Mailbag: Russell Westbrook's MVP candidacy, Wizards' demise and more

Can Westbrook win MVP? If the Bulls are healthy, are they contenders? Who will take the blame in Washington? Chris Mannix answers those questions and more.

Chris Mannix | Mar 11, 2015

Mailbag: Russell Westbrook's MVP candidacy, Wizards' demise and more /

In this week's Twitter mailbag, Chris Mannix dives into a host of NBA topics, including...

• What does Russell Westbrook have to do to win MVP? The Thunder star is on an incredible tear, but has loads of competition.

• What are Bulls' title chances if everyone is healthy? Chicago could pose a Finals threat with a healthy starting lineup.

• Who would the Spurs prefer to face in the first round? The reigning champions lurk at the bottom of the playoff picture.

• Why does Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld still have a job after team's mistakes? Washington is 1-9 in its last 10 games.

• What's the future of the Celtics' Bradley-Smart-Thomas backcourt? Will Boston hold onto it's three-pronged trio?

NBA Players In Face Masks

Russell Westbrook started wearing a protective mask in March 2015 after an inadvertent knee to the face by teammate Andre Roberson led to surgery. Of course, Westbrook isn't the first NBA player to don a mask in the name of safety. Here are a few of the others.

LeBron James

Robert Duyos/Sun Sentinel/MCT via Getty Images

Kobe Bryant

Chris Paul

Bill Laimbeer

Nathaniel S. Butler/ NBAE via Getty Images

Rip Hamilton

A.C. Green

Andrew Bogut

Harold Pressley

Joe Johnson

Will Perdue

John Starks

LeBron James

Lucious Harris

Jason Terry

Brandon Williams

Alonzo Mourning

Tracy McGrady

Bimbo Coles

Anderson Varejao

Rodney Rogers

Shawn Marion

Charles Oakley

Roy Hibbert

Lamond Murray

Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Antonio McDyess

Francisco Elson

Courtney Lee

DeSagana Diop

Charlie Villanueva

Andrei Kirilenko

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Mickael Pietrus

Troy Murphy

Tyrus Thomas

Hedo Turkoglu

Wally Szczerbiak

If you'd like to ask a question for next week's mailbag, leave a comment below or send a tweet to @ChrisMannixSI using the hashtag #MannixMailbag.

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Published Mar 11, 2015

CHRIS MANNIX

Chris Mannix is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated covering the NBA and boxing beats. He joined the SI staff in 2003 following his graduation from Boston College. Mannix is the host of SI's "Open Floor" podcast and serves as a ringside analyst and reporter for DAZN Boxing. He is also a frequent contributor to NBC Sports Boston as an NBA analyst. A nominee for National Sportswriter of the Year in 2022, Mannix has won writing awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Pro Basketball Writers Association, and is a longtime member of both organizations.