LeBron James and the road to MVP – Part 1
Nearly 50 games into the season it may not be wise to pick and choose the most valuable player until we're mostly done with the season - too many things can change before then, and usually do.
This year, however, NBA is faced with a very unusual proposition. And that piece of the puzzle is the dazzling two times reigning MVP LeBron aka King James.
While many pundits of the game are putting forth the names of Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose and James’ own best buddy Dwyane Wade. None of that talk really seems to have any conviction attached.
The reason is very simple. It’s because while are trying to start the battle, James has already won the battle. The problem is that very few actually want to hear it.
But, let’s be honest for a minute. Why are we hoping against hope? Why try to pin James down even when we know that he is best - whichever way you look at it.
While on the court, there is no one as pleasing to the eye as the King himself, let me just make a statistical evaluation for posterity's sake.
James is first in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating which incidentally is his fourth straight season on top of the charts. To complement that, he is also first in Estimated Wins Added - again, the fourth straight year he's been
first. Additionally, the linchpin of the Miami Heat offence is the pacing the league in scoring since January 1, averaging a colossal 30.6 points per game.
After a lacklustre start to the season, a major reason for the Heat's uninspired crawl out of the gate, James has finally acclimatized to the Heat colours. A wretched span that witnessed him muddle through 18 games in October
and November now seems to be a far cry. In the last two months, James has bagged both the ‘Player of the Month’ awards, not to mention the four ‘Player of the Week’ awards that have also come his way.
He is improving by the day and is fast approaching a career-high in double-doubles. His 51 points blitz in Orlando last week is the league's single-game high this season. Concomitant to that, he has simply been unstoppable in the
last 20 games, posting an average of 29.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists during that stretch.
The Akron native has also been the critical component of a hustling Miami defence that ranks third in the league in Defensive Efficiency despite lacking an imposing defensive stalwart.
In short, there is nobody even close to him as he keeps on gaining steam for MVP.
And the superstar is feeling it too. On Tuesday night after singlehandedly demolishing the Indiana Pacers with a 41-point foray, he said in a televised interview on the court.
"I'm in my zone, in a comfort zone where I've been the last two years," James told Sun Sports as the arena emptied, the sweat still falling off his head. "It took me a little while to get here, but I'm very comfortable with this
team. I'm very comfortable with the sets, offensively and defensively.
"And I'm back to playing LeBron James basketball."
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and has nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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