The race for NBA MVP

First and foremost, I would like to state that this has been the most exciting NBA regular season that I've ever watched. The popularity of the game is at its highest it has ever been since Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls. Most of the credit should go to the free agent class of 2010. They shook up the pro basketball world by creating "super teams" to try and win a championship.

With that said, I have a bone to pick with the majority of people that have been watching the NBA this season. For some reason everyone thinks the MVP race is just about wrapped up. I'm going to argue the opposite...

This season there are three players who have been coined true MVP candidates. Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, and the reigning two-time MVP Miami Heat small forward LeBron James. All three of them are very deserving to be considered for the trophy.

Before I break down who my leading MVP candidate is, I would like to explain to you my definition of the award. The MVP of any given NBA season must be the best player on his team first and foremost. He should clearly be one of the most productive players in the league night in and night out.

Right now, the media's run away MVP winner is Rose. The Bulls point guard has had an outstanding season, and has surprisingly led Chicago to the top seed in the Eastern conference with about six games left to play in the season. He's one of the great players in this league but he's not my MVP. The reason why is because there are two guys that deserve it more, Dwight Howard and LeBron James.

In my opinion, the MVP discussion should only consist of those two. According to ESPN's John Hollinger, they have been statistically the two best players in the league by far. Could you honestly replace a player like Dwight Howard? There's no big man in the NBA that controls the paint the way he does. As for LeBron James, he's clearly the best player in the league in my opinion.

He's joined up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and has still produced the best PER rating in the NBA. You cannot overlook his contribution to that team just because you don't like the guy. If you want to truly talk most valuable player, take a look at the Cleveland Cavaliers. With James, they had the best record in the league the previous two seasons. Now they're the leagues whipping boys.

I also think that the Bulls would be awful if they didn't have Rose, but I don't think he's as valuable as the other two guys. If you put Russell Westbrook on the Chicago Bulls do you really think they would have a big drop off? Try putting a different small forward on the Heat besides James and see whay happens. They would be a playoff team but clearly not the number two seed.

Also, my biggest gripe with Rose is that he is not in the top five in any of the major statistical categories. That puts a major black eye on his MVP campaign. James is second in the league in scoring while Howard is second in rebounding and fourth in blocks.

The reason why I think everyone wants to crown Rose as the MVP is because nobody expected the Bulls to be this good, and nobody wants to give James a third-straight MVP. That's bullshit if you ask me. If the guy deserves it then give it to him until somebody else takes it away. The only player this year that can challenge James for the crown is Howard in my opinion.

Unfortunately for Howard, James and the Heat have a better record than the Magic. Even though Howard's numbers have been gaudy (23.2 ppg, 14.2 rpg, 2.4 blkpg), it's just not enough to pass James' 26-7-7 which dominates Rose's stat line. I'm usually not a stats guy but this whole notion of James and Howard being out of the race is crazy.

If you had to tell you today who was leading my MVP race I would say LeBron James by a narrow margin over Dwight Howard. There are still several games left so it might change in the next couple of weeks.