With Kobe Bryant being unable to compete at the level necessary to merit the award because of injuries, LeBron James had a clear path to grab the award for the second consecutive year after the Cavaliers demolished the Lakers for the second time in as many tries last month.
Then Cavs point guard Mo Williams went down with an injury along with Cavs guard Delonte West, who has not been playing. How does LeBron respond? By becoming the best playmaker in the league by averaging over 10 assists since Mo Williams went down.
Even more amazing, LeBron has taken over the NBA scoring lead in that same span. Lebron's PER this season is 31.64 and if he keeps it at that pace, it'll be a top five PER of all time. The only other players in the top five in PER? Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
That's how good LeBron James is this season. That the Cavs are the best team in the league record-wise and the fact that James is routinely considered, along with Kobe Bryant, to be the best player in the league only helps his case. Add all this to the fact that the Lakers have been playing superb without Kobe and it seems difficult to see anyone challenging LeBron James for MVP honors.
Enter Kevin Durant.
I'm going to put it out there. If the Oklahoma City Thunder win 50 games, my vote would go to Kevin Durant. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on pace for 48 wins right now, but John Hollinger's nifty ESPN playoff predictor has the Thunder winning 50 games by season end. Perhaps that didn't register. The Oklahoma City Thunder might win 50 games this season!
If it still hasn't registered, let me kindly put it in perspective. The Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to be an embarrassment. Mediocre at best. Teams were supposed to look at the Thunder as a gimme win. If a team was in need of a pick-me-up, they would ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
