No contest in MVP race: Give the hardware to Paul
Some late-season thoughts on the NBA, which still holds the attention of fans in many locations beyond Chicago:
• First off, the MVP race is over. New Orleans guard Chris Paul has scored a decisive victory and nothing is likely to happen in the next three weeks to change the vote.
Consider first that the Hornets sit atop the standings in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Even if they can't hold on to first place, no one saw that coming this year.
Paul's fourth quarter against the Bulls on March 17 might be the best performance I've ever seen from a point guard, and I happened to be inside Joe Louis Arena the night Isiah Thomas scored 16 points in the final 93 seconds to send a decisive 1984 playoff game against the Knicks to overtime.
Thomas may have been the best late-game assassin among the 6-foot-1-and-under crowd. But not even Thomas set up his teammates during crunch time as well as Paul is doing now.
The go-ahead basket against the Bulls was a lob to Tyson Chandler. On Wednesday in Cleveland, Paul drew three defenders and pitched the ball to David West, who drilled a game-winning jumper with less than a second remaining.
Some people seem to get hung up on scoring when rating the best NBA players. But look at it this way: With 15 points and 20 assists against the Cavs, Paul was responsible for 55 points. He had 37 and 13 against the Bulls, which means he produced 63 points.
Paul is not only the most valuable, he's been the league's best player during the regular season. It's not even a close call.
Second among the remainder of the top five right now would have Kobe Bryant, for proving the Lakers can win without Shaquille O'Neal. (Note to Kobe Nation: Picking your guy second for MVP is not an insult.)
Third and fourth are between LeBron James and Kevin Garnett. Someone should get credit for Boston's move from the 29th-best record to the first in one season and we're not allowed to vote for Minnesota GM Kevin McHale (just kidding).
James is incredibly gifted, but he can still be casual on the court sometimes and his Cavaliers won't match last season's 50 wins. Houston's Tracy McGrady is still on the chart at fifth.
• Cleveland center Ben Wallace missed two games last week with a sore back, then left Saturday's game at Detroit early with the same injury. This news should help seal the verdict on his short stint with the Bulls.
While still in Chicago, Wallace sat out due to back spasms, sore knees and bone spurs in his foot.
He didn't play at half-speed, lose interest in winning or lead a revolt against coach Scott Skiles. At 33, the injuries simply began to pile up. Rather than complain, Wallace suited up and did the best he could.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, that meant they didn't get a good return on their $60 million investment, and they'll be paying the price for two more years.
• When the Bulls played in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, a Hornets employee asked if people in Chicago are surprised that Tyson Chandler is playing so well.
It's a legitimate question, considering Chandler is averaging 11.6 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Hornets this year, compared to 5.3 and 9.0 during the 2005-06 season for the Bulls.
Is he doing anything differently? Not really. Chandler is pretty much the same guy, but he's gotten stronger and smarter about avoiding foul trouble, which allows him to spend more time on the floor and grab more rebounds. Then factor in 3 alley-oop dunks off passes from Paul every game and his scoring average grows by 6 points.
That said, Chandler would still look good in red and black right now. But if Joakim Noah can put on some weight, he should be able to do many of the same things.
• Regarding last week's column on Sam Smith and the decision he and his wife made to adopt a young girl from China, here's a little more about the outcome from Kathleen Smith:
"Hannah-Li has been a shining light in our lives, along with our son Connor," she wrote. "She is a loving, enthusiastic girl, and we are the lucky ones to be sure."