Potential Candidates for the Title of MVP in the NBA as of Today [Michael Vinciguerra]

Well...what a year of basketball it has been so far. We've seen high scoring performances, seemingly endless winning streaks, and occasional fights (Go Knicks!). The question that emerges from all this excitement is: Who deserves the title of MVP thus far in the season? Now every year the usual players are always candidates. For example, why not give it to Carmelo Anthony (the player who can't keep his hands to himself), Allen Iverson (the T.O. crybaby of basketball), or Dwayne Wade (the player who is nothing without Shaq under the rim). These are all fines players (well not really this year), but I would rather give the MVP title to more deserving players who has worked harder to improve and contribute to their winning team. With that in mind, here are my candidates for MVP thus far:

-Carlos Boozer: I can't remember the last time Utah was this good. This brings me back to the Malone / Stockton/ Ostertag era. You can thank Boozer and his 22 ppg, 12 rpg, 3 apg for this.

-Tim Duncan: One of the more quiet all stars in my opinion. His 21 ppg, 10, rpg, 4 apg show he is contributing greatly to the Spurs, who share the best record with the Mavs so far.

-Dirk Nowitzki: Speaking of the Mavs, Dirk makes a great impact with his 24 ppg, 10 rbg, 3 apg and is only getting better through the years.
-Steve Nash: Yea I know he has won this already but c'mon a 15 game win streak in basketball is rare and Nash is a beast with on the team with his league leading 12 apg
-Dwight Howard: This may be a stretch, but I would list Dwight Howard as a candidate only because Orlando has never looked so good and Howard leads the league in rebounds with almost 13 per game (always nice to have).
-Jason Kidd: Even though the Nets are doing pretty awful (and that doesn't surprise me) I have to list Kidd as an MVP candidate because his 13 ppg, 9 rpg, 10 apg show he is averaging nearly a triple double per game!
-Gilbert Arenas: Washington surprised me with their impressive performance this year....then again it doesn't surprise me when you have a player like Arenas, who drops 60 points in a game and then 5 days later scores another 54 in a game
-Lebron James: Of course what MVP list would be complete without King James, who is carrying the Cavs on his shoulders with impressive numbers that include 27 ppg, 7 rpg, 7 apg

So there you have it. My list of MVP candidates thus far in the season. As for potential teams....don't sleep on the Knicks, who are riding a 3 game win streak and consist of a young squad with the potential to succeed.