Things that Bother Me...People Making the Case for Anybody Other than LeBron James Winning MVP

Give the King His New Hardware

Seriously. Stop it. I'm sick of it. I know you are paid to stir controversy, encourage debate and keep the fans "interested." But I do not want to hear one more member of the media even mention anyone else as a legitimate candidate for the NBA MVP. Give the trophy to LeBron...now.

Not that there are a lot of naysayers out there to begin with, but any talk of Garnett or Kobe or whomever else needs to be squashed. Unlike Erie's Scribe, I have no ties or lifelong allegiance to Cleveland. I am not, per se, a Cavs fan. I am a slightly-above-casual NBA fan, in the context of the generally sports-crazed population of our readers of which I am a citizen. Meaning I probably watch at least portions of three or four NBA games a week.

With that background, I watched the Cavs play the Rockets on Thursday night. I wanted to put this post up immediately following that game, but I got distracted. So, I'm here now and I've got something to share that anyone who's watched this team figured out in about :30. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a TERRIBLE basketball team sans LeBron. Not just average. Not OK. Not serviceable. TER-RI-BLE. Before we get into just how bad a team the Cavs are putting on the court is, let's juxtapose that cast with that infamous V word that sits at the center of this award. Valuable. Most valuable.

Now, if the award were to be named for the "Best Player in the NBA," I'd have slightly more patience for Kobe entering the discussion, although I'd still likely hand it to LeBron. If we're going to honor the spirit of the M.V.P. award, it's not even close. Which takes us back to this team...on Thursday night, LeBron took the floor surrounded by the following four players: Z, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble. Go ahead, read that again. Now, granted Z is a legitimate player...and with Varajeo, Gooden and Pavlovic the Cavs are a far deeper team.

But let's be real here, outside of Ilgauskas, not one of these guys is a bona fide legit NBA starter. In fact, the whole roster has nary a "B" player among the bunch. Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones? Nice secondary, if not tertiary, players on an NBA roster these days. Devin Brown is getting 20+ minutes a game on this squad?! LeBron is bringing new definition to "carrying your team."

Last night, in a win against Atlanta, LeBron had what was for him an average night: 26 pts, 11 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot and only 1 turnover in 44 minutes. Actually a below average night in terms of points. Oh yea, Eric Snow was part of the starting lineup last night and contributed two points, five assists and no rebounds in 27+ minutes. How is this team winning? LeBron. That's it

Honestly, even as I'm writing this I can't fathom how anyone could consider anyone else for MVP in the league for even a millisecond. LeBron has somehow managed to lead a team of also-rans and nobodys to a 28-21 record, winning seven of their last 10. Without King James, Cleveland is 0-6 and would have a hard time giving the D-League All-Stars a run.

I don't know how else to say it anymore. I'm 30. I watched Jordan and still, like so many of us, talk about how games he played in were just different. You couldn't take your eyes of the screen and you wanted him to get the ball on every single possession. I'm not there yet with LeBron James. But I'm getting awfully close. Speaking of awful, that's what this Cleveland team would be without him. So, why don't we skip the contrived debates and just give the man his trophy now?