The NBA Finals and MVP Postseason results are in.
I wanted to rank players in minutes played plus +/- in each victory, total them up, and compare final rankings to MVP results. I intend to do this for the upcoming regular season, I used this year's playoffs to give an idea if I'm on to something.
On the 4-game sample size of the NBA playoffs, I was off. Giannis Antetokoumpo was triumphant in the last game with a 50-point performance that made him the official Finals MVP.
Even in that game, however, Giannis came in second among Bucks in my rankings. Jrue Holiday played more minutes and had a greater +/-. In fact, Jrue led the Bucks three times in the series, Khris Middleton once. Giannis was second twice, third once, and fourth once.
Giannis's points and other stats were obviously viewed as more important to Finals MVP voters, as was his stellar Game 2 performance in a loss.
And, of course, the stats are important. I just think Minutes Plus +/- (MPPM) is another important stat.
Minutes Played relates to a coach's estimation of a player's value. Plus-Minus, the point differential when the player's on the floor, relates to how he contributes to the team's overall cohesion in ways that go beyond stats.
I suggest MPPM should be taken into consideration, not as the only factor in determining things like MVP, but as a factor.
In any case, here are my rankings that did indeed have MPPM as the only factor: For each win, I ranked the top 8 contributors to the victory 1-8 in MPPM, giving 8 points to the top contributor down to 1 point for the 8th contributor.
FINALS
Jrue Holiday, Bucks (4 wins) 31 Finals MVP Points
Khris Middleton, Bucks (4 wins) 27
Giannis Antetokoumpo, Bucks (4 wins) 24
Devin Booker Suns (2 wins) 16
Pat Connaughton, Bucks (4 wins) 16
P.J. Tucker, Bucks (4 wins) 16
Bobby Portis, Bucks (4 wins) 13
Chris Paul Suns (2 wins) 13
Brook Lopez, Bucks (4 wins) 4
Deandre Ayton, Suns (2 wins) 12
Jae Crowder Suns (2 wins) 11
Mikal Bridges, Suns (2 wins) 8
Cameron Johnson, Suns (2 wins) 6
Cameron Payne, Suns (2 wins) 4
Jeff Teague, Bucks (3 win)s 2
Dario Saric, Suns (2 wins): 1
Torry Craig, Suns (2 wins) 1
PLAYOFFS
Jrue Holiday, Bucks (16 wins) 111 Postseason MVP points
Khris Middleton, Bucks (16 wins) 110
Devin Booker, Suns (14 wins) 102
Giannis Antetokoumpo, Bucks (16 wins) 89
Deandre Ayton, Suns (14 wins) 81
Chris Paul, Suns (14 wins) 71
P.J. Tucker, Bucks (16 wins) 70
Jae Crowder, Suns (14 wins) 70
Paul George, Clippers (10 wins) 68
Mykal Bridges, Suns (14 wins) 67
Brook Lopez, Bucks (16 wins) 67
Trae Young, Hawks (10 wins) 60
Bogdan Bogdanovich, Hawks (10 wins) 56
Clint Capela, Hawks (10 wins) 55
Nicolas Batum, Clippers (9 wins) 54
Reggie Jackson, Clippers (10 wins) 51
Pat Connaughton, Bucks (16 wins) 50
Kevin Hueter, Hawks (10 wins) 46
Kevin Durant, Nets (7 wins) 44
Ben Simmons, 76ers (7 wins) 44
John Collins, Hawks (10 wins) 44
Kyrie Irving, Nets (7 wins) 43
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (9 wins) 43
Joe Harris, Nets (7 wins) 43
Tobias Harris 76ers (7 wins) 42
Cameron Payne, Suns (14 wins) 42
Marcus Morris Sr., Clippers (10 wins) 40
Seth Curry, 76ers (7 wins) 40
Bobby Portis, Bucks (16 wins) 38
Terance Mann, Clippers (10 wins), 39
Joel Embiid, 76ers (7 wins) 37
Danilo Gallinari, Hawks (10 wins) 37
Rudy Gobert, Jazz (6 wins) 36
Bojan Bogdanovic, Jazz (6 wins) 34
Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (6 wins) 33
Royce O'Neale, Jazz (6 wins) 33
James Harden, Nets (7 wins) 33
Joe Ingles, Jazz (6 wins) 27
Michael Porter Jr., Nuggets (4 wins) 27
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (4 wins) 26