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MVP race down to the wire
Poll has Nash just ahead of Shaq
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The Suns' Steve Nash or the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal will win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, to be announced next week.
The race for the NBA's 50th MVP is too close to call. The Republic surveyed 104 of the 127 writers and broadcasters with MVP votes and found that Nash and O'Neal each received 51 first-place votes. Amaré Stoudemire of the Suns and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs received the other two.
The voting deadline was April 21.
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[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Based upon the 10-7-5-3-1 points system (10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, etc.), Nash holds an 875-869 lead over O'Neal. When the announcement comes (likely Tuesday or Wednesday), it could produce the smallest margin ever between the winner and runner-up. Since writers took over the voting from players in 1981, the tightest races were when Magic Johnson edged Charles Barkley by 22 points in 1990 - despite Barkley having 11 more first-place votes - and when Karl Malone edged Michael Jordan by 29 in 1997.
For the sake of Nash's chances, it is a good thing his opinion won't count. Nash believes O'Neal should get the award.
It is so close that the difference could be the questionable ballots of two voters who dropped O'Neal to fourth. Two others had O'Neal third. Nash was voted no lower than third, which happened on only three ballots. Many voters said this was their toughest MVP decision yet.
"I vote for Shaq every year," Chicago Sun-Times writer K.C. Johnson said. "Every guy has a flavor-of-the-month-type season like Kevin (Garnett) last year. There's no question they're good players, but Shaq impacts the game every year. He changes the game. Every team's defense is impacted by him and he makes teammates have career years. Shaq leaves LA and the Lakers disintegrated. Nash leaves Dallas and they're still in the playoffs."
Nash would be the first point guard to win the award since Johnson's 1990 victory and only the sixth guard overall.
"Shaq could be MVP every year, but the way Nash has brought Phoenix up so unexpectedly and the way they play without him (2-5 with Nash out), I don't see that happening with Miami without Shaquille," (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian writer Geoffrey Arnold said. "It's not an accident that Amaré, (Shawn) Marion and Joe Johnson are having career years."
Nash would be the first player to win the award a year after not receiving even one point on a ballot, which requires voters to list their top five players.
"There are a lot of guys who deserve it," said Nash, who finished 14th in MVP voting three years ago and got one fifth-place vote two years ago. "It's great to be included in that group. I'm just honored to be thought of. I have no idea how I'd feel to win it."
Nash's 15.5 points per game would be the third-lowest scoring average for an MVP, bettering Wes Unseld's 13.8 in 1969 (he averaged 18.2 rebounds) and Bill Russell's 14.1 in 1965 (he averaged 24.1 rebounds). The last player to win MVP and not lead his team in scoring was Boston's Dave Cowens in 1973.
Nash's 11.5 assists per game was the league's best average since John Stockton handed out 12.3 in 1995.
Garnett won last year's MVP with 120 of 123 first-place votes. [/font]
Too close to call
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]A survey of 104 of 127 voters casting NBA Most Valuable Player ballots shows Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal nearly inseparable. A glance at their first-place votes and total points:
[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Candidate First Total[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Steve Nash 51 875[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Shaquille O'Neal 51 869[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
[/font][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0505nash05050.html[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]What I don't understand is why they couldn't get the results from the other 23 voters. Nice to hear that Amare got a vote too.[/font]
Poll has Nash just ahead of Shaq
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The Suns' Steve Nash or the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal will win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, to be announced next week.
The race for the NBA's 50th MVP is too close to call. The Republic surveyed 104 of the 127 writers and broadcasters with MVP votes and found that Nash and O'Neal each received 51 first-place votes. Amaré Stoudemire of the Suns and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs received the other two.
The voting deadline was April 21.
[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Based upon the 10-7-5-3-1 points system (10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, etc.), Nash holds an 875-869 lead over O'Neal. When the announcement comes (likely Tuesday or Wednesday), it could produce the smallest margin ever between the winner and runner-up. Since writers took over the voting from players in 1981, the tightest races were when Magic Johnson edged Charles Barkley by 22 points in 1990 - despite Barkley having 11 more first-place votes - and when Karl Malone edged Michael Jordan by 29 in 1997.
For the sake of Nash's chances, it is a good thing his opinion won't count. Nash believes O'Neal should get the award.
It is so close that the difference could be the questionable ballots of two voters who dropped O'Neal to fourth. Two others had O'Neal third. Nash was voted no lower than third, which happened on only three ballots. Many voters said this was their toughest MVP decision yet.
"I vote for Shaq every year," Chicago Sun-Times writer K.C. Johnson said. "Every guy has a flavor-of-the-month-type season like Kevin (Garnett) last year. There's no question they're good players, but Shaq impacts the game every year. He changes the game. Every team's defense is impacted by him and he makes teammates have career years. Shaq leaves LA and the Lakers disintegrated. Nash leaves Dallas and they're still in the playoffs."
Nash would be the first point guard to win the award since Johnson's 1990 victory and only the sixth guard overall.
"Shaq could be MVP every year, but the way Nash has brought Phoenix up so unexpectedly and the way they play without him (2-5 with Nash out), I don't see that happening with Miami without Shaquille," (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian writer Geoffrey Arnold said. "It's not an accident that Amaré, (Shawn) Marion and Joe Johnson are having career years."
Nash would be the first player to win the award a year after not receiving even one point on a ballot, which requires voters to list their top five players.
"There are a lot of guys who deserve it," said Nash, who finished 14th in MVP voting three years ago and got one fifth-place vote two years ago. "It's great to be included in that group. I'm just honored to be thought of. I have no idea how I'd feel to win it."
Nash's 15.5 points per game would be the third-lowest scoring average for an MVP, bettering Wes Unseld's 13.8 in 1969 (he averaged 18.2 rebounds) and Bill Russell's 14.1 in 1965 (he averaged 24.1 rebounds). The last player to win MVP and not lead his team in scoring was Boston's Dave Cowens in 1973.
Nash's 11.5 assists per game was the league's best average since John Stockton handed out 12.3 in 1995.
Garnett won last year's MVP with 120 of 123 first-place votes. [/font]
Too close to call
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]A survey of 104 of 127 voters casting NBA Most Valuable Player ballots shows Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal nearly inseparable. A glance at their first-place votes and total points:
[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Candidate First Total[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Steve Nash 51 875[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Shaquille O'Neal 51 869[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
[/font][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0505nash05050.html[/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]What I don't understand is why they couldn't get the results from the other 23 voters. Nice to hear that Amare got a vote too.[/font]
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