LBJ for MVP

Many of you are going to say that I have a bias when it comes to LeBron James as my choice for MVP this year. Sure I have two pairs of every shoe he wore since coming to the league. Yes I DVR the Cavs whenever they are on. And sure I make an effort to get to the games when they come to town to take on my Sixers. But no man crush will stop me from thinking rationally, and there is no other rational choice for MVP but LeBron James.

People have been throwing a lot of names into the hat for MVP candidates. Chris Paul made NBA history by leading the league in assist, steals, and being a top ten scorer. Dwyane Wade has single-handedly made the Miami Heat a playoff contender by dropping fifty whenever he pleases. Brandon Roy has not only put the Blazers back into the playoffs after a five year hiatus, he even managed to land home court advantage despite a disappointing rookie season by Greg “Bowie Bound” Oden. There is just one problem for these guys…there are only on average playoff teams. Since the inception of the MVP Award in 1955, no one has ever won the award without being one of the top three seeds in their conference. That leaves just a few worthy candidates left to battle it out: LeBron, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant to be exact.

Dwight Howard is having a superb season. Averaging 20 points and nearly 14 rebounds he has Magic fans saying “Shaquille who?” He will be responsible for the resurgence of big men in the NBA, and perhaps he should get an award for that; however, their will be no MVP trophy going on his mantelpiece this summer. Howard was too inconsistent to achieve such a high accolade this year. He will have 32 and 21 against the lowly Pacers, then turn around and be a no-show against the Rockets with just 13 points and 9 boards. Inconsistency put a red “X” right over his name.

It all comes down to a two-man battle to etch their name in NBA history. Kobe could take home the hardware of the second consecutive year. LeBron could join Bill Russell as the only player to win the award at age 24.

Numbers wise, both of these individuals are well deserving of the award. LeBron averages just two more points than Kobe per game. Both players have their teams sitting atop their respective conference. The Cavs have a better home record, although the Lakers are one of only two teams to beat them at home this year. I can’t possibly chose between the two based on the criteria listed. I am forced to bring in the tie breaker…Which player is more “Valuable” to their team. The answer is clearly LeBron.

If you take Kobe and his contribution off of the Lakers’ roster you still have a solid team. You have two unstoppable big men in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Combined they average 33 points a game and 17 rebounds. Derek Fisher is a veteran point guard who rarely makes a mistake. Lamar Odom, the team’s sixth man, would be a starter on any other team in the NBA. Not to mention that Kobe has the luxury of playing under the Zen master Phil Jackson and his six NBA rings. Looks like Kobe is playing with a full deck plus the Jokers.

With that being said, it makes perfect sense why LeBron James is worthy of the award. Minus ‘Bron, the Cavs struggle to make it into the playoffs as an eight-seed. Sure Mo Williams has turned out to be a great addition to the team, but no one knew who he was during those four seasons with Milwaukee. If it wasn’t for James’ performance this year, we wouldn’t even mention Mike Brown’s name for Coach of the Year. Not enough to change your mind? How about LeBron leads the Cavs in points, rebounds, assists, blocked, shots, and steals?

I know hardcore Kobe fans are probably think I’m an idiot. Despite being wrong, they are entitled to their opinion. One thing is for sure. Kobe will be looking to prove that he should have one MVP if these two meet in the NBA Finals.

Sixers Seal Their Fate?

With last nights’ loss to the Boston Celtics, the Sixers may have ended their hopes of advancing to a six-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Celtics were able to edge the Sixers by a score of 100-98 without the help of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Allen was serving a one game suspension for a hard foul against the Cavs, and Garnett has been sidelined with a strained knee since March 25^th. Paul Pierce carried his team to victory with 31 points. The Celtics received major contributions from reserves Tony Allen and Leon Powe who combined for 28 points.

As for the Sixers, Andre Iguodala led the team with 25 points. Second-year forward Thaddues Young returned from injury to contribute 18 points. A win would have allowed to Sixers to take the sixth seed from the Chicago Bulls and put them in a position to play the Orlando Magic in the first round. In order to advance in seeding, Philadelphia must defeat the Cavs tonight and the Bulls have to fall to the Raptors.

The Sixers had several opportunities to seal the deal in this game. They executed a 22-5 run early in the game, but the Celtics were able to close the gap to a 58-50 game by the half. The team responded well to a verbal lashing by Paul Pierce during a timeout in the second half. Down 11 in the fourth quarter Boston went on a rally that included a clutch three-pointer by Stephon Marbury that pulled the team to within three. Marbury would again get into the mix by coming up with a lose ball and dishing it to Mikki Moore for the lead. Boston would never look back. With seconds left on the clock, Philadelphia had one last chance to take the lead. Iguodala unsuccessfully went one-on-one against Paul Pierce as his off balanced floater fell short.

If the Sixers fail to move to the sixth-seed, they will be suiting up against the Boston Celtics once again for the first round of the playoffs. Philadelphia is 0-4 against Boston during the regular season. Boston expects to have Kevin Garnett back for the playoffs, although it is uncertain whether or not he is in game-shape due to having not played in almost a month.