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Point leader LeBron gives Bryant, Lakers credit for their success
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Wednesday, May 07, 2008
BOSTON: Statistically, LeBron James just finished the best regular season of his career.
He led the NBA in scoring at 30 points per game and had career highs in rebounds (7.9), assists (7.2) and blocks (1.1) per game. The Cavaliers were 0-7 when he didn't play, and he carried them to numerous victories with clutch fourth-quarter play. In all, it was quite a Most Valuable Player resume.
But as almost always has been the case, the 126 media voters for the award weighed teams' overall performance heavily. The Cavs had just the 13th best record in the NBA and would've finished 10th had they been in the Western Conference. As a result, James finished just fourth in the MVP voting that was released on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant won the award, getting 82 first-place votes. The New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul was second with 28; the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett was third with 15; and James had just one first-place vote.
''I've always stated for the last two or three years that Kobe Bryant is the best player in this league,'' James said. ''He's been the best player in this league for the last five years. It's good that he won it. His team played well, and that's part of the reason they finished No. 1 in the West.''
Last season, when James' stats were comparatively down, he finished fifth in the MVP voting. In 2006, he was second.
In the locker room
• Cavs reserve forward Lance Allred got news that he has been waiting to receive for years this week when he learned that HarperCollins is going to publish his memoirs. He is set to sign the contract for the untitled biography soon and the plan is for it to be out around Christmas or early next year. It will focus on his growing up in a polygamous sect and overcoming obsessive-compulsive disorder and legal deafness to reach the NBA.
''I tried to go back and objectively analyze my life and I try to do it sarcastically and sardonically,'' Allred said. ''I wasn't really planning on putting it out there, and then my sports agent read it and encouraged me.''
Allred, 27, started writing the book about two years ago, when he was playing basketball in Europe. He also has written several unpublished novels.
• Nike has started a so-called viral marketing campaign for James. It's an Internet-based ad designed to attract hits via blogs and message boards. The spot features James' real fans, his former coaches, friends and other acquaintances talking about their experiences with him. The video can be seen at http://www.nike.com.
• Now in his 13th season, Joe Smith is in the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.
''It's a great feeling,'' Smith said. ''You work your entire career to make the playoffs and this is what I kind of expected after the trade from Chicago. I knew I was coming to a good team and had a chance to advance.''
• This is the third consecutive year the Cavs have advanced in the playoffs, a first in team history.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
BOSTON: Statistically, LeBron James just finished the best regular season of his career.
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