Most Valuable Player arguments always come down to unknowable semantics. The award means all things to all people. This year, the most exciting season in what equates to an NBA lifetime, the MVP argument is a four-horse race.
If the MVP is meant to be given to the player most enjoyable to watch, the answer is undoubtedly LeBron James. King James is the most popular kid in school. He's funny, nice to everyone, and, y'know, can do absolutely anything on a basketball court. He's just cool as hell. He's pretty simply everything that is good and exciting about basketball. At 6'8", with rumors that he was still growing, King James is pretty much basketball's Frankenstein.
But- as good as LeBron has been, with his eye gorging 30/8/7 numbers, his team has underperformed. They are the fourth seed, barely holding on to home court advantage, in the lean Eastern Conference. That isn't terribly impressive.
Kobe Bryant is, without a doubt, this season's top performer. LeBron probably represents the potential that make sport so exciting; that future unknown. Kobe, though, is the cat that already did it. Kobe has three rings, and dropped 81 pts, thats Eighty-One Points, in a game. It's basically exactly like J5 said- A rapper is a kid that's tryin' to be the shit/ An entertainer ain't Tryin' cause he already is. Yeah, its pretty much exactly like that.
But Kobe has never won an MVP award before. And much like it was bullshit that ARod won that last MVP when it was a down year for him, there isn't that much separating Kobe this year from last year, or the year before that. Yes, the team is winning more games, and even caught fire as a Western Conference favorite, but that was all due to the addition of the complementary player Pau Gasol. Without that, Kobe's just being Kobe.
The last serious candidate in the race is New Orleans wunderkind point guard Chris Paul. He's done it all; he rescued a franchise in need of a hero, he successfully made all his teammates better, notably with David West enjoying his first All-Star selection, and Tyson Chandler finally looking like the lottery pick he was. His numbers are consistent and staggering. They win out and take the West's number one seeding, given the lack of expectations of winning entering the season, and the phrase, that I believe is copyright pending, "He saved basketball in New Orleans,"and Chris Paul is probably the 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable Player.
But y'know what? I'm from Boston, and I never claimed to be objective. KG's been the most important and valuable player in all of basketball since the day he was traded to the most storied franchise in sports, and if you don't know that, you aren't paying attention.
The Boston Celtics, who last year set a franchise record with nineteen, that's 19!, straight losses, have the best record in basketball. And they had the best record in basketball the entirety of the season. They were the best team in the game from day one, and no one can tell you it is for any reason besides The Biggest Ticket there is.
Ask a Celtics fan how she felt on Draft-Day; instead of any sort of franchise-saving top pick, the Celts moved some assets to bring in Ray Allen, a pure shooter getting a bit up there in years. Sure, you felt good that the team had gotten better, but it felt a lot like a band-aid/ bullet wound type of deal. I mean, nineteen is a lot of games to lose in a row; it leaves mental scars.
Then KG came to town. And it was good.
With Garnett on the team, there is a trickle down effect to dictate the roles of each player. The Big Three, or the Boston Three Party, will take care of themselves. All anyone else needed to worry about was their individual match-ups.
Board Banger Kendrick Perkins needed only to learn how to position himself around the basket and look for quick looks and clean-up baskets. Smart play got Perk damn near to setting the Celt's franchise record for field goal percentage.
Young buck Rajon Rondo just needed to learn everyone's favorite spot on the floor, and play good, quick D on opposing point guards. He could let his game come to him, and develop his And1 type game.
Former championship player James Posey just had to be a reliable vet, playing starter minutes off the bench, matching up and shutting down players at the 2, 3, and 4, and clocking killer treys.
Sam Cassell just had to keep his eyes towards the floor from summer to winter, awaiting his inevitable buyout and hoping on the championship bandwagon.
Scott Pollard could just be free to be Scott Pollard. Whatever that may mean. The point is that the roles were so clearly defined that the team was loaded for bear. The young guys could focus on getting better and learning from the vets, while the vets just needed to enjoy the ride.
And then there are the other two legs of the Three. Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen had to adjust his game the most, giving up a lot of looks and a lot of time with the rock in his hands. He has shined, though, being a constant threat from anywhere on the floor, playing better D, and help D, than anyone expected, and hitting game-winning shots. Not bad for the third best player on the team.
Pierce simply needed to provide continuity. He needed to stay within his game, show off his previously unheralded defensive prowess, score when there needed to be scoring, and bear the load of Mr. Celtic. He paid enough dues on some bad teams, now instead of focusing on beating five other guys on the floor, he need only worry about one, and beat him. Senseless, if possible.
And that's what it comes down to. When you've got The Big Ticket, you don't need to worry. Beat one guy, trust the guy next to you to beat his, and you're going to win. The team trusted that, and the team won. A lot. More than anyone else. Thanks to one guy. That is what my understanding of an MVP is. But I'm just one guy.
Playoff time. All aboard.
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