Chicago Bulls Talk: Players Who Will Challenge LeBron for MVP

Who can realistically challenge LeBron James for MVP of the 2014-15 NBA season ?
Now prior to getting started I think it would be fair to acknowledge the obvious front-runner.

LeBron will more than likely challenge for this coveted award until he retires as there is no mistaking that he is one of the all-time greats. Coming off of four trips to the finals and two NBA championships LeBron James has executed one of the most adept free agent pivots in the history of, I don’t know, western civilization?

It seems that after just a few pre-season games the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to possess better on court chemistry than LeBron’s previous Miami Heat teams.
They will experience challenges with size, defense and depth but keep in mind that shooting is in place, penetration and interior passing are solid and three bonafide all-stars are out front.
Who could possibly challenge this LeBron’s dominance ? Why don’t we start with who won’t.

Chris Paul– Will have a great season for a Clipper team that could be ready to take the next step. However, the sooner Chris Paul acknowledges teammate Blake Griffins emergence the better.

Russell Westbrook– With Kevin Durrant’s foot fracture (six to eight weeks) Russell Westbrook will have to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder as they compete for a playoff spot in the ultra competitive western conference. The opinion here is that Russell and Kevin are a pair, stronger together than apart.

Blake Griffin– Will Chris Paul allow him to take game winning shots ? PG-Chris Paul is a great player and future hall of famer but fact is, he has plateaued. Blake Griffin has not. Blake needs to know what his ceiling is, but he won’t until Chris allows it.

 
The Contenders:
Anthony Davis– The pundits choice for the NBA’s next standard bearer, Anthony will lead a surprising but capable team into the western conference playoffs. Not since Lew Alcindor has a player hit the league with a representative combination of size skills and mobility. (Come to think of it he actually favors a young Lew). AD has shown steady progression each year and has the ability to cause havoc on both ends of the floor. This kid can shoot from the outside, run the floor like a dear, block dunks, jump-shots and lay-ups. He is smart, unselfish and coach-able. There is little doubt that Anthony Davis will turbo-boost The Pelicans learning curve to the point that (barring injury) they will be the 2014-15 talk of the league.
Derrick Rose– How could anyone consider D Rose after all he’s taken those poor Chicago Bulls fans through ? The fact is D Rose returned from a dark place during his recovery a better basketball player and his game may resemble players like Tony Parker and Chris Paul now more than ever before.

Derrick still has the blazing speed and quickness and even though he shot poorly from the outside one could safely assume that his shot will improve with time (providing he jettisons that insufferable right shoulder shift when shooting three pointers but then that is the result of shooting on the way down which I guess is connected to a low release point which consequently allows his strong legs to work against him….But I digress).

The main advantage going in is that the Bulls managed to hang on to core players while adding Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. Any improvement on the part of Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Tony Snell would spell success for the team that could win the east with Derrick averaging say 18 ppg and 8-10 apg.

No, Derrick Rose won’t win the 2014-15 NBA MVP award because of a reprise of his 2010 performance which was augmented by raw and awesome athleticism. He will win it because his Chicago Bulls team will win the Eastern Conference and he will, in the spirit of Philadelphia broadcasting great Sonny Hill, “orchestrate.