The Wolves' season just tanked the last six games. Tough schedule, but they should have won more than a few of those. Sucks. I am happy, however, that Boston jumped in front of Cleveland. I'm a big fan of Isaiah Thomas (loved it when he played for the Kings, my friend's son interviewed him, really nice guy), and glad to see he is getting MVP mentions and finding success.
MVP voting for me if done today:
Westbrook - can't deny the man has put that team on his shoulders and willed an injured and not overly talented or deep team to the playoffs. And man, in what a way, the triple-double machine.
Thomas - dude is listed at 5'9", but that is with his sneakers on. He's barely 5'7" and talk about shouldering the load. Not quite at the Westbrook level, but close enough. Any other year, and he'd probably win MVP. Just a gamer. Not quite the same handle as old school A.I., but he has a better jump shot. Dude is a stud. Hopefully he can excel in they playoffs and get that max extension he deserves. Rooting for him.
James - not gonna lie. I dislike how smug and fake Lebron is. But there is absolutely no denying how game-changing a player he is. Is he MJ? No. Is he Magic? Not quite. But he's a hell of a hybrid who gets a ton of shit because he bailed on Cleveland to go play for Miami. And I admit, I am one of those who continue to be jaded by his actions off the court (and his whiny behavior on it). But in a season where he lost Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith (who sucks, but story for another day), he's obviously right at the forefront of the MVP race.
Harden - I hate putting Beard man this low. But I have to. Arguably, he should be just under Westbrook. But here's the thing. Houston is a pretty deep team, and they run an offensive system catered to padding the statistics of the point guard. And Westbrook, already being a perennial all star, has completely reaped the benefits of that system. And I am happy for him. But it's a double-edged sword, because he wouldn't have nearly the same numbers not having the ball in his hands constantly. He'd be more like 25/5/5, which is a great year, but not MVP caliber in the league. So with apologies to Harden and Rockets fans, he has taken a hit in my book.
Leonard - with the exception of my Timberwolves trio, my favorite player in the league. Just a defensive beast, and has taken his offensive game to such killer heights (and I think he'll only get better). But playing for the Spurs, in that system, with a deep team, again, I think that hurts his chances. The Spurs would be successful without him. No, they wouldn't be as high as they are in the standings, but they'd still win 50 without him. I can't say that about any other team on this list. So for that reason, I feel Leonard is just a step below.
Looking forward to seeing how the end of the year plays out. Should be pretty amazing to watch.