MVP and LVP

There are 15 teams that have positive point differentials, they have scored more points than their opponents. All of those 15 teams are in the playoffs. This stat also correlates, I believe perfectly, with the top 5 teams in the league: Detroit, San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix and Miami. So this can't immediately be dismissed as a bogus statistic. And it makes sense as the goal of the game is to score more points than the other team. W L PCT PF PA DIFF z-Detroit 63 16 0.797 97 89.7 7.3 x-San Antonio 60 19 0.759 95.3 88.8 6.5 x-Dallas 59 21 0.738 99.4 93.2 6.2 y-Phoenix 52 27 0.658 108.6 103.1 5.4 y-Miami 52 27 0.658 100.3 95.8 4.4 x-Memphis 47 33 0.588 91.9 88.4 3.6 x-Cleveland 48 31 0.608 97.7 95.3 2.4 LA Lakers 43 37 0.538 99.1 97.1 2.1 x-LA Clippers 46 33 0.582 97.4 95.6 1.7 Indiana 39 41 0.488 93.6 92.1 1.6 y-New Jersey 48 31 0.608 94 92.5 1.5 Washington 39 40 0.494 101.5 100.1 1.4 Sacramento 42 38 0.525 98.7 97.5 1.3 y-Denver 44 36 0.55 100.6 100.2 0.4 Chicago 38 41 0.481 97 96.9 0 Orlando 36 44 0.45 94.9 95.8 -1 Milwaukee 39 41 0.488 97.6 98.7 -1.1 Golden State 33 47 0.413 98.5 100 -1.5 Boston 32 47 0.405 98.3 99.9 -1.6 Nash, numbers wise, has had a better year this year than last. Many people refer to this when defending his nomination to win as repeat MVP. Kobe is not going to win as several writers have already stated that they will not vote for him because of the Lakers' relative lack of success. Nash, as the argument goes, led his team without Amare to 55 wins. Dirk Nowitzski led his team to a 60 win season with less of a supporting cast. Lets review: The Mav's 1-2 punch is Dirk and Jason Terry. Terry can score but averages less than 4 assists per game. Young guys Howard and Daniels are key to Avery Johnson's new approach to defense, and Howard brings it on offense, too. Stack and Van Horn have both missed a good part of the season though they generally have one of them coming off the bench. Dampier feels better coming off the bench which is generally a sign of weakness, combined with Griffin they form a servicable staff. Add shot-blocker Diop and Devin Harris and you have a 60 win team?! The Nash-Marion 1-2 punch is supperior. Marion himself is being named as a potential MVP vote getter. Diaw is the most improved player and they now have a bench. Last year they found Jim Jackson, this year they get good play from Eddie House, Jones and Barbosa. Kurt Thomas is underused in the Phoenix-style offense, he's also been injured for a significant amount of time. Tim Thomas is doing well, but as Farfel says, lots of people can do well in Phoenix. I wonder if that is the reason for Raja Bell's good play. Now the hard question. Who is the least valuable player in the NBA? And not the guy who doesn't play, but rather, the player who hurts his team the most. If you take this person off of the team, your wins total would rise. Some nominees: TJ Ford, Antoine Walker, Mike Dunleavy, Damon Jones, Eric Snow. - nutlow