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Midseason NBA MVP Top Five: Who will seperate from this field of flawed candidates?

By Jason Timpf

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - DECEMBER 30: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers walks off the court after their 104-101 loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on December 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - DECEMBER 30: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers walks off the court after their 104-101 loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on December 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors on December 25, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors on December 25, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

As we cross the halfway point of the NBA season, the NBA MVP race has tightened as its candidates have shown their flaws. It is time to break down these flaws and see where we stand through roughly 40 games. 

It is my favorite time of the year in the NBA. It’s trade deadline time with marquee matchups and the continued dominance of the NBA MVP candidates.

Okay, that’s not true. The playoffs put all of this nonsense to shame. But hey, we’ve officially played enough games to hold meaningful opinions! No more pointless arguing about who won October.

That being said, an interesting phenomenon is taking place around the league. No one wants to win the freakin’ MVP!

This was supposed to be the year that Kevin Durant validated his NBA finals performance by dominating the regular season. This was supposed to be the year that James Harden finally got over the hump. Even Lebron James — fresh off the prospect of championship futility at the hands of the Warriors — finally had a reason to give us an 82-game regular season performance of old.

But instead, everyone is simultaneously soiling themselves. So, essentially the first candidate to get their stuff together is going to be the one that wins the award.

Before we rank everybody up to this point, we need to remember a few precedents set last year:

1- Yes, your team’s record matters. Remember when we all developed a severe case of buyers remorse with Russell Westbrook? You will not see a player from a sub-50 win team taking home the MVP this year.

2- We remember the postseason. No matter how many 35-point nights James Harden has before the middle of April, nobody will be able to get the taste of Game 6 against San Antonio out of their mouths.

-and finally-

3- You have to be available to your team. No, I didn’t forget when all of you discounted Lebron’s MVP case last year because he “rested” for eight games. And yes, I remember you all voting Kawhi Leonard ahead of him despite *coughs* also missing eight games. (And everyone swore by the Spurs’ 60 wins to justify this case, despite the Spurs going 7-1 in those games Kawhi missed. So, essentially the Cavs with Lebron won just about as often as the . . . you know what? I’ll stop now.)

Alright, here we go with number five: