Schmeelk: LeBron Should Be Named Finals MVP Even If The Cavaliers Lose
By John Schmeelk
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In 1969, Jerry West was named the NBA Finals MVP even though the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games. In that series West averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
It is looking more and more like this year's Finals will be over in six games, with the Golden State Warriors coming out on top. However, LeBron James is having a series for the ages and his final numbers will likely surpass West's.
To me, it's a no-brainer -- the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar is the series MVP.
Usually, there is something logically out of whack when a player from the losing team wins the award. How can a guy be the MVP if his team doesn't win the series? When you play like LeBron has. If you have watched the Finals, it is obvious that James has been the best player on the floor -- and it hasn't even bee close.
Here are some amazing numbers that show James' impact on this series for the Cavaliers:
* There have been 250 minutes played in this series. James has played in 228 of them, which means he has rested less than six and a half minutes per game. He is averaging more than 45 minutes of playing time per game.
* James is nearly averaging a triple double: 36.6 pts, 12.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists.
* The Cavaliers have scored 464 points in this series, and James has scored 183 of them. That's one player accounting for 39.4 percent of his team's points. Timofey Mozgov's 67 total points is the next highest.
* James has 44 assists, averaging nearly nine per game. Matthew Dellavedova is next highest on the team with 14.
* Of the Cavaliers' 164 field goals, James has either scored or assisted on 109 of them. That means he has directly accounted for 66.5 percent of his team's baskets. That does not include plays in which he had hockey-style assists, direct passes that led to free throws for teammates or his drives that allowed for offensive rebound put backs or baskets.
* James has taken 59 of the Cavaliers' 132 free throws, with the second most being 32 for Mozgov.
* James has the second most rebounds for Cleveland in this series with 62. Tristan Thompson has 65, including 54 on the defensive end.
* When James has been on the bench in this series, the Cavaliers have been outscored by 39.1 points per 100 possessions. When he has played, they have been outscored by 8 points per 100 possessions.
* The Cavaliers have only scored 54.6 points per 100 possessions when James hasn't played. That's less than half the number of points the Warriors averaged per 100 possessions during the regular season.
James has taken a team of misfits and single-handedly made them competitive against the best team in basketball for the first five games of this series. His play has been amazing. No other player on the Warriors has come close to the same impact James has made on this series.
The only player you can make an argument for on the Warriors is Andre Iguodala. Only Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have played more minutes than Iguodala's 37.2. His offensive numbers -- 14.6 points, 55 percent shooting, 41 percent from 3, 6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals -- are impressive but not earth shattering. But they were good enough for David Blatt to bench Mozgov for much of Game 5 because the Cavs couldn't successfully match up a big man on Iguodala.
But, believe it or not, it has been Iggy's defense on James that has made all the difference. Even though James' totals are off the chart, he is shooting just 36 percent from the field and 34 percent from behind the arc. He has been routinely exhausted at the end of each game. His biggest impact might be that the Warriors have had the freedom to choose not to double James without risking getting massacred by the game's best player. This has prevented, for the most part, the Cavaliers' secondary players from becoming big contributors.
Curry has made a late bid to win MVP, but unless he has another explosive performance in Game 6, the case for him to beat James and Iguodala is still weak. He was way too inconsistent in the Golden State losses earlier in the series.
But even with Iguodala's brilliant play, the MVP is still James. No player has been in the same, not even Curry, the league's MVP.
Even if the Cavs do go home in six games. James' effort has been Herculean and he deserves to be rewarded.
You can follow John on Twitter @Schmeelk for everything Knicks, the NBA, the Giants and the world of sports
