March 27, 2009
LBJ-MVP
The LeBron James clip from the "60 Minutes" interview is all over the web today, and by the way....thank goodness for Sunday's network television feature on the Cavs star. The poor guy can't get any national exposure lately.
The "60 Minutes" piece, which reportedly has been in the works for two years, tops off a month in which LeBron has pretty much eliminated any doubt about who the league's best player is, and who its MVP will be. The Cavs' league-best record, the current 11-game winning streak, and their remarkable 34-1 home mark have helped elevate James into MVP status.
Until this year, LeBron had always humbly deferred to Kobe Bryant when asked who he thought the NBA's best player was. And up until this year he may have been right. But LeBron's defense has improved significantly this season, and his leadership of the team on and off the court is evident to anyone paying attention. Those factors and the fact that his overall floor game is superior to Bryant's, (even though Kobe may still be the better pure scorer) has moved LeBron past Bryant in the eyes of many commentators and analysts for MVP consideration.
For now, the prevailing sentiment is that the 24-year old from Akron is the best player on the planet. Which is nice for Cleveland fans, who haven't been able to lay claim to the best player in a sport since Jim Brown dominated the NFL down on the lakefront 45 years ago.
And the milestones keep piling up.... a team record for Cavs victories in a season (with 11 games to play)....a Central Division championship...and just recently, James became just the second player ever to record seasons of 2000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists four times in his career, the great Oscar Robertson (who did it six times) being the first. Only five players have ever done it even once.... the other three names - Jordan, Havlicek, and Bird. Did I mention 24-years old?
Then along comes ESPN's John Hollinger this week to tell us that, not only is James the dominant player in the league this year...not exactly a news flash, he admits....but that he is putting on one of the great NBA single-season performances of all time.
That James is playing well is hardly a secret -- virtually every writer in the country has him either first or second on the MVP ballot heading into the season's final stretch. But the vagaries of the game's stats have made it difficult to appreciate what a historically great season he's having.James doesn't lead the league in a single individual category, and his scoring and rebounding numbers are both down from a year ago. Yet when one looks at his accomplishments in total, and adjusts for both his minutes and his team's pace, he's having one of the greatest seasons in league history.
On a per-minute basis, he's averaging more points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals than he did last season -- when he already was having a sensational season that included the league's best PER -- and is shooting better from the field, from the line and from 3-point range. Somehow, he's averaging fewer turnovers, too.
Add it all up and James' 31.69 PER through Sunday's games isn't only the best in the league, holding off a stern late charge by Miami's Dwyane Wade -- it's second only to Jordan in the past 35 years, and if James has a strong closing finish, it could end up as the best.
Here's more from Hollinger on his player efficiency rating system, and how it demonstrates LeBron's dominance.
The playoffs await, of course, and Kobe may have the last laugh....and he's had a good run. But the torch has been passed.
UPDATE 3/29: PD: Pulling away from the field?
Posted by dan at March 27, 2009 11:00 PM