MVP: Derrick Rose

Over the past month LeBron slipped out of the top of the race for the MVP. His team is playing miserable basketball and the chemistry within the Miami Heat organization is falling apart.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season. Now that all of their big men are healthy, Rose has more offensive options than he has had all year. The Bulls have played great this year against the league’s top teams, showing that he can perform in the clutch.

Rose’s numbers are not out of this world, but do not tell the whole story. This season he is averaging 24.6 PPG, 8.1 APG, 4.3 RPG and one steal per game. The Bulls are an extremely weak team when it comes to their guard play asides from Rose. The Bulls are great with their inside game with Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and their shooting specialist Luol Deng. Rose’s ability to run the court and get every player on his team involved is something no one else in the league is able to do.

If anyone were to challenge Rose for the award there really is only one player this year, and it’s not LeBron. Dwight Howard is having the best season of his career. Averaging 23.1 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.3 blocks per game and is shooting 60% from the field. It looks like his training with Hakeem Olajuwon this of season has really payed off.

The most impressive thing Howard has done this year though, is that he has kept the Magic near the top of the Eastern Conference the whole season, despite major trades and team changes. On the Magic, Howard is the only big man with any name recognition but more importantly, any consistency. He is playing alongside players that would be bench warmers on many elite teams. He still manages to find a way to lock down the inside and dominate in the paint like no other player can.

Howard has had an incredible season, but if it were to end today, Rose would have to be the winner. The way he has led the Bulls to being one of the best teams in the NBA is the definition of a MVP.