Pau Gasol and other players cheated out of FMVP

[Jacks3]

On the Road (@ Boston) 3 games

Kobe
33.3 PPG
6.3 RPG
3.3 APG
42.3%FG

Gasol
15.3 PPG
9.3 PPG
2.3 APG
44.4%FG

Finals MVP? lol

This. Pau has no case. smh @ these morons.

[LamarOdom]

Not that I care but that bucket was a travel, his foot had already hit the court when he scored.

But yeah Kobe was clearly the MVP both years.

[Mr. Jabbar]

Shane Battier

/thread

[NumberSix]

lol wow dumb

Terry did play great, but Dirk was all-time great and he did it without ref help. Somebody is still butthurt over '11, when the series was called basically fair and LeRef got beat bad.

No. Dirk was great throughout the playoffs as a whole, but was just good in the finals. Nowhere near "all-time great".

[I<3NBA]

Ron Artest

[Vienceslav]

Sasha Vujacic for hitting those 2 FTs in game 7.

[swi7ch]

Mike Miller should have been co-FMVP. I mean, come on! 7/8 3-pointers in the freakin' clinching game of the Finals?!?!?!?! How many other players hit 7/8 from 3s in the Finals???

[I<3NBA]

Mike Miller should have been co-FMVP. I mean, come on! 7/8 3-pointers in the freakin' clinching game of the Finals?!?!?!?! How many other players hit 7/8 from 3s in the Finals???

when we say FMVP, we mean the entire series. not just one game.

[Rake2204]

I think Jerry West won it after losing to Boston.

Good call. Just to round out that story, West won it in the very first year it was given (1968-69). He averaged 37.9ppg in their 7 game finals loss to Boston, including a 53 point performance in game 1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_NBA_Finals

[nightprowler10]

People have argued for Rodman in the '96 Finals...

[Champ]

1981

Award given to Cedric "cornbread" Maxwell but should've gone to Larry Bird.

Max went for 17.7/9.5/2.8, with 0.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

Bird averaged 15.3/15.3/7, with 2.3 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, and dominated down the stretch in the deciding game 6, finishing with 27 pts. and 13 rebounds.

Those who claim that Bird had a "weak" series never watched it.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Walt Frazier in 1970. Reed got it for the dramatic moment when he hit his first 2 jumpers in game 7, but Walt Frazier dropped 36 in that game, and Willis didn't play in game 6, and wasn't able to give them much in game 7.

Kareem was flat out robbed in 1980 because of Magic's game 6, but Kareem had dominated through the first 5 games, and he had his own classic performance in game 5, he returns from the ankle injury that would keep him out in game 6, has a huge 4th quarter with 14 or 16 points, iirc, has the go ahead basket. He finished with 40 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks on 16/21 shooting in that game. I found it more impressive than Magic's game 6.

But the point is, 1 game does not make you the finals MVP. And the shame is that it's caused one of the all-time great playoff runs to be forgotten. Kareem's 1980 playoff run was one of his top 3 along with '74 and particularly '77, but unlike those years, he won a title. And Kareem's '80 run belongs in the discussion with MJ's first 3peat, Hakeem's back to back, Shaq's 3peat and Duncan's '03. The true elite playoff runs. The only others that I'd say perhaps deserve to be in that group are '67 Wilt and '86 Bird off the top of my head.

Pau had a case in '10, but I thought Kobe was a fine choice, though for reference, here are their numbers in the wins.

In LA's wins
Kobe- 27 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.8 TO, 2 spg, 1 bpg, 37.2 FG%, 48.4 TS%
Pau- 18 ppg, 13.8 rpg, 5 apg, 1.8 TO, 2.5 bpg, 45.5 FG%, 51.8 TS%

Of course, this leaves out Kobe's best game in the series, game 5, when he went off, in particular, I think it was that 3rd quarter when he was unstoppable. Neither Kobe or Pau had a great series. Traditionally, based on examples like Magic in '80 and Worthy in '88, Pau would've gotten it for game 7, but I've never agreed with that logic.

I don't feel strongly one way or another about the '10 finals.

As far as other playoff runs, Duncan has a case in '07. Parker wasn't a bad choice. He exploited Cleveland's backcourt since they had nobody to defend him, but Duncan's defense was great, and his offense was good the first 2 games, Parker only separated himself offensively the last game, and that game didn't really matter since the Spurs were up 3-0, and should certainly be valued less than the other 3 because no team has come back from 3-0, certainly not a team like Cleveland who looked over matched.

As far as the 2008 finals, Ray Allen had a case. Pierce made an impact with his playmaking, and he also defended Kobe well wben they were matched up, but amazingly, Ray was guarding Kobe more and doing an excellent job. Kobe was in his prime, and Ray wasn't a good defender back when he was in his own prime, but at 32/33 years old, he improved that aspect of his game, and really surprised me with his defense vs Kobe. I don't think it'd be crazy

[RRR3]

Juwan Howard

[TheBigVeto]

Seriously, if the bullshit "star system" wasn't in place, Pau would have been FMVP during that last Laker championship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcuJW...eature=related

Who else got shafted for the FMVP? To keep it on the Lakers, I think the general consensus is that Kareem deserved FMVP for the 80 title, but he got injured and Magic went HAM in that last game.

True and True.

That ****ing game accidentally dented Kareem's legacy and overrated Magic forever.

[ukplayer4]

I dont know why ppl keep saying k.g he was actually third back then in the finals mvp chase... it was pierce and then allen with k.g right behind him... every article especially through the first 4 games is whether allen or pierce deserved the finals mvp

i have to agree, i think some people have forgotten this. ray allen to me was the best boston player that series and i think the voting was very close, despite pierces dramatics ray was the most consistent scorer between them and he really locked in on kobe defensively. he should have been fmvp.