Tag: LeBron James

Will the Lakers make a trade before the Thursday deadline?

There was no doubt in many people’s minds coming into this NBA regular season that the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers would be a serious force to be reckoned with once again as they have the same team relatively intact and were more ready to send off Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson with a record 12th NBA title.

Even though was the consensus around the league that the Miami Heat would be the team to beat in the NBA this season after acquiring both LeBron James and Chris Bosh while re-signing superstar Dwyane Wade, the Los Angeles Lakers came out firing on all cylinders in the first month of the NBA regular season and looked near unstoppable at times.

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Lamar Odom playing with the Los Angeles Lakers
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Not only was Kobe Bryant playing at a very high level once again and apparently healthy, but the team as a whole was just clicking on both ends of the floor. The one player that seemed to be surprising everyone was forward Lamar Odom. After his time with team USA in the off-season, Odom seem to have turned into a different player and much more confident and ready to help this team pull off the three-peat.

Unfortunately, as the season started to wear on the Los Angeles Lakers started to show signs of weakness, especially on the defensive side of the floor. With their recent struggles, a lot of people started to speculate about the age of this team as the average was 30 years old.

Obviously, teams like the San Antonio Spurs have been unaffected by the collective age as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili have been able to get the job done this season and turn the team into arguably the best in the league. With that being said, I believe the Lakers problem this year is lack of motivation.

With three straight NBA Finals appearances and more games played than any other team in the NBA over the past three years, the Los Angeles Lakers are simply fatigued and finding it hard to get that motivation factor back as they know that the only time they really need to play solid team basketball is playoff time.

Even though the NBA doesn’t have 162 game schedule like the MLB, 82 games +16 or more playoff games can still take its toll on the team especially when some of the players don’t stop there and play for their national team in the off-season.

At seem like the two-time defending champs needs no excuses as no great team does, but with the recent lack of motivation and the fact that they’re losing the teams like the Charlotte Bobcats and the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers shows that maybe a trade would be the best thing for this storied franchise.

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One trade rumors that has been floating around Los Angeles has been involving Denver Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony. The deal would reportedly send center Andrew Bynum to the Mile High City in exchange for the All-Star forward. There would almost certainly be other players in this deal, but Bynum would be at the core.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 07: Lamar Odom #7 of t...
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With the New Jersey Nets looking like they have the advantage right now in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, the Los Angeles Lakers might have to look elsewhere if they do intend on making a trade before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 24.

Another deal that was supposedly in the works was the Lakers sending defensive specialist Ron Artest to the Bobcats in exchange for Stephen Jackson or Gerald Wallace. In my opinion, this deal would have been a steal for the Lakers as they would almost certainly improve their club drastically with the addition of Jackson or Wallace, but the deal fell through.

So at this point it is uncertain whether or not Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will actually pull the trigger on a trade before the deadline, but with this recent loss to the Cavaliers heading into the All-Star break, it has become obvious that something needs to change if this team expects to three-peat.

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2010 NBA Three-Point Shootout: Ray Allen the favorite?

2010 NBA Three-Point Shootout participants:

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics (defending champ)

Paul Pierce won the 2010 Foot Locker Three-Poi...
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Last year Paul Pierce entered the 3-point shootout and many people were shaking their heads as he isn’t really considered to be amongst the elite players in the league from beyond the arc. Even though the consensus was that the Boston Celtics leading scorer would be knocked out in the first round, The Truth proved everyone wrong as he beat out rookie Stephon Curry and won his first 3-point contest.

This year he will be defending his title against some pretty solid opponents, but it will be his teammate Ray Allen that he will be worried about stealing his crown.

Daniel Gibson, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have gotten the best of the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the last game before the NBA All-Star break, but they are still without a doubt the worst team in the league this season as they just can’t get anything going with LeBron James running the show in Cleveland.

Fortunately, despite all the negative press coming out of Cleveland, the Cavaliers might get some positive vibes coming from their sharp shooter Daniel Gibson who will be looking to win the 3-point shootout.

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Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are at it again this season as they are arguably one of the best teams in the Western Conference for a second consecutive year, but they will have their work cut out for them if they want to go deeper in the playoffs this time as the West is as tough as it gets this time around.

Fortunately, even though the competition has gotten better out West, the Thunder are still firing on all cylinders with the league’s leading scorer Kevin Durant leading the charge in Oklahoma City. Along with going for the All-Star game MVP on Sunday, Durant will try and prove that he is amongst the best outside shooters in the league in the 3-point shootout.

James Jones playing with the Miami Heat
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James Jones, Miami Heat

This season the Miami Heat have gotten a lot of exposure for being one of the best teams in the league with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James leading the way, but they wouldn’t be as good this year without the outside shooting of James Jones.

As one of the underdogs in this contest, no one will be expecting much from Jones, but he could be a dark horse in this competition.

Dorell Wright, Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are one of the best offensive teams in the league as they can light up the scoreboard on any given night with scorers like Stephon Curry and Monte Ellis, but they are also deadly from outside with Dorell Wright.

Much like James Jones, Dorell Wright won’t be given much of a chance in the 3-point shootout, but he might be able to surprise some people.

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Ray Allen, Boston Celtics (won in 2001)

Just recently against the arch rival Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics sharp shooter Ray Allen became the league’s leader in 3-point field goals made all-time by passing NBA great Reggie Miller. Not only was this a well deserved accomplishment for arguably the best pure shooter of all-time, but it has cemented his legacy and he will look to add a second 3-point shootout victory to his resume this Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Ray Allen is the favorite to win this competition, but I won’t be surprise to see Paul Pierce give his teammate a run for his money!

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Could LeBron James be headed to the Los Angeles Clippers?

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

Over the past couple of decades, the Los Angeles Clippers have basically been nothing more than a joke in the NBA as they have made wrong decisions with their trades, draft picks and free agent signings. No matter what they have tried to do to improve their struggling NBA franchise, it consistently seems to blow up in their face.

Last season, the Clippers once again had the first overall pick in the NBA Draft and as a resulted drafted arguably the best all around player available in the Oklahoma Sooners superstar forward Blake Griffin. This was a no brainer move for the Clippers as Griffin addressed a frontcourt need and could very well be one of the next superstars in this league.

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Despite the Clippers finally making the right move during the NBA Draft, it once again blew up in their face as Blake Griffin went down with a fractured kneecap in the preseason and didn’t play a single game in his rookie season.

Needless to say, the Los Angeles Clippers limped their way through
yet another extremely disappointing season as they were unable to make the playoffs or any kind of impact in the Western Conference once again.

Even though the Clippers had another forgettable season typical of their lowly NBA franchise, next season looks to be very promising for Baron Davis and company as the team will finally be healthy and might have a huge addition to the starting lineup.

Not only will Blake Griffin most likely be ready to go for the season opener, but the Los Angeles Clippers might have one of the best starting five in the league with the addition of two-time NBA MVP LeBron James.

There are still a few weeks left before NBA free agents can start talking and signing with other teams, but the speculation and anticipation has reached a fever pitch level as all eyes are on LeBron James and what he might do come July 1st.

There are only a few teams in the running to sign LeBron James this summer with the New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks leading the way, but the Los Angeles Clippers have the money and the talent to surround arguably the best player in the league.

The one problem for LeBron heading to Los Angeles is he would have to share the spotlight and the city of LA with arguably the most popular player in the world in Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Obviously, Kobe Bryant only has about four or five years left in his hall of fame caliber career, but that might be just enough to convince LeBron to go elsewhere.

The frontrunner for LeBron James right now seems to be the New York Knicks as it is his favorite city to play in, has the biggest market in the NBA and will have enough money to pay LeBron and another big-name free agent. If LeBron goes to New York, he will immediately own the city and become arguably the most popular athlete in the biggest city in America.

The Los Angeles Clippers will have a shot at signing the superstar free agent though as King James would have an All-Star caliber supporting cast and could quite possibly turn the Clippers into a title contender in the Western Conference.

Can the Boston Celtics compete with LeBron James and company?

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

The first round of the NBA playoffs was a fairly easy one for the Boston Celtics as they made quick work of Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in just five games. At times the Heat looked like they could give Kevin Garnett and company a run for their money, but once the Celtics turned on the defensive pressure and showed that they had no intentions of going home early, the series was over and Boston moved on to the second round to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the first game of this second round series, the Boston Celtics absolutely dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers through the first three quarters, but in the fourth the Cavs turned it on and pulled away from the Celtics to win convincingly.

Despite the disappointing loss, the Boston Celtics showed that they could play and compete with Mike Brown’s squad as they had no fear of the conference favorites.

In game two, Kevin Garnett and company showed why they aren’t done yet as they proved to the Cleveland Cavaliers, on their home floor at Quicken Loans Arena, that they can hang and beat this team in a seven-game series. It was an absolute blowout and an embarrassing loss in from the home crowd for the Cavs and really made people doubt whether or not the Cavs could compete for an NBA title.

Even though the chips were down and many people were starting to believe that the Boston Celtics were the better team in the series, game three was another story altogether as LeBron James just flipped the switch and crushed the Celtics in the first half with 28 points. After LeBron went off, the Celtics had no hope of getting back into the game and eventually lost by 29 points and will head into game four down 2-1.

Personally, I believe the Boston Celtics still have what it takes to pull off the unlikely upset over the Cleveland Cavaliers as Doc Rivers’ squad does one thing exceptionally well, play defense.

The Boston Celtics obviously have no answer for LeBron James, neither does any team for that matter, but they do have an answer for the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers and if they can force the role players to step up then they have a good chance of advancing to Eastern conference finals.

Heading into game four of this series, the Celtics will be in a must win situation as heading back to Cleveland down 3-1 will be devastating and almost an unwinnable situation.

From here on out it will be extremely difficult for the Celtics to actually compete in the series, but with all the veterans on this team with playoff experience I believe they can do it. Game four will be a big deciding factor in the series as you will see whether or not the boys in green have what it takes to consistently beat the Cavs and show that they are ready for one more title run before the big three either leave town or decide hang them up.

LeBron James wins NBA MVP award for the second straight season

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Ward: Ryan Ward

Over the past three years or so, the debate has raged on about who is the best player in the NBA. With so many talented players in the league today the debate has been very heated as players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have all played at a very high level and could make a case as the league’s best player.

Not since the days of Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls have we had a definitive answer was talking about the best player in the league. It wasn’t even a question coming into an NBA season that Michael Jordan would be the obvious choice for NBA MVP and even though you could say the same about Kobe Bryant over last four years or so, but the black mamba still only has one MVP to his credit.

One of the Main reasons for Kobe Bryant not having multiple MVPs is the emergence of players like Steve Nash (two MVPs), Dirk Nowitzki (one MVP), Tim Duncan (two MVPs) and LeBron James (two MVPs). All four of these players have completely turned around their team and become the cornerstone of their franchise. Every single year these players are by far the best players on their squad and help guide their team into the playoffs and a shot of competing for an NBA title.

Over the last two seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers have turned into arguably the best team in the league has LeBron James has taken it to an entirely different level with a dominant game on both sides the floor. Everyone always knew that LeBron could dominate on the offensive end with his high fly act and incredible athletic ability, but the last two years he has really outdone himself on the defensive end of the floor and become a well-rounded NBA player.

Not since the days of Oscar Robinson and Magic Johnson have we seen a guard/forward that could dominate in so many ways on the basketball floor. LeBron may not have the shooting touch like Kobe Bryant or be the on-ball defender like the Black Mamba, but King James is quickly turning into the most dominant player in the NBA today.

Last season the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated in the regular season and were able to take that dominance into the first two rounds the playoffs, but were knocked out by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. As a result of LeBron’s dominance in the regular season, he was awarded with his first MVP.

This season the Cleveland Cavaliers put on a similar performance in the regular season and went into the playoffs as the first overall seed in the league. As a result, LeBron James is one his second consecutive MVP award and has a solid shot of winning his first NBA title.

With another extremely successful NBA regular season in the books for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James and company want the face-off against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs after making quick work of the Chicago Bulls in the first round.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will definitely have their work cut out for them from here on out, but are still favored to go all the way and become NBA champs with all said and done.

Jamal Crawford wins NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

The NBA is a league full of superstars like defending NBA champion Kobe Bryant, the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and most notably Lebron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers, but there are plenty of players that come off the bench don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Fortunately, despite not getting that much recognition for their impressive play off the bench, there is one award that is dedicated to giving this much needed recognition to the best bench players in the league.

Over the years, players like Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks Jason Terry have been the best bench players in the league and have dominated the race for the Sixth Man of the Year in the NBA.

Even though Jason Terry was more than capable of winning this award this season with his impressive play for the Dallas Mavericks once again off the bench, helping them get the second seed in the Western Conference, the Atlanta Hawks Jamal Crawford emerged as this season’s Sixth Man of the Year.

Not only do the Atlanta Hawks taken it to another level this season, but with Jamal Crawford coming off the bench the team just got even better as he became their closer when the game is on the line.

There is no doubt the Milwaukee Bucks have given the Atlanta Hawks a run for their money in a playoff series when they were favored to come out on top, but during the regular season the Hawks are as tough to beat as any team in the league especially on their home floor. Joe Johnson and company just seem to get it right after a few feeling of seasons in which they had early playoff exits.

The team chemistry is never been better and the Hawks are as dominant as they can be on both offense and the defense side of the basketball floor. With players like Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith the Hawks have one of the most talented teams in the league, but Jamal Crawford was just the icing on the cake he brought that potent scoring punch off the bench and the killer instinct in late game situations.

It would be hard to argue that Kobe Bryant of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers isn’t the best closer basketball, especially after hitting a league best six game winners this season, but Crawford isn’t far off as he has just been money when the game is on the line for the Atlanta Hawks.

As if being one of the league’s best closers wasn’t enough to clinch the Sixth Man of the Year award for Jamaal Crawford, averaging 18 points and three assists off the bench my been enough to do just that.

It has taken nine NBA seasons in a lot of different teams, but Jamal Crawford is finally been able to make the playoffs but the Atlanta Hawks and winning the Sixth Man of the Year award was just another indication of what a great season he has had this year with his new team.

How serious is LeBron’s elbow injury?

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan
Staff Writer: Ryan Ward

Whenever a big name player is injured during the NBA playoffs it can have serious affect because if it is the favored team that has the injured star player it could very well change the outcome of the playoff series.

The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have experienced this problem over the past couple of years as they’ve had to deal with young center Andrew Bynum going down with serious knee injuries in two consecutive seasons. Fortunately, despite not having Bynum in the paint when they needed him the most, the Lakers were able to go to two consecutive NBA finals and win one out of two.

This season the Lakers have been bitten by the injury bug once again as Kobe Bryant comes into the playoffs with multiple injuries which he’s been dealing with all season long. Obviously, Kobe is a bit tougher than Bynum when it comes to injuries and will play through almost anything, but he has noticeably slowed down and not been the dominant Kobe we all know.

Despite having Kobe banged up, the Los Angeles Lakers have been able to hang with the surprisingly good team in the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first round of the playoffs and still have a legitimate shot being NBA champs once again.

The Cleveland Cavaliers on the other hand, who are the favored to come out of Eastern Conference, have never really had to deal with major injuries since LeBron James came to town. Unfortunately, that has changed as the virtually indestructible LeBron has a recently injured elbow heading into their series with the Boston Celtics.

Reportedly, a few weeks back LeBron James injured his elbow in a game but thought the injury wasn’t all that serious and was still able to play through it. Of course, no one really knew of this injury as it didn’t affect his play like it has with Kobe Bryant, but in the last game of the Chicago Bulls series LeBron landed hard on his right arm reaggravated the elbow injury.

This obviously didn’t prevent the Cleveland Cavaliers from advancing as they still were able to beat the Chicago Bulls in game five, but he was noticeably in pain towards the end of that game and even had to shoot a free throw with his left hand because of it.

After game five of the Chicago Bulls series, LeBron James and MRI on his injured right arm and was diagnosed with a bone bruise on his elbow. This is not exactly a devastating injury to someone like LeBron was not exactly a dominant shooter, but it will almost certainly affect his shot when he does have to shoot and from the free-throw line where he frequents almost more than anybody in the game.

Anyone who’s ever played basketball knows that when you’re shooting arm as if it’s hurt that can be incredibly tough to play the way you know you can play. Obviously LeBron James is a home of the beast entirely nothing like a player we’ve seen in the league before, but he has not indestructible any candy hurt so this injury might greatly affect the way he can play against an already very physical Boston Celtics team who will look to put LeBron the floor with every opportunity they can.

LeBron James and Tracy McGrady combo in New York?

Ryan Ward - A true Lakers Fan

Staff Writer:  Ryan Ward

No team this summer will get more attention for having the most money to wheel and deal with in the free agent market then the New York Knicks. All season long all the attention that the Knicks have been getting hasn’t been about how horrible this season has been, but the prospects of what could happen this summer and if they can convince LeBron James to sign with them.

Even though it might be somewhat of a stretch to believe that LeBron James would leave the best team in the NBA for arguably one of the worst in the New York Knicks, money does talk in the mix will have plenty of it as they will be able to afford to pay LeBron James and another big name free agent like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire or Joe Johnson.

Despite getting questions constantly about his future, LeBron has been very tightlipped about what his plans are which leads many people to believe that arguably the best player in the NBA could end up anywhere.

The most likely destination for LeBron James is simply staying put the Cleveland Cavaliers as they have brought in the pieces to become legitimate title contenders for the least the next few years like Antawn Jamison and Shaquille O’Neal. Even though the Cavs will most likely convince LeBron to sign a contract extension, the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks would do everything within their power to bring LeBron to their team and a much bigger market.

One interesting thing about the New York Knicks is that they will have the most money to spend on free agents this summer which means they will be able to bring in another big name free agent and a few other players at a lesser price like Allen Iverson or Tracy McGrady.

As of right now, Allen Iverson has a stretch because of all his off the court troubles and obviously the ego to boot, but with Tracy McGrady currently being on the team in already getting his feet wet New York, there is a good possibility that we could see LeBron James and Tracy McGrady combination on the Knicks.

So the potential of having LeBron James, Tracy McGrady and another big name free agent like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire is a strong possibility. Just those three players or combination of three players would turn the New York Knicks into one of the best teams in the league instantly somewhat similar to the Boston Celtics and they brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play alongside Paul Pierce.

Obviously something big is can happen this summer with many teams doing all they can to upgrade, but the New York Knicks are definitely a team to keep your eye on as they will almost certainly convince one of the big names this summer to come to the Big Apple and put on the Knicks jersey.

Who? Remains to be seen.

Is Kevin Durant this season’s MVP?

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan

Staff Writer:  Ryan Ward

Every single season in our heated debates on which player is the NBA MVP was the league’s best all around player. Usually the same names seem to pop up like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James.

These three players are arguably the best players in the league and will always be in the MVP conversation unless they are sitting out with injury. This season is no different, Dwyane Wade might not be getting as much consideration with the Miami Heat struggling this season, but Kobe and LeBron are definitely in the mix for the award is Kobe has displayed late game heroics all season long and LeBron has led his team to the best record in the NBA.

Even though Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are both legitimate candidates for the award, there is one player that is just been playing out of his mind and will most likely get some much needed recognition when the time comes to award this season’s MVP.

That player is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant who has completely turned around his franchise this season almost single-handedly. There are some great players on this team like point guard Russell Westbrook, but Durant has been playing like a man possessed as he is lead his team to a legitimate playoff contender and the possible Cinderella like story the season.

Ever since Kevin Durant came in the league out of Texas University, lot people speculated whether or not he was as good or better than Ohio State’s center Greg Oden who was picked number one overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. I believe the question is answered now as Durant as the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting in fifth place in the very competitive Western Conference and seem to be poised for a first-round meeting with the Utah Jazz come playoff time.

As if that isn’t an impressive enough, Kevin Durant has really stepped up his game when it comes to scoring as he is second in the league just behind the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James with 29.6 points per game and could quite possibly passing to win his first scoring title if LeBron’s numbers start to dip in the second half of the season.

With the thunder be and are arguably the most surprising team in the league this season and to read challenging LeBron for the scoring title, there is no question that he is a legitimate MVP candidate this season and should get some much needed recognition for the award at season’s end.

Now would be hard to argue that Lebron James isn’t the front runner for the MVP award as he is scoring 30 points a game and dishing out 8.5 assists on top of that, but if Kevin Durant can pass King James in the race for the scoring title, I believe he could very well win this award as many voters might see him as being the most viable player in the league this season.

NBA MVP Prediction: LeBron James

Staff Writer for Basketball Betting - A true Lakers Fan

Staff Writer:  Ryan Ward

Last season at the end of the regular season there wasn’t anyone in the league that could really compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James for the league’s Most Valuable Player. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers looked like a legitimate contender for the title, but the Cavs were having their best season in the team’s history with LeBron leading the way.

This season the MVP race is bit closer with only three players in the running for the award, but only two of them seem to have a shot at being this season’s Most Valuable Player:

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Coming into this NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder were a young team that have consistently getting better with every passing year, but no one gave them much chance of being a playoff team this season as they seemed at least one or two players away from being playoff bound.

Fortunately for the Thunder, Kevin Durant has had a breakout season and lit up the scoreboards on a nightly basis.

Usually when a player like Durant becomes a scoring machine, the team starts to suffer as the only reason the player becomes a high scorer is because the team can’t score. A good example of this is Michael Jordan when he first started out with the Chicago Bulls, Tracy McGrady with the Orlando Magic and Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers in the post Shaq era in LA.

Even though this has been what usually happens in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder have gone the other way as they have seen nothing, but success this season and as a result will be a higher seed in the West headed into the playoffs and Durant is a legitimate MVP candidate.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Over the past decade or so it would be hard to argue that any other player has been better all around the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant. No matter what struggles goes through whether it be injuries problems with the franchise or whatever goes on in the crazy town of Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant is always able to dominate and give the Lakers a shot in the Western Conference.

This season is no different the Lakers are defending champs and Kobe is a some pretty amazing games despite being injured throughout the season. The six game-winning shots this season, Kobe has completely outdone himself officially become one of best clutch players in NBA history setting a record for the most game-winning shots in the season.

Even though is extremely impressive and the Los Angeles Lakers a title contenders once again, Kobe will still have to bow down to LeBron James the season as he has been damn near unstoppable all year long leading the Cleveland Cavaliers the league’s best record.

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Last season LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers won his first MVP award in the NBA. As a way to show love to his hometown of Akron, Ohio, LeBron accepted the award where he grew up and became the player he is today.

This season the Cleveland Cavaliers are arguably the best team in the league coming into last couple weeks of the NBA regular season. The Cavs have the league’s best record and LeBron James is leading the league in scoring with about 30 points per game.

This is impressive to say the least, but what is most impressive about LeBron James is how he continues to improve with every passing season and the season is arguably his best yet and the icing on the cake will be his second straight MVP award.