The season is still relatively new and so many strange things are happening. The league is kinda topsy-turvy with guys like the Mavericks and the Suns struggling early while guys like the Hawks, Blazers and Jazz are doing much better than expected. There are also a few “surprising” candidates for the MVP race and by that I mean that they aren’t your usual suspects like a Tim Duncan or KG or an Iverson.
(listed in no order of significance)
1. Joe Johnson
The Hawks have been having a sizzling start with a 4-2 record to lead the Southeast Division and it’s thanks to their main man Joe Johnson’s hot shooting. We’ve never really seen Johnson’s name mentioned in the MVP race before but now he’s most definitely a prime candidate.
2. Carlos Boozer
When he’s healthy, Carlos Boozer can really do some damage and he’s proving it this season posting a 21.9 point 12.3 rebound average. When Boozer first came over to Utah from the Cavs, I thought that he’d be the closest to replacing Karl Malone on the team and then deron Williams will be like his Stockton. Of course, it’s not fair to compare the two to those greats but it’s a nice comparison. Boozer is surely showing that he can be kinda Malone-ish for the Jazz now.
3. Chris Paul
Last year’s ROY, Chris Paul is showing that he can elevate his game even more. After all, being a young guy in the league he can only get better. Being last year’s ROY, it’s not really surprising per se that Paul is playing like an MVP but it just blows the mind that he’s so good so quickly! It’s a rare occurrence that the ROY was also the MVP but being a ROY one year and MVP the next is also pretty hard to do and it seems like Paul is moving towards that.
4. Zach Randolph
After a lot of retooling, the Blazers went from being the team with the worst record in the league last year to a team that’s surprising many with a winning record this year. While rookie Brandon Roy was having a nice rookie campaign before he started feeling pains in his leg, it’s one of the old guys in Zach Randolph who is leading this team to their wins. It seems like Zach was serious about putting his colorful past behind him, got in shape to play again and he’s now posting a 28.5 point and 10.5 rebound average.
Joe Johnson and Yao Ming just made it as players of the week. Surprise surprise….this league is capable of many surprises. One day, when hell freezes over, or just before, we just may see Kobe lead the league in Assists!
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