Kobe vs. Lebron For MVP: Closest Race In Years
Posted by: Lakers4Kobe on Mar 09, 2008 - 04:41 AM
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Throughout this year I have seen nmerous Kobe vs. Lebron for MVP articles but these past few weeks they have been popping up on this site like chicken pox on a body. I can honestly say that this would have to be the most highly competetive race to the MVP that I have ever seen. When Kobe has a great game, Lebron will follow it up with a great game of his own. While I am completely for Kobe getting the MVP, Lebron is certainly right behind him.
For the past couple of years there has not been this much competition for MVP. When Nash won the MVP award, I saw it coming, given Phoenix's regular season record (62-20). When Nash repeated I was a little suprised but all I had to do was look at their record again (54-28). While it isn't as impressive as the previous year, it is still worthy of the MVP award to the media. When Dirk won the award the Mavs finished the season at 67-15 which is a very impressive record, five off the best regular season record ever.
So what does this prove? Well, to me, it shows that if your team is lower than the 3rd seed there is no way that you can win the MVP award. Also, your team has to have at least 50 wins in the season. If you were to look at all the MVP's and see what their regular season record was I would guess that 90% of all thier teams had won more than 50 games in their season.
So what does that mean for this season's race to the MVP? Well it means that for Kobe to get into "official" MVP consideration, the Lakers will need to win at least 6 more games, plus a few more to solidify his status. Given the Lakers are first in the Wild, Wild West with a 44-18 record, it is going to be pretty hard for anybody to deny him the award.
So what does Lebron have to do? Well his team still needs to win 14 more games, which might be a bit much for Cleveland to handle. Given the fact that they are also 4th in the Eastern Conference, it will be hard for Lebron to get the "official" MVP consideration. At 36-27, Lebron has a lot of work to do and time is running out with each day.
From a statistical point, Lebron is having a better season than Kobe, averaging 30.8 ppg, 8 rpg and 7.4 apg. Compare this to Kobe's 28.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 5.3 apg, and you can see that Lebron overall is having a better statistical season than Kobe. But if the MVP award was based on stats alone, Kobe would have 3 of them already. So what else needs to be considered? Well first and foremost, a player's attitude plays a big part. An MVP has to be a leader and must know how to handle controversy and defeat and they must be able to bounce back and continue to fight, regarldess of what everyone else is saying. They will never stop until their job is done. Fortunanetly for both Kobe and Lebron, they easily fill out those stats, which makes this even closer.
So what else is there to consider? Well there is defence, which no statistical artist has yet to work out a equation for, unlike Hollinger and his ridiculously stupid PER ratings. So what can I say, well Kobe is definately a much better defender. From the start to the end of the game he will choose to defend the other teams best player, unlike Lebron who is only put on the best player in the fourth quater where the fatigue starts to set in, where Lebron's physical fitness and size come as an advantage. So who gets the upper hand on defence? I have to give it to Kobe.
So in the end all I can say is that this is going to be one of the most hardest fought races to the MVP award. This race will have media representatives scrathing their heads trying to decide who it should be. In the end though, the MVP award is for the player who makes his team that much better and this year, despite Lebron's great individual play, it is Kobe's teamwork and dedication that will make him this years MVP.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you your 2007-2008 MVP, from the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant!!
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