Every couple of weeks in the 2008-2009 season, bloggers from ’round the NBA blogosphere will participate in a poll ranking the top 10 MVP candidates and the top five Rookie of the Year candidates. The idea was hatched by the guys at Brew Hoop and a different blog site will host each installment of the rankings. The first installment was hosted by Ryan McNeill of Hoops Addict. You can find the second hosted by Rob Mahoney of Upside and Motor.

My rankings are as follows:

MVP Rankings (previously ranked)

#1 Lebron James (2) – I previously had D-Wade ranked #1, but I must give LeBron his due. The Cavs are winning games by a double-digit average and LeBron is making his teammates better. Cleveland is shooting over 48% from the field, holding opponents to just above 42%, and have the 2nd best rebounding % in the league.

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LeBron James’ words to his mother: “Sit yo ass down.” Sure, she didn’t have to be as involved in a LeBron-Paul Pierce off-the-court, wrap-up-foul scrum. And of course LeBron was in the heat of the moment. Still, he barked at Gloria with the command of a bread-winner. The thing is, any mom might have been concerned and up in the mix, but not any son would tell her to sit her ass down (perhaps moms was simply under the influence). Even K.G. was like, “Hey man, you can’t be talkin’ yo mama like that.”

Back to the baby who needs to be put in the corner.

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Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

[note: this game blog also appears on Bullets Forever]

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This is not so much a game 3 preview as it is a festival of related links and the best words from them. I’ve read them all and can vouch for each and every one. Enjoy.

flickr/wizardsdotcom

Good Words to Start
>> “We have to channel all of our aggressiveness, all of our excitement and all of our bravado into being organized within the team framework.” [Eddie Jordan via WashingtonWizardsBlog]

>> “Discipline first is self control. Discipline second is The Enforcer. If you can’t control yourself, The Enforcer must control it, and that’s me.” [Eddie Jordan via DC Sports Bog] – Oh yea, same link….Caron Butler shaved a message in the back of his head.Advocating to use Roger Mason Junior as the “enforcer” because of his “super human strength.” [Basketbawful]

>> Great piece on the upbringing of Roger Mason aka The Silent Assassin [Jon Siegel, Washington Times]

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Put yourself in this all too familiar situation: You see a player on the team you root for commit a foul on an opposing player going for a shot…..but the foul isn’t strong enough. Actually, the foul is rather clement as the opposing player brushes it off and scores the basket, And 1. What do you say to yourself? “If you’re going to foul the guy, don’t let him get a shot off!”

My truthful opinion: Brendan Haywood’s foul on LeBron James deserved a flagrant 1 and not a flagrant 2.

But…..I understand why the referees felt the need to toss Haywood from the game. And don’t worry, I’m not pulling the “Superstar Call/David Stern Conspiracy” card. At that point in the 3rd quarter, the refs had to do something, as they were well aware of the situation….. from the war of words off the court to the blade cutting tension on it. A message needed to be sent to both teams: crossing the line beyond ‘physical play’ will not be tolerated. Do I like being on the losing end of that message, and the game? Of course not.

I will contend that the act of Brendan Haywood’s foul was no worse that Anderson Varejao’s arm swipe at Andray Blatche’s head.

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Remembering history? Doomed to repeat it? Well, let’s hope these react quotes reverse karma in the direction of the Washington Wizards. Oh yea, a muzzle on Gil and DeShawn wouldn’t hurt either……..especially because I really don’t feel like putting together an ‘Egg on Our Face’ photoshop in the future.

If you dare, here’s the Wizards-Cavs game two blog on Bullets Forever.

React Quotes

“Last night, Washington decided to value physicality over skill, and in the process managed to lose the ability to do either effectively. [JakeTheSnake, Bullets Forever]

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As we all prepare for tonight’s game, especially in Cleveland where they will be handing out complimentary tissues to combat the flow of tears which will no doubt be shed from Cavs coaches, some type of Ohio King, and ‘mistake by the lake’ fans alike, I suggest that you buckle up for a good one. But first, go check out the ‘need-to-know’ game 2 preview from Bullets Forever.

Cleveland Cavalier Coach Mike Brown is a learned fellow, graduating magna cum laude from the Phil Jackson School of Using The Media to Politick for Whistles. Tonight’s referees will have David Stern’s tears-to-calls ratio chart on hand.

baby photo from flickr/pigstyave

Tonight: Gilbert Arenas is wrapped, bankrupt, and ready to go, Caron Butler is quietly focused, and Joe Smith scoffs at game one’s physicality…..as should you. [Wizards Insider]

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flickr/T.SC

Hindsight is always 20/20, right? (Actually, 20/20 is not “perfect” vision, but we’ll just stick with the saying.) If the Wizards “talk trash”and then lose, well, it’s confirmed, they are the dumbest team in the history of civilization.

Now, I won’t detract that bulletin-board material can provide effective examples of motivating opponents in the history of sports. Deadspin has pointed to Chuck Person in 1991. But I find it hard to draw direct lines of comparison between the #7 seed Indiana Pacers talking smack to the #2 seed Boston Celtics, and one of the greatest trash talkers of all-time, Larry Bird.

So, it’s easy for someone like Charles Barkley to assume that what was said prior to yesterday’s Wizards-Cavaliers game would be the equivalent of prodding a sleeping giant with a hot poker. But maybe we should use a new word, assyouhim….because Barkley has just made an ass out of you and him (assuming you are in the thought contingent that Gilbert Arenas should never have opened his mouth).

LeBron James is right. He does not need simple words to motivate him. LeBron James is good. He’s the real f-ing deal. Kobe Bryant may be the better entertainer, and that’s why people mistakingly refer to him as the best player in the NBA, but LeBron Raymone, father of Maximus, James is the best player….let me repeat slowly….play…yer…..in the National Basketball Association. To call LeBron a sleeping giant, to simply think that he needs the motivation of words from others, is an insult to him.

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Matt from Hardwood Paroxysm recently posed some questions to a round-table of Wizards and Cavs bloggers. Here are my initial responses, stay tuned for the rest.

1. How is this time around going to be different from the other times you’ve met the Cavs in the playoffs? Last year was obviously a joke with the injuries, but the year before that was a pretty entertaining series. How confident do you feel right now going into this matchup?
Yea, I’m not counting last year. For the Wizards, injuries and lack of depth sealed their fate. So, I’ll compare this year to what happened in 05-06 when the Cavs took out the Wizards 4-2 in a thrilling series:

In the 05-06 playoffs, the Wizards struggled to field even a seven man rotation. Arenas, Butler (before he really came into his own) Jamison, Haywood, and Jared Jeffries were the series starters. We all loved the defense of Jeffries (at times), but that dude was soft like goo and couldn’t finish a layup to save his life…..not to mention that he wasn’t opening a damn thing inside with any sort of outside presence. Insert DeShawn Stevenson, the Lock Smith. Not only has DeShawn been a warrior, playing through a multitude of injuries this year, but he’s played great defense against some of the toughest match-ups in the league. Did I mention that Stevenson has drained 157 threes this year…only about 30 more than DeShawn made in his previous seven NBA seasons combined.

Bench please. In 06, it basically consisted of Antonio Daniels and several square pegs trying to fit into round holes: (total series minutes played in parens) — Billy Thomas (13:55), Etan Thomas (18:20), Michael Ruffin (69:36:), and Donell Taylor (3:12). You’re putting yourself behind the 8-Ball when Michael Ruffin is your key 7th man. And yes, I do realize that the bench time shortens during the playoffs, but that should not detract from the need to have kick-ass relief.

This year, you have Roger Mason Jr. aka Mase-ON, aka The Potomac Rainmaker, aka Dr. Trey, coming off the pine to confidently make buckets son. You also got your Darius Songaila, the Lithuanian Brawler, hitting jumpers, driving to the hoop, getting boards, and helping the offense tick. If up and coming Andray Blatche can stay out of foul trouble, he can contribute with energy, rebounds, blocks and passing. Oh yea, that Gilbert Arenas fella….Eddie Jordan has said that he’ll continue to bring Arenas off the bench during the playoffs — we’ll see if that lasts. I’m all for severely limiting the minutes of Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Oleksiy Pecherov in the post-season.

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We all know what transpired the last time the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers really faced each other in the playoffs on May 5th of 2006. LeBron James talked trash to Gilbert Arenas before two crucial free-throws. Gilbert missed both. Damon Jones hit a deuce with four seconds left and the rest is history. Cleveland won 114-113 that night and took a very hard fought series in six games. Leaving the Verizon Center, my buddy Chris and I had only one choice: drink our troubles away in Chinatown with a boatload of scotch.

Even last year when the Cavs swept the Wizards without Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler in the playoffs, all seemed quiet on the Eastern Conference front between Cleveland and Washington….until 2008. Below is the time-line of the trash talk that’s gone since.

flickr/wizardsdotcom

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