The clear MVP favorite

Talk of Gasol potentially winning MVP is frustrating me deeply. Scratch that; talk of any player besides Dwight Howard winning MVP is frustrating me deeply. How can Gasol win MVP when he has Kobe on his team? And likewise? Chris Paul is putting together a very fine season but the Hornets are slumping are will not end the season as the powerhouse they looked like earlier. 

No player means more to his team. No big man has been as dominant in terms of what big men are supposed to do, in a league with so few great (or even good) centers, that means even more. Here’s how much Dwight Howard means to the Magic:

Scoring

Howard: 22.6 ppg

Next: 14.6 ppg (Nelson)

Rebounding

Howard: 11.9 

Next: 4.9 (Bass)

Blocks

Howard: 2.44

Next: .75 (Gortat)

FG %

Howard: 59.8%

Next: 54.5% (Gortat) 

Howard also leads the team in minutes played and even steals.

Is that not ridiculous? Howard is averaging 8 whole points and 7 more rebounds than the NEXT BEST players on his entire team, which, mind you, is currently winning the East. Never in his heyday did two-time MVP Tim Duncan dwarf his teammates’ numbers like that. Meanwhile, Gasol, NBA.com’s #2 contender for the trophy, is 2nd on his team in scoring (by 5 solid points), is averaging just 1.5 more rebounds than Lamar Odom, and is pacing the team in nothing else besides blocks. The notoriously erratic Odom is even shooting a higher percentage from the field!

I don’t have time to go into Chris Paul right now, but I think the logic in Howard’s case would still hold up pretty soundly. I don’t mean to minimize their accomplishments, but I think the fact that some consider them to potentially be the MVP of the league is somewhat outrageous in light of what Dwight is doing.