The halfway point of the NBA season is here and just like with any sport there are surprises and disappointments. Here are my observations up to this point, including my opinion on the MVP race.

• The Miami Heat have been the biggest disappointment this season with only have eight wins. The Memphis Grizzlies have more wins than the Heat at this point in the season which is just pathetic. The Heat have been dealing with a lot of injuries but so does every team. Dwayne Wade and Shaq have been dealing with multiple ailments this season and coach Pat Riley isn’t doing the best coaching job either.
• The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the surprise teams this year. No one saw them being in playoff contention this season, especially after top draft pick Greg Oden went out for the year with a knee injury. Brandon Roy is one of the best young players in the league.
• The New Orleans Hornets are also a surprise. However, they have a talented veteran group of players so their record is not as surprising as Portland’s. Chris Paul is making a case for MVP averaging 21 points and 10.4 assists per game. He has led the Hornets to the top of the Southwest Division, ahead of Dallas and San Antonio.
  
• The New York Knicks are still bad. They’re going to be that way for a while. According to ESPN’s rumor central, Isaiah Thomas could have made a number of moves to improve the team. One proposed trade was Vince Carter for Malik Rose and Nate Robinson. Thomas allegedly said no to this offer. If this is true, Knicks’ management needs to re-evaluate their visions for putting together a championship caliber team.
• Centers are making a comeback this season. Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Amare Stoudamire of Phoenix and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers have impressed so far this year. Howard and Stoudamire were already good but Bynum has really answered his critics this season. It’s too bad his knee is injured because the Lakers could really use his inside presence as the season rolls along. He should be back for the playoffs, assuming the Lakers don’t take a big step back.
• The Boston Celtics aren’t disappointing anyone. They are a league best 33-7 coming into Thursday. After starting 30-4, the Celts are slowing down a little bit going 3-3 in their last six games including two straight losses to the Washington Wizards.

MVP Race

Kevin Garnett

Garnett has the Celtics at a league best 30-7 and a strong candidate to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. He is averaging 19.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

Dwight Howard

Howard is definitely having the best season of his career with 22 points and right at 15 rebounds per game. His 2.6 blocks a game aren’t to shabby either.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe is always in talks of MVP no matter how well his team is doing. The Lakers would definitely be in the playoffs if it were to start today and would probably make some noise. Bryant is second in the league in scoring with 27 points per game.

LeBron James

James is the only man scoring more than Kobe at 29.5 points per game. The Cavaliers are also the fourth best team in the East based off their record.

Chris Paul

Along with his stats that I mentioned earlier, Paul has led the Hornets to a 9-1 record in their last 10 games. New Orleans is winning 70 percent of their games, best in the Western Conference.