Can the little guy get some love?

There are some real PLAYER HATERS who watch the NBA, or at least talk about it.

Kobe this, LeBron that, Kobe that, LeBron this, Kobe who? LeBron who?
Can CHRIS PAUL get some love??!?!

23 points, 18 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals-- tonight for CP3

Paul led the way again for the Hornets who beat down the Hawks 116-101. Paul has been doing this all year, the Hornets have been winning all year. They are now 41-19, third best in the West and one game out of first. This is no fluke now, it's March. The Hornets are on pace to win 56 games this season. There are 22 games left in the season for them, can they do it? No doubt. They probably will.

Kobe's been great. LeBron's been great. There team's have done very well too, Kobe obviously much better than LeBron's.

Be honest, who saw the Hornets winning 56 games this year? Who saw them competing for best in the West come March?

CHRIS PAUL IS THE MVP OF THE NBA!

He's not getting near the respect he deserves for what he is doing this year. 21 points, 11 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Let's not forget about his 2.7 steals and ONLY 2.5 turnovers (at 11 assists, that's bonkers!). He also shoots 48%, 36% from beyond the arch and 88% at the charity stripe. This guy is playing at a ridiculous level, as is his team, the team he is the catalyst for.

When Nash won his two MVP's he average the same amount of assists pretty much, only 16 and 19 points per night and nearly FOUR turnovers as well.

John Stockton, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas never averaged near that amount of assists with under three turnovers per game, Stockton came closest at three even, but the others were all around four.

Hmmm?

I guess the Hornets will need to win 70 games this year for Chris Paul to get the award that he deserves, at this point of the season.

Drink The Hatorade People!

Something caught my eye on NBA.com

On NBA.com there is a poll:

Who is the best PG in the NBA?
Jason Kidd
Steve Nash
Tony Parker
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Now, yes, I'm from Detroit. Yes, I'm a Pistons fan, but where is Chauncey Billups on this list? To be honest, I'm not really much of a Chauncey fan. I mean the guy has had two horrible playoffs in a row, I understand. Though he has been to the NBA Finals twice, has a ring and a Finals MVP. The only person who can match or better him there is Tony Parker.

Billups is averaging 18 ppg, 7 apg and 3 rpg this year. He's shooting 44% and 40% from the three point line, including 91% from the charity stripe. His numbers are better than Parker's, and a little bit shy of the other players on that list.

How about this, Jason Kidd is putting up a complete line: 11 ppg, 8 rpg, 10 apg, but he shoots 38% and couldn't do anything in New Jersey, obviously now the tide changes in Dallas, but is that line all that better than Billups? Okay, 5 rebounds and 3 assists more per game, but how about the fact Billups has won a ton more games than Kidd this year, and not just this year, the past 5 years.

On top of all that, Billups' team has a better record than any of the other players on that list, second best in the league, and it's been that way almost all season. In addition to that, Chauncey Billups has the 2nd best +/- ranking in the entire league. Steve Nash is seventh, Chris Paul is in the top 15 and none of the other players are in the top 20. Some of this has to count for something, right?We don't have to jump out and say Billups is the best point guard in the NBA. Based on this year, the answer to the poll is Chris Paul, right now he's the MVP (that's another conversation that for some reason he's always left out of over Kobe and LeBron). I just find it interesting that Billups' name never comes up in this conversation and to him, and for what he's done in the past five seasons, that's an injustice. He's accomplished more than pretty much any of the names above, I would say Nash and Parker are the only exceptions. Jason Kidd is a great point guard, but at this point, he's not better than Billups, maybe they're equal?

I guess the main question is, is Billups a top five point guard? According to this list, he's not. Heck, there isn't one Eastern Conference point guard on the list, and Billups is undoubtedly the best PG in the East. He has his problems, he's struggled in the playoffs since 2006 (since his buddy Flip Saunders showed up as head coach, noticing a coincidence?), but he's still a great leader and player. His team has been in the Eastern Conference Finals for five straight years, and could be going for a sixth. He's been in the finals twice, won a title and the MVP, we shouldn't have to repeat this, but unfortunately for Chauncey Billups, he probably will have to continue to repeat himself to get his due in this league.