LeBron James And Not Derrick Rose Was The NBA's MVP

Miami Heat forward LeBron James has proved himself a prophet. By joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, James predicted that he was eliminating himself from MVP contention, and that is exactly what has happened. Despite being the most valuable player in the league for the third straight season, he will have to watch as his award goes to a much less deserving player in Derrick Rose.

Even though James was unable to duplicate the efficient production of his two previous seasons, seasons which rival Michael Jordan at his best, James was still the best player to step on the court for the 2010-11 NBA season.

James once again led the league in PER (27.3), offensive win shares (10.3), total win shares (15.6), and win shares contributed per 48 minutes (0.244). By every objective statistical measure, James was the MVP and all the voters who elected not to give it to him are putting their complete ignorance on display.

Rose's MVP campaign was so full of erroneous conclusions that it hid the fact he was not even the second-best candidate for the award. Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Chris Paul can all claim to have contributed more total win shares to their teams than Rose. Rose drops to eighth in the league when win shares contributed per 48 minutes are factored in.

There was an award that Derrick Rose did deserve, but the voters wrongly gave the Most Improved Award to Kevin Love instead. It was Rose and not Love that improved the most from last season to this one.

Rose experienced a 26.3 percent decrease in his PER (from 18.6 to 23.5) and a 108 percent increase in his win shares contributed per 48 minutes (from 0.100 to 0.208). Love can only boast a 17.4 percent increase in PER (from 20.7 to 24.3) and a 52.2 percent increase in win shares contributed per 48 minutes (0.138 to 0.210). Just like there was no contest between James and Rose as to who was the league's MVP, there was no contest between Rose and Love as to who was most improved.

Although Rose might take the NBA MVP award home with him, it is not rightfully his. Only James is worthy of that title this season.

Dwyane Wade Is More At Fault Than LeBron James and Chris Bosh When The Miami Heat Lose

When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami to join the Heat, they probably never imagined Wade would let them do so thoroughly in the games the Heat lost. Yet, that is exactly what has happened in their 23 losses this season as Wade has been most at fault in those contests.

Wade has a well-earned reputation as a very effective all-around player, but you would not know it based on how he performs in losses in relation to how he has performed when the Heat have won.

There is no part of Wade's game that does not become drastically worse when the Heat lose and it starts with how poorly he shoots in those games. In relation to how he shoots in Heat victories, in losses, his effective field goal percentage experiences a 20.8 percent decrease (from 55.3 percent to 43.8 percent) and a 17.4 percent decrease in true shooting percentage (from 60.8 percent to 50.2 percent). Wade essentially goes from being a supremely effective scorer in wins to a mediocre one in Heat losses.

Wade also finds it difficult to maintain his level of proficiency when it comes to ballhandling. Compared to how he plays in victories, in defeats, Wade sees his assist percentage decrease by 6.7 percent (from 23.8 percent to 22.2 percent). That decrease can be understood as the whole Heat team shoots worse in defeats, but what cannot be understood is Wade's increased penchant for committing turnovers.

In defeats, Wade's turnover percentage increases dramatically by 43.9 percent (from 10.7 percent to 15.4 percent). By turning the ball over so much, he is keeping the offense from playing more efficiently.

Furthermore, in an effort to make sure he does not play well in any aspect, Wade also sees fit to become a much worse rebounder. When the Heat lose, Wade experiences a 38.1 percent decrease in offensive rebounding percentage (from 6.3 percent to 3.9 percent), a 14.1 percent decrease in defensive rebounding percentage (from 14.9 percent to 12.8 percent), and a 25.5 percent decrease in total rebounding percentage (from 11.0 percent to 8.2 percent).

Although Wade struggles the most to maintain his statistics in losses, Bosh and James are certainly not off the hook when it comes to playing poorly in defeats. They just do not play as poorly as Wade does compared to their performances in victories.

Bosh becomes a poorer shooter in defeats as he undergoes an 11.4 percent decrease in his effective field goal percentage (from 50.7 percent to 44.9 percent) and a 9.7 percent decrease in his true shooting percentage (from 57.9 percent to 52.3 percent).

He also has problems with maintaining his rebounding percentage statistics. His 3.0 percent increase in his defensive rebounding percentage (from 19.7 percent to 20.3 percent) is overshadowed by his 22.4 percent decrease in offensive rebounding percentage (from 6.7 percent to 5.2 percent) and a 9.4 percent decrease in total rebounding percentage (from 13.8 percent to 12.5 percent).

However, it is not all bad for Bosh in losses as he takes better care of the ball in Heat defeats. His assist percentage decreases by 2.2 percent (from 9.1 percent to 8.9 percent), but the 16.0 percent decrease he has in his turnover percentage (from 10.0 percent to 8.4 percent) more than makes up for that.

In the case of James, the only thing that truly lets him down in Heat losses is his shooting touch. James undergoes an 11.4 percent decrease in his effective field goal percentage (from 56.3 percent to 49.9 percent) and a 9.1 percent decrease in his true shooting percentage (from 61.3 percent to 55.7 percent).

Yet, in other aspects of the game, James actually gets better when the Heat lose, demonstrating what a talented all-around player he truly is. Compared to how he plays in wins, in defeats, James experiences a 3.5 percent increase in assist percentage (from 34.0 percent to 35.2 percent) and a 1.4 percent decrease in turnover percentage (from 13.9 percent to 13.7 percent) so he becomes a better ballhandler.

Additionally, he still crashes the boards amazingly well. Even with a 6.1 percent decrease in his offensive rebounding percentage (from 3.3 percent to 3.1 percent), James still gets 1.8 percent better in total rebounding percentage (11.4 percent to 11.6 percent) thanks to an amazing 13.3 percent increase in defensive rebounding percentage (from 18.1 percent to 20.5 percent).

Even when he is not shooting well, James is still able to make up for that deficiency in other ways.

When it comes to losses, the Miami Heat could be considered Wade's team because, out of Miami's Big Three, it is how he performs that really determines whether or not the Heat win.

Los Angeles Lakers Strongest, Boston Celtics Most Susceptible In Back To Back Games

Grinding out back to back games is the most grueling aspect of an NBA season, and performance in back to back games provides an excellent barometer for determining which teams are the most consistently dominant.

When it comes to back to back games, most teams perform much better in one game over the other; sometimes it is the first game and sometimes it is the second. It is extremely difficult to play well on consecutive nights, but the teams who manage to do so are the wheat that has separated themselves from the chaff that is the rest of the NBA.

Of the 16 teams I examined, the eight Eastern Conference and eight Western Conference teams that would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, only seven of the teams (Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets) have managed to outscore their opponents per 100 possessions on both nights of their back to back games.

Not all of those seven teams are created equally, though. Very good teams are those who can outscore their opponents by 100 possessions on consecutive nights, but the teams that have the consistent dominance of an elite team are the ones who can perform that feat with no significant drop-off in their performances.

In the Eastern Conference, two teams, the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls, qualify as the most consistently dominant squads in back to back contests.

The Heat have outscored opponents by 8.5 points per 100 possessions in the first game and by 7.0 points per 100 possessions in the second game. Not only are the Heat handily beating their opponents on both nights, but there is only a difference of 1.5 points per 100 possessions between how they play in back to back games, displaying a high level of consistently excellent play.

The Bulls have also shown themselves to be a consistently elite team in back to back games, although to a slightly lesser extent than the Heat. In their 14 back to back games, the Bulls have outscored their opponents by 5.7 points per 100 possessions in the first game and by 6.9 points per 100 possessions in the second.

While the Eastern Conference is home to the Heat and the Bulls, which are two of the top three NBA teams in back to back games, it is also home to the most Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of all the 16 playoff-bound teams, the Boston Celtics.

Surprisingly, since the Celtics are universally agreed upon to be a championship-caliber team and have the best record in the Eastern Conference with 37 wins and 11 losses, they are the ones with the highest difference between their performances in back to back games, a difference of 13.8 points per 100 possessions. In the first games, the Celtics have outscored their foes by 14.3 points per 100 possessions, but on the second night of back to back games, they are only beating opponents by 0.5 points per 100 possessions.

The Celtics are unbeatable on the first night, but very susceptible to defeat whenever they are having to play their second game in a row. Therefore, no NBA team should fear the Celtics provided the Celtics played just the night before. Under that condition, the Celtics are no better than a .500 team.

Both the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic are two Eastern Conference teams that also have a difference of more than 10.0 points per 100 possessions between their play in back to back games.

The Hawks have a difference of 12.0 points per 100 possessions between their back to back games, being outscored by 4.4 points per 100 possessions in the first game and outscoring their opponents by 7.6 points per 100 possessions in the second game.

For the Magic, there is a drop-off of 10.2 points per 100 possessions between their back to back games. The Magic outscore their opponents by 11.4 points per 100 possessions in the first contest and only by 1.2 points per 100 possessions in the second. As impressive as the performances in their first games have been, there is a troubling lack of consistency when they have to play the next night.

In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are not just the best Western Conference team in back to back games, but they are the best in the NBA in their back to back performances.

The Los Angeles Lakers have outscored their foes by 13.1 points per 100 possessions on the first night of back to back games, second only to the Boston Celtics in first game performances, and have outscored their opponents by 7.7 points per 100 possessions in the second game, second to no one.

For all the criticism heaped upon the Lakers, criticism that only rings true if one is talking about the complete lack of production from the point guard position, they are still elite.

The San Antonio Spurs, which appear elite based on the fact they hold the best record in the NBA this season with a 40-8 mark, are decidedly un-elite in back to back games, placing them squarely in the same boat with the Boston Celtics as a team that is not dominant across all aspects of the game.

In the first games of back to back contests, the Spurs have outscored their opponents by 9.2 points per 100 possessions, but have been outscored by 1.1 points per 100 possessions whenever called upon to play the next day. That difference of 10.3 points per 100 possessions makes the Spurs one of the most inconsistent NBA teams in back to back games, a distinction that certainly tarnishes their stellar record just a bit.

Comfort for the Spurs can be found in knowing that they are not the most inconsistent Western Conference team in back to back games, however. The award for that dubious honor goes to the Utah Jazz with a difference of 12.3 points per 100 possessions between their back to back games. The Jazz are outscored by an astounding 11.4 points per 100 possessions in the first game and manage to just outscore their opponents by .9 points per 100 possessions in the second.

Poor performances in back to back games will not affect the Celtics and Spurs once they reach the postseason, but with seven sets of back to back games left for the Celtics and 10 sets of back to back games left for the Spurs, it could very well play a huge role in deciding seeding in the playoffs and which team receives the ultimate prize of homecourt advantage.

If at the end of the season the Heat or the Bulls sit atop the Eastern Conference and the Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference, it should not be surprising if back to back games are what allow them to overtake the Celtics and Spurs.

The 2010-11 Heat are not far off from the 2007-08 Celtics

As the Miami Heat have gotten off to a shaky 8-5 start, which is made worse by the lofty expectations heaped on them before the season , it has become too easy to ridicule the Heat for not being able to win every single game they play. However, it is important to remember that the Heat are not far behind the pace set by the Boston Celtics thirteen games into their 2007-08 championship season.

Of all the teams in recent history, it has always made the most sense to track and grade the Heat's season based on how closely they performed in comparison to the 2007-08 Celtics. Like the Heat, the Celtics, too, added two star players to complement the star player they already had, radically changing the composition of the franchise.

Such a roster overhaul resulted in the 2007-08 Celtics having a roster stability percentage of .495, meaning less than half of the players who were on the roster during the championship season were on the roster the previous year. Since there are five positions in basketball and each position comprises 20% of the team's minutes, the Celtics were replacing two and a half position players.

Yet, despite having to incorporate so many new pieces into a functional unit, the Celtics went on to post the most dominant regular season since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls decimated their foes by 12.0 points per 100 possessions. During the season, the Celtics outscored their opponents by an astounding 11.3 points per 100 possessions, basically running roughshod over the league.

The Heat are also suffering from limited roster stability with only 52.0% of the team's minutes having been played by players who wore a Heat uniform last season. Their roster stability percentage will no doubt get even smaller after Mike Miller fully recovers from right thumb surgery and begins to play starter-type numbers.

Still, the Heat are doing pretty well for themselves, outscoring opponents by 10.6 points per 100 possessions, which is only slightly worse than what the Celtics did in the first thirteen games of the 2007-08 season when they outscored their opponents by 12.4 points per 100 possessions, indicating the Heat could be in for a championship run of their own.

Moreover, the Heat's record of 8-5 underrates how well they have played. Based on how many points they have scored and allowed, the expected win total for the Heat is actually 10.4 wins, which rounds down to ten, giving them an expected win-loss record of 10-3.

In the 2007-08 season, after thirteen games, the Boston Celtics' expected win-loss record stood at 11-2. Again, the Heat are nipping at the heels of the team they are most similar to.

On another note, expecting the 2010-11 Heat to come out playing like the 1995-96 Bulls who won seventy-two games in the regular season was a bit ludicrous considering those Bulls had a roster stability percentage of .808 with Dennis Rodman, a role player with a highly specific skill set, as their only major acquisition from the year before.