The 24/7 Awards: Most Valuable Player


Time to get down to our annual end of season awards. The last three years, I just made my own picks and threw them at you, but as an old homeless guy reminded me last Sunday, "sharing is caring," and so this year's awards are going to be a bit more interactive. (Actually, the whole thing won't work without your participation, so take a moment feel special.)

Here's the deal: I'll throw out the nominees over the next few weeks, and you guys can go nuts debating them in the comments. When the dust settles, we'll have our winners. If nobody cares to comment, the whole thing falls flat on its face and I cry myself to sleep.

Sound good?

Good. Without further ado, here's the nominees for Most Valuable Player of your 2006-07 Hornets…

Tyson Chandler
We gave up PJ Brown and JR Smith to get him. He vowed to be twice the player he was in Chicago. He made lofty predictions about being an All-Star. With all that on his shoulders, Tyson still managed to have one kick-ass season. He didn't make it to Vegas, but suddenly the notion of TC in the ASG doesn't seem so absurd.

Desmond Mason
With the Hornets sicker than a small hospital this season, Desmond Mason stood strong. Up until his face met with the Wilcox elbow in in Game 75, Mase was the only Hornet to start every contest this season. Those dark days without CP, Peja and West would have been pitch black if not for this guy.

Chris Paul
Injuries derailed him this season, but there's never any doubting Chris Paul's contribution. The Hornets were infinitely better with him on the floor, even when he was out there on one leg. You get the impression the guy would take a bullet for a win.

David West
While not quite as impressive this season as he was in 2005-06, D-West proved he's a legitimate threat and a valuable part of the franchise. He was at his best as the season came to a close, averaging 30.8 points in the final five.

Here's a statistical comparison of the above four. W-L shows the Hornets' record with each guy in the lineup, everything else should be self-explanatory.

  G W-L Min FG% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Chandler 73 34-39 34.5 .624 12.4 0.9 0.5 1.8 9.5
Mason 75 35-40 34.3 .452 4.6 1.5 0.7 0.3 13.7
Paul 64 31-33 36.8 .437 4.4 8.9 1.8 0.1 17.3
West 52 28-24 36.6 .477 8.1 2.2 0.8 0.7 18.3

If you still can't decide between these guys, check out this HR thread on the very subject. Also, Bob Licht made his pick a few weeks ago.

So, who's it gonna be?


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