And the NBA MVP is...

-Besse

The Lebron James NBA MVP award:

Lebron James – James should never be a candidate for MVP because he’s such an easy choice. The rest of the Cleveland squad sucks – aside from Zydrunas Ilguaskas, maybe. During the 2008 season, James has missed six games. In those six games, the Cavaliers went a sterling 0-6, losing by an average of 17 points including a 109-74 laugher at Detroit.

James is like Tommy Rodrigues to me: the larger-than-life, better than everyone else 12-year old that we all knew in Little League. The kid whose team won the league championship only because he threw a shutout every game and hit a homerun everytime he got up. He was so big, so intimidating and so good that you cringed everytime he threw a ball or swung a bat. You couldn’t beat him – at the plate or on the mound – so you’re only chance was to contain him. That’s more or less what NBA teams do when they face the Cavs. You hope and pray that Lebron doesn’t go off on one of his 40 point spectacles. In games where he dropped 40 or more, the Cavs were 6-1. The only loss was a 104-99 defeat to the Nets in which New Jersey scored 38 in the first quarter and had to hold off 14 fourth-quarter points from the King.

But that’s what this guy does. Bill Simmons alluded to it in referencing “The LeBron James ‘Don't Help Me Up, I Don't Even Want To Look At You Because You Suck So Much, I Can't Believe We're On The Same Team’ Face” that he must give to teammates during every game. The guy is not just the only great NBA player on his team, but the only good player. If Lebron wasn’t on the Cavs, they’d be so bad they wouldn’t just miss the playoffs, but they might miss the lottery.

The Boston Park League used to have a rule where every year the worst team in the league got kicked out and they pulled the best team from the Yawkey League; a big-league call-up, of sorts. But needless to say, it was pretty embarrassing if you finished with the worst record and got the boot. That’s what the NBA would have to do if Lebron ever went down for the season or left Cleveland. And yet in five NBA season with Lebron, the Cavs have finished below .500 once (his rookie year), notched 50 wins twice, are on the verge of a 3rd straight post-season appearance and have lost in the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals the last two seasons. Oh and the two years they didn’t make the playoffs? They missed out by one game in ’03-’04 and lost a tiebreaker in ’04-’05.

So for James, who is averaging nearly 27/7/7 per game over his career, let’s just give him his own MVP award and let the rest of the guys battle it out for one available to the rest of the league.

As far as 2008, he’s averaging 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game while carrying a team of nobodies to the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. The Cavs will most likely be the 4th seed and host Washington, which would be even more intriguing if Gilbert Arenas hadn’t missed most of the season. There’s nothing better than watching two guys go back and forth scoring as if forgetting there are eight other guys on the floor. The Cavaliers will be a tough match-up for anyone in the playoffs solely because of James. And god forbid, if anyone else happens to resemble a legitimate NBA player they could seemingly go pretty deep into the playoffs.

The actual 2008 NBA MVP award

The serious candidates:

These guys garner the most attention, having truly played MVP-type seasons in their own way.

Kobe Bryant – While an MVP award is based on what a player has done over the course of the season, one can argue that most winners or worthy candidates make their case in the final slew of regular season games as his/her team makes a final push towards the playoffs. That’s what Kobe and the Lakers have done this April. This is a team that was written off by everyone at the beginning of the season amid talks that Kobe would undoubtedly be traded to Chicago or anyone else that would get him out of L.A. Instead, Kobe has averaged 28.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. In April, the Lakers are 6-1 and have won 7 of their last 8 games dating back to March 30. The late push has them one win away from clinching the top spot in the ever-close Western Conference.

While Bryant hasn’t had to do it with a cast of losers like Lebron, the addition of Pau Gasol was more an answer to the loss of Andrew Bynum. You can argue that the Lakers have gotten great play from a supporting cast of Gasol, Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, but the bottom line is Kobe has stepped up and taken a true leadership role. This is a guy who asked to be shipped out of there, and yet he’s put that behind him and embraced this team while leading it to the top of the uber-talented Western Conference.

Kevin Garnett – “The Big Ticket” has been outstanding, averaging 19 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. His biggest contribution isn’t an individual statistic but rather a team one, helping the C’s hold opponents to only 90.2 ppg. And his presence has opened up opportunities for Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Rajon Rondo. They’ve all stepped up to the challenge and the Celtics have accomplished the greatest season turnaround in NBA history.

The knock on Garnett’s candidacy is that Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are the other members of the “Big Three.” Pierce has led the Celtics in scoring in 9 of the last 10 years and Allen is averaging almost 18 ppg. It’s the same type of issue a guy like David Ortiz might have when Manny Ramirez is batting right behind you in the lineup. How can you give an MVP to one guy when a couple teammates, especially Pierce, is just as invaluable as he is? It’s a fair argument and while Pierce hasn’t had a season that will garner him any MVP attention, thus stealing votes from Garnett, it certainly won’t help his cause.

Chris Paul – Paul is undoubtedly the heir apparent to the likes of Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, and he’s putting up numbers much like Isiah Thomas and Kevin Johnson did throughout their NBA careers. He’s averaging 21.1 points, 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He’s the type of players that makes everyone else on the court better. Tyson Chandler and David West are perfect examples of this, having seen their season averages dramatically improve since playing alongside Paul the last three seasons. West, in particular, has made the jump from “Who is David West?” to “Yo, I picked up David West for my fantasy team!”

The Hornets, much like the Pistons, have one of the deeper pools of talent in its starting lineup and rotation, but this offense could not function without Paul in it. While it’s a small sample, Paul missed two games this season and the Hornets scored an average of 85 ppg in his absence. They’re averaging over 100 ppg in ’08. Again, it’s a small sample, but it shows the kind of effect Paul has on how well the offense runs. And while his 2.7 steals per game aren’t slowing down opponents’ 95 ppg, it shows just how well-rounded a player he is. This guy should get serious consideration.

The perennial candidates:

It’s almost a free pass for these guys, having reached a point where every year you could more or less make a compelling case to some extent.

Tim Duncan – A model of consistency, Duncan has averaged almost 22 points and 12 rebounds over his 11-year career. This year, he’s scored over 19 points and grabbed more than 11 boards per game. His numbers are down slightly if you even want to call it that, but that’s because Manu Ginobli is scoring 5 more ppg than his career average and taken some of the pressure off the big guy. That being said, you may ask why Ginobli wouldn’t get consideration since he’s also averaging a full assist more per game this season. But let’s face it: Duncan is the reason the Spurs will contend for a title every year and there are too many guards who are more worthy of the award than Ginobli.

Steve Nash – For me, personally, he re-established the importance of the point guard position and gave reason to follow it closely. This guy has made the position a spectacle to watch. Closed passing lanes become open; bad passes become good ones; and lock-down defenses become sieves when Nash takes the floor. He’s biblical in a way. The Moses of the NBA. When you breakdown point guards of the new generation, you compare them to the likes of Nash and Kidd. It’s the ability to make everyone else on the court better, not just with mediocre talent but with a roster full of egos, as well. Nash doesn’t just do it, he teaches it. Others emulate it, or at least try to, and he personifies the true meaning of a point guard. He’s the owner of six all-star game appearances and two MVP’s and Nash has flourished in Phoenix under the run-and-gun system. This season has been no different and with the offense beginning to mesh with Stoudemaire and Shaq, the Suns could finally jump that hurdle.

Also receiving recognition

These players also had terrific years, but there’s too much going against them to warrant any serious, legitimate campaigns for MVP.

Amare Stoudemaire – He’s averaging 25 ppg which is five points higher than his career average. I don’t think Shaq was too far off when mentioning him in the same breath as other MVP candidates like Paul, Kobe and Lebron. But in my opinion, anyone on a team with Steve Nash should never win an MVP, plain and simple. While Stoudemaire could have impressive, All-Star seasons on other teams with other point guards, he’ll only have numbers like this when he’s with Nash. And if another guy is the reason you’re better than good, you don’t any awards, he does.

Dwight Howard – Sorry, Dwight, but Hedo Turkoglu’s breakout season ruins any chance of you winning this award. That and you finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference, which is like placing in the JV wrestling tournament in high school, which I did. While it was a nice accomplishment, I was almost ashamed. Who the hell wants to wrestle in the JV tournament anyway? That’s what teams like the Celtics and Pistons must feel like right now - almost embarrassed that they have to play in the East. So you dominate everyone else and then get ready for the Varsity games. But give credit to Howard, whose Superman dunk was a microcosm of the type of season he’s had just dunking on anyone and everyone. His 21 points and 14 boards a game are legit and he’s doing it with Jameer Nelson as the point guard. It’s like a high school team relying on a JV point guard to run the show. The coach basically tells him to pass the ball to the good players and don’t dribble, shoot or pass any more than you need to.

Tracy McGrady – Sure, the 22-game winning streak was a nice story, especially since it was done without the services of key big man Yao Ming. But what bothers me is how mediocre the team was before both the streak and Ming’s injury. Case in point, the Rockets will finish in 5th or 6th despite the 22 consecutive wins. As competitive as the West is, that should have separated them from the pack, not helped them catch up to it. But McGrady has had another solid season, scoring 22 ppg and dishing out over 5 dimes per night. The scoring is down a bit, but the Rockets have shown considerable depth and several guys, such as Alston, Scola, Landry and Battier have all played well in filling the gap left by Ming.

Dirk Nowitski – Nowitski is averaging 23.8 points and almost 4 assists and 9 rebounds per game, but the Mavericks have been a bit of a disappointment. Dirk’s numbers aren’t much different than those of his MVP season last year, but he’s not shooting as well especially from beyond the arc and Dallas has such a deep crop of scorers that while Dirk is still the most valuable member of his team, he’s not the most valuable of the league.

And the winner is…

Lebron James would be my MVP choice. The Cavaliers supporting cast is D-league material and that city should count its blessing every night. But the choice of Lebron seems so easy that I expect the voters to completely overlook him and focus on Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. And since I’ve chosen to honor King James with the MVP award that also happens to be his namesake, I’ll narrow my choice down to Paul and Bryant, as well. I’m going with Bryant here.

This will be the closest MVP race ever because you can make a solid case for four guys: James, Bryant, Paul and Garnett. And while Chris Paul falls into the Steve Nash category of making everyone better, Kobe has taken a tumultuous situation and made it work. The Lakers were counted out before the season and surprised everyone with a hot start. But after Bynum went down, it was seen as the beginning of the end for this sudden renaissance. Then the Lakers went out and literally stole Pau Gasol from Memphis. And while you can argue that Kobe has had a solid supporting cast all season, you also need to recognize that he has never wavered. Despite the off-season trade rumors, his desire to leave L.A., the Bynum injury and everything else over the course of the season, Bryant has kept this team steady and ready. His numbers are what they always are, and he’s second in scoring only to King James. But more importantly, the wins are there and the Lakers are on the verge of the top seed in the West. Paul and Co. have had a tremendous season and will likely finish 2nd by a game, but the bottom line is the Lakers have done so much more than expected. And they have Kobe and his newfound leadership ability to thank for it.

-Besse