Bill Simmons

In true Hubie Brown mode, we know that the Los Angeles Lakers will be the West's No. 1 seed. We also know that the Utah Jazz will be in the eight spot after losing to the Lakers last night. The question is, where does everybody else fit?

Isn't it crazy that after 81 grueling, gut-wrenching games, two games will pretty much settle everything?

Two games with playoff implications for all four teams involved.

The Dallas Mavericks have the Houston Rockets coming to town. The Mavs need a win and a New Orleans Hornets' loss against the San Antonio Spurs to sneak into the sixth seed. If the above scenario ends up playing out with the Mavs winning and the Hornets losing, the Spurs end up as the Southwest Division champions, knocking the Rockets down to a four seed.

I hear Gnarls Barkley in the background.

So, despite an accounting test tomorrow, I plan on either using the day hours to study or doing the late-night thing, because there's no way I'm missing the action tonight.


MVP conversation is envogue this time of year, especially when sportswriters' ballots are due tomorrow. Obviously, it's going to come down to four players at the most: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and LeBron James. ESPN.com writer Bill Simmons picked them exactly that way in ascending order.

In an attempt to solidify that decision, or come up with my own, I'm going to answer the four questions he has in the article's sidebar:

1)Ten years from now, who will be the first player from this regular season that pops into my head?

They've all had really good years, but I actually think it's Wade. He has been a Sportscenter staple for the last two months, elevating his play to staggering heights. It's cliche to say that he's put the Miami Heat on his back, but as Simmons pointed out, not only will he lead the league in scoring but he'll also be in the top 15 in assists, steals and blocks... yes, blocks, as a 6'4" guard. Back spasms.

James has had a ridiculous year, but believe it or not he was better last year statistically. Yes, his defense has improved immensely but it was more about the rest of his guys stepping up. The Mo Williams trade continues to look like the best move of the off-season, and the rest of the role players compliment LeBron perfectly. Paul has had a better season statistically than last year, but, through no fault of his own, the Hornets have struggled this year with injuries and inconsistency. As Simmons says, Pau Gasol knocks Kobe out of the top four with his stellar play, undermining overall Bryant's value to a degree.

Wade, James, Paul, Bryant.

2)In a giant pickup game with every NBA player waiting to play, and two fans forced to pick sides with their lives depending on the outcome of the game (I think this is how the annual Rucker League tournament works, by the way), who would be the first player picked based on the way everyone played that season?

A ridiculously funny question, but man... if you think about it, if the two fans' lives depended on the outcome of a pick-up game, as well as James has played, and as traditionally cold-blooded as Bryant has been over the years, the key to the question is how they performed this year. I'd go with Wade again, who just seems to come up with a basket whenever the Heat needs one. I've seen games where Wade gets triple-teamed, and yet still finds a way to the basket.

Wade, Bryant, James, Paul.


3)If you replaced each MVP candidate with a decent player at his position for the entire season, what would be the effect on the team's record?

Another tough question, and for this question I'm going to use the Charlotte Bobcats as a test subject, since they have the most "decent" players in the league without any legit superstars.

Take Raja Bell off the team and put Bryant and Wade on there. I think Bryant would be more effective because the Bobcats kind of resemble a poor man's Lakers with a much better point guard (Raymond Felton). As much as I like Wade on the Heat, I'm not sure how well he'd mesh with this team. Wade thrives the most in a system where he has knock-down shooters around him. This isn't neccesarily the case in Charlotte. I think Bryant can make it work better.

Take Felton off the Bobcats and bring in Chris Paul. Truthfully, if that actually happened I think the 'Cats would be better than the Hornets. More weapons for CP3, plus a better team defensively at their individual positions.

James replaces Gerald Wallace, and if he plays the same kind of defense that he did in Cleveland this year, the 'Cats would definitely be in the top three in the watered-down Eastern Conference.

The answer to this question? Surprisingly I think it goes Paul, James, Bryant, Wade.

4) If you're explaining your MVP pick to someone who has a favorite player in the race -- a player who you didn't pick -- will they at least say something like, "Yeah, I don't like it, but I can see how you arrived at that choice."

I think it's a foregone conclusion that James will win the MVP. Anyone who leads a team to such a remarkable increase in wins should be honored. But, if I had a vote, I would go with Wade. Another question that should get asked when evaluating the process: if you take the candidate off of their team completely, what happens?

Take James away from Cleveland and I think they're fighting for the seven or eight spot. They'd still be a playoff team. Take Bryant away from the Lakers and they'd probably be low lottery. Take Paul away from New Orleans and they'd be pretty bad.

Take Wade away from the Heat? You could make the case that the Heat would be, to quote Stephen A. Smith, "an abject disaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Michael Beasely might average in the mid- 20's, but beyond that who else is going to score? Jermaine O'Neal? Without Wade, how does a player like Mario Chalmers get free for jumpers? The Heat would have, max, 15 wins.

So, there it is, D-Wade for MVP. There's at least one person outside of Miami who would give it to you.