The MVP campaigning is in full swing, with Kobe Bryant putting up 52 points on national TV last Sunday and LeBron James dropping 50 on the Knicks Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
In case you didn't catch this, James called the ovation he received at the Garden "one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me." Kobe and LeBron are both making a case for MVP, but who is most deserving?
"You hear it every day," James said. "I'm a fan of the game, I watch TV, I see the debates every day. So there's no way you can get away from it. But I go out and just play my game every night and try to be the MVP of my team every night."
Asked if his numbers speak for themselves, James said, "Well, I would think so." He's averaging an NBA-leading 30.8 points, with 8.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists.
Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett deserve consideration, but the most formidable challenge to LeBron is the other player in the league who only needs one name.
"If you give it to LeBron, it's like, 'Wow, that was quick,'" said Kobe's teammate, Lamar Odom, who believes Bryant's 12 years in the league should give him the edge.
Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson offered another reason: "[James'] team doesn't have quite the record we have."
Either way, there was no denying how special James' MSG performance was. He was only two rebounds shy of a rare 50-point triple double, which hasn't been done since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 50 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists on Jan. 19, 1975.
It's easy to fall in love with statistics when evaluating the MVP race. The Web site www.82games.com has compiled stats for "clutch minutes," which it defines as fourth quarter or overtime, less than five minutes left, neither team ahead by more than five points. Very fair assessment of crunch time.
UPDATED: Through Sunday, James was averaging 61.5 points per 48 "clutch minutes," compared to Bryant's 57.4. Both are significantly ahead of the next-closest clutch scorer, the Wizards' Caron Butler (47.2). That's proof enough to me that it's a two-man race; Garnett, for example, has 67 players ahead of him in clutch scoring (23.0). The highest-ranking Knick? Jamal Crawford, of course. He's 50th at 26.7.
UPDATE: James is ahead of Bryant in every major clutch-time category except three-point percentage, which Kobe leads .333 to .319. That's great, but I'd like to see their numbers, and their team's records, in games that come down to the last possession - at either end of the floor.
In choosing the MVP, I have to ask these questions: If I'm strategizing for the last shot, who is taking it if I have the ball and who is defending the opponent's best player if they have the ball? In both cases, I choose Kobe over LeBron.
In a couple of years? Things will be different.