Revisiting Shorty as an MVP Candidate

The Boston Celtics now have the most wins in the NBA after the All-Star break. 

In an earlier post, I wondered whether Rajon Rondo should be among the group of players now being considered MVP candidates. While it is tempting to say "damn straight!" – given his undeniable contributions to the team’s recent success. Any analysis of this question is complicated by a classic Celtics’ conundrum. 

When you play basketball like you are supposed to, namely as a team, identifying the team's most valuable player becomes difficult.

Is Shorty our best player?

I would say "yes."

Is he our most valuable player?

Now that's a tough one.

Without KG playing like he's, oh, I don't know, let's just say 32-year-old again, are we even having this conversation? What about the play of Avery Bradley? Don't forget Paul Pierce either. He was just named NBA player of the month.

And if we can't identify the most valuable player on the Celtics, can Shorty really be in the race for the league-wide award?

No one disputed that Bill Russell was the Celtics best player in the 60s, Dave Cowens in the 70s, and Larry Bird in the 80s. Each of those players brought home some MVP hardware. Despite Number 34’s protestations to the contrary, KG was the team’s MVP in 2008, and perhaps deserved consideration for the league-wide award, too.

This year I’m not so sure.