duncan and Grant Hill, even Shaq, Mourning, Iverson, or
Jason Kidd, seem to be more worthy of the award. Given the above, I can only
explain this voting as an allocation due to seniority.