LeBron James, the 2018 MVP award and Francisco Lindor: While We’re Waiting

LeBron James didn’t win the NBA MVP award…again, and I’ve been sitting in my office for the past few hours trying to find the words to explain the annoyance of this announcement.

The 2017-2018 #KiaMVP is… @JHarden13! #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/7fw8xsx7pu

— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2018

Oh, I understand the complexities of the term, “Most Valuable Player.” I understand that the term is as malleable as my daughter’s 20 batches of slime. The term MVP sort of oozes in between all the cracks, and sticks to whatever definition the loudest in the media defines.

Sometimes a player is just so good, he overcomes the oozing and the seeping of one such award. Sometimes, the best and most deserving player actually wins the award. This isn’t to say there aren’t other deserving players…just less so in any given season. To that point, James is already a four-time winner of the award, so deserving players do win. You see, he’s the greatest player in the world, and arguably, the greatest player of all-time. If you run through the list of NBA MVP winners, you’ll see similar greats peppered throughout, with other players that just make you scratch your head…not because they didn’t have outstanding seasons, but because…MVP?

Really?

I used to think that this MVP stuff didn’t bother LeBron, and in the general sense, it doesn’t. But while I think James would trade every MVP trophy for another title, let’s not kid ourselves here, when LeBron thinks that he should have achieved something that he deserved, it pisses him off. LeBron not winning an MVP award since 2013…

pisses…

him…

off…

At least it should.

When asked by the AP earlier this year if he should win the MVP award, LeBron had this to say:

 “The body of work, how I’m doing it, what’s been happening with our team all year long, how we’ve got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me.”

Now, James Harden is worth of winning an NBA MVP award. His talent is unquestioned. His fantastic season is very visible for all to see. For those that defend the MVP mentality that the “Best player of the best regular season team” should win the award, Harden winning this year makes a ton of sense. Harden isn’t the best player in the league, even if he’s close, but he is (almost) certainly the best player for the Rockets. He put an incredible amount of time into getting into shape, and becoming a better defender.

But is he the “Most Valuable Player” in the league? Hell, is he the “Most Valuable Player” on the Rockets? I’m not a Houston Rockets fan, but a case could be made that Chris Paul is the “Most Valuable” Houston Rocket.

James Harden was the underdog! James Harden doesn’t have all of the elite physical attributes that LeBron has! James Harden finished second last year…

LeBron fatigue really is a bitch, isn’t it.

But let’s just make sure we understand a few things.

1. The Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn’t make the playoffs without LeBron James. To that point, the Cavs are 4-23 without LeBron’s services over the past four years. Granted, some of those “misses” included some other stars not playing, but overall, I think it paints a pretty realistic picture of the cast the Cavs have. What’s spectacular about that statistic is that LeBron James didn’t miss a game in 2018, so it’s really just over the first three seasons of his return.
2. LeBron is 33, and played in every game this season. I won’t talk about the playoffs either, even though it seemed like he played every second of every playoff game. LeBron was the only player in the league with over 3000 minutes played, and the only other player in the top 30 over the age of 30 was Taj Gibson, who had 300 less minutes played, which was 14th in the league. Hell, there was only one other player over the age of 29, and that was Russell Westbrook. This is a young man’s league, unless you’re LeBron James.
3. LeBron scored 27.5 points per game this year, which was his highest ppg since his last season with the Cavs, before heading off to Miami. He did this while shooting 54% from the field…so you know…not heaving.
4. LeBron averaged 9.1 assists per game, and 8.6 boards. Both are the most he’s ever had in his career (8.6 ties him for first in rebounds). James was second in assists and assists per game, and 11th in rebounds, and 15th in rebounds per game.

Look, we can talk numbers all day long, and while there is a defense for Harden in some “per game” states, LeBron has more points, boards, and assists, and has more per game boards and assists, by quite a bit. This is significant in that James is…well…old by NBA standards.

It also can’t be quantified just how much LeBron James took on this season, once the Cavs traded away Kyrie Irving. Gone was LeBron’s second-in-command, if ever there is such a word for a player on a team that LeBron James plays for.

James simply hoisted the team up on his shoulders, and carried them to the playoffs.

I think the biggest knock on James was a January swoon that saw the club go 6-8, and LeBron’s numbers took a massive dip in all areas. LeBron “only” averaged 23, 7, and 7, and his three point percentage dropped to 22%. Harden didn’t have such a dip, but January is worth noting. He missed the first seven games of the month thanks to an injury in which the Rockets went 4-3. That’s important to note, since with Harden, they had gone 1-5 in their previous six games. During that particular five-game losing streak, Chris Paul missed three games, and was limited in the other two.

Interesting, right?

If you look closer at the Cavaliers in January, there is one major piece of information that is often left out. It marked the start of Isaiah Thomas’s career as a Cavalier. It was evident early on that Thomas wasn’t the player he once was. Maybe it was that his offense didn’t fit. Maybe it was that he didn’t have the right attitude. Maybe it was that he was still injured. Most likely, it was all of the above. LeBron, frustrated with the deal in the first place, was likely trying to figure all of this out. When it was all said and done, Thomas was traded away almost a month after his first game with the Cavs, and LeBron went back to business.

What’s really frustrating for me is that there are people that say, “LeBron is the best player, so he should get that award, then give someone else the MVP that’s more appropriate.” I think that’s a joke, especially this year. This year those two phrases aren’t mutually exclusive…and not even close.

You can make a case that the greatest player, at the very least, of a generation, had his best regular season. If it wasn’t his best, it was certainly one of his top three. And

LeBron James is the Most Valuable Player to his playoff team. Without him, they are lucky to be an eight seed.

LeBron James is the best player in the league. This can’t be argued.

And when those two singular phrases aren’t mutually exclusive, the MVP decision should be harmonious.

LeBron James should be the 2018 NBA MVP, whether you’re tired of him or not.

Francisco Lindor

I just wanted to drop a quick not about the Indians shortstop, Francisco Lindor. According to fangraphs, he’s having a pretty good season, as far as shortstops go.

Here are your American League All Star leaders:

Are you kidding me? Get voting, because this is ridiculous.

Paul McCartney heads back to Liverpool

Sometimes, it’s just really cool to see something that makes you feel good. I’ve always been a Beatles fan, and while I suppose I would be considered a “John-guy,” I’ve always enjoyed the fact that Paul McCartney has never stopped. While some suspect he died…and hammer on him for taking the band into a different direction when manager Brian Epstein died…it’s always been clear that music is his life blood.

McCartney is the same age as my Dad, and yet, he still tours the world as though he were that sprightly teenager from Liverpool.

This past week, McCartney joined James Corden for a special version of “Carpool Karaoke,” along the streets where McCartney grew up. The only thing wrong with this, is that it was only 23 minutes long.

Sorry this was late, and yes…I’ve just completely taken over WWW…;).