LeBron James Has Thrown Himself Back Into The NBA MVP Debate

LeBron James has put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and his name back into the NBA MVP debate.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar small forward LeBron James has thrown himself back into the NBA MVP debate after last night’s performance against the Indiana Pacers.

After dropping three straight games, it didn’t look like LeBron James was a viable MVP candidate even if he was averaging a near triple-double with 22.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game during that stretch. He was only averaging 3.0 turnovers per game, he was shooting 48.3 percent from the field.

However, he only made 1-14 three-point attempts, 10-19 free-throw attempts and only had one steal and two blocks in total in that three-game stretch. James’ statements about the process of getting better were bordering on lip service, as the team looked no better than it had on opening day.

To add, MVP candidates Russell Westbrook and James Harden were turning in some sensational performances.

Westbrook had the first ever perfect triple-double and the most points ever in a triple-double by the end of the month. Harden followed up a four-game stretch where he had at least 38 points per game in each contest and two 40-point triple-doubles with a victory over Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder, giving a Harden a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head matchups between Harden’s Houston Rockets and the Thunder this season.

Those are stellar statistics but King James isn’t a player easily forgotten. Over his last two games, he’s jogged our memories a bit.

James has averaged 37.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists in his last two victories, including a 40-point triple-double in a sensational head-to-head matchup with Paul “Prince” George and the Indiana Pacers. A game that would remind James’ fans of the playoff matches against George and the Indiana Pacers when The King played in South Beach with the Heatles.

A game that, going to double-overtime, should have reminded everyone about James’ MVP-worthiness despite the Cavs’ momentary slide. James guarded the opposing team’s best player, Paul George, from the outset. James played dominant defense from start to finish, wreaking havoc in transition and getting involved in the turnover-game with a couple of strips.

He went toe-to-toe with George, the younger athlete and frankly the better shooter, and did all but outscore him as George finished with 43 points and James finished with 41 points. However, James hit every type of shot possible in this contest and basically bullied the Pacers in the paint, leading to 12 free-throw attempts, his third-most of the season. He hit clutch shots and, as only he can, found other players like J.R. Smith and Kevin Love for tough shots.

He put the team on his back and led by example, leading the Cavs out of a dark cave and into the light. That’s something that no other MVP-candidate has been expected to do this season and James delivered.

The argument for James over any other MVP usually goes like this:

1. His team has a better record than the Oklahoma City Thunder, he’s more efficient than Westbrook and plays basketball “the right way”.
2. His defensive impact outweighs Harden’s, the Cavs need James on the floor more than they need Harden and Harden’s statistical dominance may be a product of Mike D’Antoni’s offense.
3. He does more creating than Kawhi Leonard, statistically has been having a better season defensively and Leonard’s success could be seen as a product of Gregg Popovich’s greatness.

Then there are little nuggets like these from Bleacher Report’s Andrew Bailey, showing how much these MVP candidates boost the performance of their teammates.

What’s interesting to note here is that Leonard is the only person who negatively affects the team’s main players and Harden doesn’t seem to thoroughly raise the performance of any main players. When trying to read between the lines of Westbrook and James’ charts, Westbrook doesn’t have as much of an impact on his teammates performances as James.

Now, I’m not one to say that any player will definitely win MVP and I don’t think many people would think that there’s going to be a unanimous MVP this year. That should also work in James’ favor as the nitpickers and basketball purists parse through the MVP candidates stats and overall body of work to determine who the league MVP is.

All I will say is that James’ statistical dominance may not jump off the page as much as Harden’s or Westbrook’s but he’s been just as dominant, on both sides of the ball.

He’s been more efficient (and wins more) than Westbrook. The Cleveland Cavaliers, unlike teams like the Thunder of Rockets, have been given every team’s absolute best shot all season. Unlike Harden or Leonard, James is working with a rookie head coach and still delivering on expectations.

In addition, despite these performances by Westbrook, Harden and Leonard, none are taking his crown as the best player in the league any time soon. James has been as dominant as these players and more, for quite some time now.

While he may not win, James still deserves to be in the MVP discussion. In my opinion, how the Cleveland Cavaliers finish the regular season with only six games will determine just how worthy of an MVP candidate he is. If the Cleveland Cavaliers manage to win every game for the rest of the season, especially their games against the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, James may very well be hoisting his 5th NBA MVP award.

This one would probably be the sweetest one yet, looking at the field of candidates and their performances this year.

Related Story: James Jones Says There Is No Playoff Switch

Do you think LeBron James can still win the NBA MVP award? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.