When it comes to MVP race, not all games created equal

Games like Cavs vs. Magic can carry more weight than others in the MVP race.

Here at The Race, we've said it and said it and said it, to the point that we could lay down some flute and bongos and turn it into a bit of spoken-word, proto-rap, jazz poetry in the style of Gil Scott-Heron: The Most Valuable Player Race will be determined over 82 games. The MVP Race will honor the NBA's regular season -- the whole regular season. The MVP Race will not be prematurely decided after 67 percent of anyone's schedule. Or 83 percent. Or any percent that's even one percent less than 100. The MVP Race is not some lame three-quarters-of-the-season operation, halving March, skipping April. ...

Except that maybe it is. Not lame, mind you, but not a full-fledged, beginning-to-end, every-game-counts-the-same endeavor, either. Not quite what The Race alleges it to be, in other words.

The hard truth is, all regular season games are not created equal. The ones played back in October and November often hold sway with some committee members well beyond their 1/82nd worth because, at the time they're played, they represent 1/2 or 1/5 or 1/12 of a particular MVP candidate's output to that point. By March, each one is a mere 1/59th or 1/68th. (Then again, the early ones occasionally get forgotten and overlooked by some other, generally elder members.)

So-called "big" games, labeled such because of the opponents or the dates (like Christmas) or the TV networks' preferences, tend to loom larger, too. Many times, those games are more important, defining contenders and determining home-court advantages. Often, though, they're just burned more into our memory because, unlike the revolution, the MVP Race is being televised.

Sometimes, the games near the very end get counted disproportionately as more than 1.2195 percent of the overall season. This might seem proper, if a big performance by a team's best player can spell the difference between the final postseason berth and a trip to the lottery. Sometimes a division or a conference title hangs in the balance. After all, this award is all about assessed value and what's more valuable than clutch play at a crucial time?

Then again, how often do MVP winners come from eighth seeds? Do we even remember who won the Southeast Division two years ago? And why punish the candidates who, in a variation of basketball coach-ese, did their work early? If Cleveland sufficiently separated itself from the pack or Orlando opened some standings space over Boston and Atlanta to allow LeBron James or Dwight Howard, respectively, to rest or pace themselves in some late-season contests, why should they be at a disadvantage? That would be like saying points scored in the first quarter of a game count less than points scored in the fourth. Or something like that.

Thus The Race prefers not to tilt its verdict on evidence presented at the 11th hour, or in this case, the 82nd hour. Scoring titles famously have swung on the final day of the season -- George Gervin outgunning David Thompson several hours apart, David Robinson doing the same thing to Shaquille O'Neal decades later. But in terms of an MVP outcome altered on the last night, nothing springs to the committee's minds.

Now, if the guy in Oklahoma City averages 37.3 a night and the Thunder run the table 16-0 to snag the top seed in the West, The Race will have some serious reconnoitering to do.

1. LeBron James, Cavaliers (54-15)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
67	39.1	29.9	7.3	8.6	1.7	1.1	.501	.347	.769

Last Week's Rank - 1
James had another Oscar Robertson week, as in one actual triple-double and two more performances that left him very close to averaging a triple-double in the Cavaliers' victories over Boston, Detroit and Indiana. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists (along with 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks). Meanwhile, Cleveland averaged 9.3 points in margin of victory.

2. Kevin Durant, Thunder (41-25)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
66	39.6	29.7	7.5	2.8	1.3	0.9	.477	.370	.890

Last Week's Rank - 2
Thunder has won six in a row. Durant, with 37, now holds the franchise's season record for most games scoring 30 or more (Spencer Haywood did it 35 times in 1972-73); actually, the committee is a little surprised that OKC isn't better than 26-11 on nights Durant has done it. Even if the smooth small forward can't catch James in The Race, he had a one-night shot at him Friday: If Durant can score 40 at Toronto, he would become only the second 21-year-old in NBA history to reach 2,000 points in a season through 67 games. James did it in 2005-06.

3. Dwight Howard, Magic (49-21)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
70	34.7	18.5	13.1	1.7	1.0	2.7	.608	---	.603

Last Week's Rank - 3
Howard leads the NBA with 53 double-doubles and has 337 in his career, tops since he entered the league in 2004. On Wednesday, when foul trouble worked to limit him to nine points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes, Orlando won by 26 -- over San Antonio. But here are the most Magical numbers for Howard and his club this season: They are 7-3 against Cleveland, Boston and Atlanta, 32-12 within the East overall.

4. Kobe Bryant, Lakers (50-18)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
63	38.9	27.7	5.4	4.9	1.7	0.3	.458	.317	.818

Last Week's Rank - 4
Look, you want value, consider this: Bryant, as of L.A.'s game at Sacramento Tuesday (capping a 3-0 Pacific trip), had played in 671 regular-season victories. That's the most in Lakers history, surpassing Magic Johnson (670) as second winningest ever. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ranks No. 1 with 743 but Bryant is only 73 wins away -- even if he trails in MVPs 6-1.

5. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets (47-22)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
56	38.1	28.8	6.7	3.4	1.3	0.4	.465	.318	.832

Last Week's Rank - 7
Knowing what your team needs most, and when it needs it, is the sort of nuance that The Race should applaud and recognize. So it was with Anthony's performance against New Orleans, when he grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and saved most of his 26 points for the game's pivotal late minutes.

6. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (46-22)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
67	37.9	25.0	7.7	2.6	0.9	1.1	.476	.344	.905

Last Week's Rank - 5
Blame it on the competition lately. Maybe facing three Eastern also-rans on a cushy homestand fiddled with the big guy's focus. Nowitzki had 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting and five rebounds in 40 minutes against the Nets, followed by 20 and 12 on a 5-of-13 night when Dallas lost by 34 to, ugh, the Knicks. He bounced back with 26 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals in Wednesday's victory over the Bulls.

7. Deron Williams, Jazz (44-24)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
62	37.0	18.4	4.0	10.3	1.2	0.2	.476	.370	.786

Last Week's Rank - 6
In head-to-head games this season against some of the West's very best or, at least, solid point guards -– Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Andre Miller, Russell Westbrook and Derek Fisher -- Williams has outscored all but Parker and out-assisted all but Nash. Then again, he (35) and Jazz forward Carlos Boozer (45) are the only teammates to rank in the Top 10 in double-doubles, putting them a little into the Billups-Anthony shared-load category.

8. Dwyane Wade, Heat (35-34)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
65	36.1	26.7	4.7	6.5	1.9	1.0	.466	.297	.762

Last Week's Rank - 10
Wade and the Heat are pouncing on the soft bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Miami has won six of its past eight and Wade, in his own last eight games, has averaged 30.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.

9. Chauncey Billups, Nuggets (47-22)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
60	33.9	19.7	3.0	5.8	1.2	0.1	.435	.407	.905

Last Week's Rank - 8
Off week for the Denver point guard. He shot 2-of-12 against New Orleans and had his streak of 36 games with a three-pointer snapped by going 0-of-6 from the arc against Washington (he has missed his last 10 from out there). Might be time for a reduction in minutes as the 33-year-old playmaker heads toward the postseason.

10. Chris Bosh, Raptors (33-33)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
59	36.2	24.0	11.1	2.4	0.6	1.0	.515	.421	.794

Last Week's Rank - 9
Oh, the perils of being a power forward, where you rarely control the ball or initiate the action. Bosh went for 24 and 11 and Golden State and the Raptors lost. Then it was 28-7 at Portland and another loss. Finally, on the free-agent-to-be's 14-10-and-4 assists night – including his 16-footer with 2.1 seconds left – the MVP wannabe got the result craves, 106-105 vs. Atlanta.