I think it will be LeBron. They have the slightly better record and have like only 4 more road games. That said, if they start losing home games suddenly and let the Lakers pass them up, that may swing things towards Kobe.
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Greg Oden: The future of the Blazers. The future of the NBA.
Wade is having an incredible season. But how can they give it to him when they passed on Kobe for Nash in 05-06? As of right now I'll have to say LeBron James. His team is currently onu up on LA, James has better numbers than Kobe or LeBron, and I agree he's playing with less than Kobe.
Honestly I felt that James deserved it last year. But if they had given it to CP3 I wouldn't have minded much. I didn't even mind that Kobe got it cause it was 'his turn' since the skipped him several times when it should have been his.
Having said that Lebron is far and away the leading candidate IMHOP. By any metric he deserves it.
D Wade is on a good team, but in the end, the Heat are not a real contender.
The fact that Wade practically carries his team to win big games says more than what Lebron does, because he is surrounded by the likes of Mo Williams and Big Z. Kobe is no different.
Kobe is arguably the best in the league today, but he's surrounded by talent. Even more than Lebron. He's been called a ball hog, but he's also that good. He's hard working and driven. The reason he might not win; he's been around and what he does isn't new.
Lebron is explosive this year and he's out shined Kobe. So has Wade for that matter, but he's been around for a while as well. People like to see the young guy because he's expected to carry the league for his generation.
Who wins the M.V.P. will come down to who has the best team record. With that in mind, Cleveland certainly wouldn't have the record it has without Lebron (*cough* and the refs *cough* ), but you could argue that without Mo, they wouldn't have said record either. Which is why what Wade has done is so impressive. He's practically winning games for the Heat.
Also, CP3 and Dwight are both amazing, but to the mass, it's about 40+ points and team records.
It will be Lebron. It should be Wade.
In the end, it doesn't bother me. Wade and Lebron are on the same level. It's more about the situation.
I agree with much of what you say. We can all see wade carrying this team on his back. Also Mo has been a godsend for the Cavs this season but Lebron is the MVP because he is more valuable to the Cavs organization than Dwayne Wade is to the Heat.
How you say? First let me preface this by saying that these metrics are subjective and subject to some interpretation. First though lets replace Lebron with an average SF say Joe Alexander. He is not too bad but he isn't the face of any franchise. So you got a starting line up like this
Mo Williams
Delonte West
Joe Alexander
Anderson Varejao
Iglauskus
Terri fed? No one is. That is a team barely better than the Nets and fighting like a dog to get a playoff spot.
Take out D-Wade and you got a joke team that would struggle to take down OKC much less sniff a playoff spot.
So what does that mean? A team like the one I described would be lucky to get a seed but they would be bounced out first round. Dwayne wade is keeping his team in it but they will in all likely hood get a second round boot. In the end both teams will be sitting home come June and since this is a league where there is only one championship the player that gives his team the greatest chance to win that championship is the MVP. Kobe certainly puts his team over the top, but I don't believe it is by as wide a margin.
Of course its basketball and there is room for plenty of upsets and unexpected turns. But you have to ask yourself what is more valuable? Having a chance at making the play-offs or having a good chance of winning a ring?