On the surface, this was sheer torture for Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets.

McGrady was brilliant for three quarters Monday night. Despite lacking All-Star center Yao Ming and resurgent point guard Rafer Alston, they were right there with the Utah Jazz – seeking a split of the first two games on their home floor.

But as is always the case, the Jazz pounded the boards, stayed in their face on defense and tormented them with offensive execution. The result was a 90-84 victory to take a commanding 2-0 series lead back to Salt Lake City for the next two games.

McGrady finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, but had just 1 point in the fourth quarter and was clearly dead on his feet down the stretch. He got help in spurts from backup point guard Bobby Jackson and rookie Aaron Brooks. Actually, Jackson’s 3-pointer apparently tied the game in the final minute only to have it waved off on a contentious off-the-ball foul called on Luis Scola, with Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko accused of flopping.

And that was the end of that for the Rockets, who now have lost four consecutive playoff games to the Jazz dating to last spring.

Point guard Deron Williams led the Jazz with 22 points, while center Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 16 rebounds. Okur, Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer combined for 31 rebounds to lead the cause in a game so close there were 10 lead changes and 16 ties.

Despite McGrady’s efforts (16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in the first half), the Rockets couldn’t establish enough offensive punch to hang on to the lead even when they got it. Jackson finished with 18, Scola had 14 and Brooks added 11, but it was never enough. Even a pair of Shane Battier 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter merely served as a temporary tease for the Rockets.

In the end, there was little the Rockets could do and it’s only going to get worse now. The Jazz have been vulnerable on the road all year, finishing 17-24. But now the teams head back to Salt Lake, where Utah was an NBA-best 37-4 during the regular season. And with an exhausted and depleted Rockets team, this series looks over.

Sure, Williams has a badly bruised tailbone that took another serious jolt when Brooks flattened him on a screen, forcing him to hobble back to the locker room. Nonetheless, young backup Ronnie Price made big plays – including a clutch 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter – to keep the Jazz in order. And Williams was running the show down the stretch, doing whatever it took to keep the Rockets at bay.

The question now is whether the Rockets have anything left to extend this series beyond the next two games. They were losers in the conference finals to the eventual champion Spurs last spring, and the next two games will show how much the Jazz have matured.

If they complete the sweep, it will speak more of their execution – not of the battered Rockets – and they’ll meet the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series. Meanwhile, the Rockets will just have to take it - drip, drip, drip …

Quotebook

Jazz guard Deron Williams on winning both games in Houston:

“It's great for us to come out the way we did and not settle for the one victory. We wanted to get both of them, get greedy. We've just got to go back now and take care of business.”

The stud

Cavs All-Star forward LeBron James just missed a triple-double in their 116-86 win over the Wizards to take a 2-0 lead in the series. James had 30 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. In the two games he’s averaging 31.0 points, 8.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds.

The dud

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, also known as Agent Zero or Mighty Mouth depending on your preference, had more turnovers than field goals. Making just 2-of-10 shots, Arenas had just 7 points, 3 assists, 4 fouls and 3 turnovers in just less than 24 minutes. In the first game he had 24 points.

Statbook

The Cavs now have beaten the Wizards in eight consecutive playoff games. … Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds in the two games. … Wizards All-Star Antawn Jamison went from 23 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1 to 9 points and 9 rebounds in Game 2. As a team they are 60-of-154 (.390) from the field and 9-of-40 (.225) from 3-point range. … McGrady is 16-of-43 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the first two games. … Battier took seven shots in each of the first two games, making all seven in the first game to finish with 22 points, but hitting just three in Game 2 and totaling 7 points. … The Rockets are 10-of-41 (.244) from beyond the arc in the series and 34-of-55 (.618) from the free-throw line, while the Jazz are 12-of-27 (.444) from 3-point range and 27-of-40 (.675) from the stripe. Not coincidentally, Yao is their best free-throw shooter and Alston led the team in 3-pointers. Yao is out with a fractured foot, but Alston is a possibility for Game 3, battling a strained groin.

Tuesday

Now we’ll find out just how serious the Dallas Mavericks are about regaining their mojo and competing to win the Western Conference. After having fallen apart in the 2006 Finals, and getting upset by eighth-seeded Golden State in 2007, the Mavericks blew a 12-point lead at New Orleans Saturday and seem ill-equipped to come back from a 2-0 deficit.

Tonight in New Orleans, the Mavs must deal with their demons and gain a split.

Also, the Phoenix Suns will try to bounce back from their crushing double-overtime defeat at San Antonio, and the Toronto Raptors must figure out how to deal with the Orlando Magic’s monster in the middle, Dwight Howard.

Mavericks (0-1) at Hornets (1-0)

Chris Paul was brilliant in the 104-92 victory, with 35 points, 10 assists and 4 steals to lead the Hornets, who also dominated the interior thanks to the 10 points and 15 rebounds from Tyson Chandler. And after a sluggish start, forward David West had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Hornets. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 for the Mavs, but Josh Howard (4-of-16) and Jerry Stackhouse (2-of-9) were a combined 6-of-25 from the field and Jason Terry produced just 6 points.

Suns (0-1) at Spurs (1-0)

Clutch 3-pointers from Michael Finley and Tim Duncan forced the two overtime periods in the remarkable 117-115 victory in Game 1. Duncan had a game for the ages with 40 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Manu Ginobili added 24 points for the Spurs, including the game-winning basket on a drive to the glass, and Tony Parker added 26 points and 5 assists. Amare Stoudemire had 33 and 7 rebounds before fouling out for the Suns, with Steve Nash adding 25 points and 13 assists.

Raptors (0-1) at Magic (1-0)

The Magic hit 16-of-20 shots, including 9-of-11 from 3-point range to take a 43-23 lead in the first quarter and never were really challenged on the way to a 114-100 win. Most of the reason was Dwight Howard’s intimidating 25 points, 22 rebounds and 5 blocks. Jameer Nelson had 24 points and 7 assists for the Magic, with Hedo Turkoglu adding 21 points and 6 assists. Anthony Parker scored 24 for Toronto and Chris Bosh added 21.

There was a meeting of the minds in San Antonio that caused plenty of stirring Monday hours before Kansas hung on in overtime to beat Memphis for the NCAA title. When NBA commissioner David Stern and NCAA president Myles Brand convened to announce a joint attempt at sand-blasting the corruption from youth basketball, the obvious buzz took on legs afterward.

Can the NBA change the rule that just went into effect with the last Collective Bargaining Agreement – that players cannot enter the draft until their class has been in college two years instead of one?

Not without the consent of players association it can’t … and considering what happened during the last CBA negotiations, it isn’t likely to happen without a fight come the summer of 2011 when the present agreement ends.

Of course Brand would love to guarantee that the top drawer players would compete another year in the NCAA. But he has no say in the matter. It’s all up to Stern and the NBPA.

That’s not to say it doesn’t make sense to do and that Stern wouldn’t prefer that. Going into the last bargaining session, he did want to raise the age limit from 18 to 20 initially, but had to settle for 19 when the NBPA wouldn’t bite on it. They weren’t particularly thrilled with 19 either, but took it as a concession for an expanded salary cap. And why the NBPA won’t agree to it isn’t quite clear in the big picture if you look at what is best for the entire constituency.

Granted, giving a 19-year-old, or even an 18-year-old, the opportunity to earn a lucrative living in the NBA if he has the talent and is wanted is logical, legal and fits in with what goes on in every other professional sport except for the NFL. And because of the necessary physical development and the violence of the game, the NFL gets a free pass on this one. So the NBA players believe everyone should have the opportunity.

OK, we’ll buy that angle.

Being into geometry, let’s take another slant. Just consider the possibility of the six to 10 players a year who come out early and make a team are forced to play another year on the collegiate level. Not only would it give the players another year of physical and emotional development, it would create another six to 10 jobs for NBA veterans who otherwise are forced to play ball overseas, try one of the struggling U.S. minor leagues or find another means to make a living other than ballin’.

The latter seems far more logical in the big picture of the NBPA despite the overwhelming majority favoring no more than a 19-year-old limit.

Meanwhile, there are a lot reasons why so many young players entering the league had a negative impact, even dating to Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, all of whom could have used a year or two in college. Obviously, that trio became superstars … but what about the early birds that didn’t?

It frustrated so many of the top basketball minds in the NBA. Men like Jerry West and Larry Brown continued to be distressed over how the NBA had become too much of a developmental league as opposed to getting young players who were finished products – at least with regard to the fundamentals of the game. There were too many young, super athletes coming into the league believing basketball was just about reverse dunks and chucking up 3-pointers instead of moving with the ball, moving without the ball, passing and defending.

As far-fetched as it may be, this is an admirable attempt by Stern and Brand to clean up the mess that now starts when kids are identified in middle school as special talents and showered with shoes and warmups and anything else that will help a particular ilk of salesman and booster get into the hearts of minds of kids and their parents.

It seems an impossible task for the NBA and NCAA, but nobody can fault them for trying. The problem is the same reason why the NBPA won’t agree to raising the age limit, and it has nothing to do with basketball.

Money.

It’s all about as many people making as much money from the game as possible. The odds of the age limit going up in the NBA are very slim at best. The probability of the NBA and NCAA eliminating the sleaze from youth basketball isn’t great either. But this is a great first step toward allowing the kids to focus on the game and not the ancilliary financial gains at least until they’re old enough to vote.

We can only hope it works.

In what was evidently a strange convergence of energy from the sports gods, four injured All-Stars returned to their respective teams Wednesday with just two weeks left before the the NBA playoffs begin.

Isn’t this why we love professional sports?

• A funny thing happened just hours after Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said it looked like it would require more time before Dirk Nowitzki would return from the left ankle and knee injury he suffered on March 23 in a loss to the Spurs … he started. Nowitzki scored 18 points in 27 minutes during the huge 111-86 win over the Warriors, moving the Mavs alone into seventh place in the West. The Mavs were 2-3 since the injury, but now have a two-game lead and the tie-breaker over the ninth-place Warriors and a one-game lead over the eighth-place Nuggets, who also have the tie-breaker with the sliding W’s.

• Nobody has known what to think about Gilbert Arenas, who has been talking for six weeks that he would return from November surgery on his left knee, but Wednesday night was it for Agent Zero. He came off the bench to score 17 points in 19 minutes for the Wizards in a bizarre, 110-109 loss to the Bucks during which teammates Antawn Jamison (sprained right shoulder) and DeShaun Stevenson (sprained right ankle) were helped off the floor after a scramble for the ball with 6.3 seconds left. The result dripped with irony, not only because it was Arenas’ return, but both Caron Butler (strained hamstring) and Antonio Daniels (sprained wrist) returned after missing a game with injuries as well … so much for the full compliment of players that coach Eddie Jordan was expecting.

• Everything returned to normal for the Lakers when Pau Gasol made his first appearance since suffering an ankle sprain on March 14. He played 32 minutes, contributing 10 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in the 104-91 win over the Blazers – a huge lift considering the Lakers were 5-5 since he got hurt. They remain just 1.5 games out of the top seed in the West, and have the third seed with first place in the Pacific Division, a game ahead of the Suns.

• And in perhaps the biggest surprise of all, Clippers forward Elton Brand entered the game midway through the first quarter against Seattle, playing for the first time since suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the summer. Predictably rusty, Brand scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Clippers came from behind to run away from the Sonics, 102-84, to end an eight-game road losing streak.

Brand’s move was typical of a quality guy not only showing that he wanted to play when he was ready, but also that he’s worth every penny to someone as a player and a leader if he does opt out of his contract this summer.

But the biggest boon certainly is the return of Nowitzki and what this game did for the Mavs and Warriors in divergent circumstances. Left for dead by so many critics, this was the second win in a row for the Mavs, and certainly the commentary by Johnson earlier in the day about Nowitzki’s status came at the expense of his mentor in gamesmanship – Warriors coach Don Nelson. The Mavs, who still have to travel this weekend to play the Suns and Lakers, suddenly are loaded with momentum after beating their first over-.500 team since acquiring Jason Kidd 22 games ago. They were 0-10 before Wednesday night, but Nowitzki’s return further girded this group – as Kidd had 17 assists compared to just 10 for the Warriors as a team in the game.

That statistic was reflective of how the Warriors have come apart of late. They’ve lost three of their last four and five of eight to slide out of what looked like a strong seventh place. Not only do they lose the tie-breakers to the Mavs and Nuggets, but they’ve lost two in a row for the first time since the Jan. 2-4, and only the second time since an 0-6 start with captain Stephen Jackson suspended. Furthermore, after 37 consecutives games of 100 points or more as the highest scoring team in the league, they had just 86 against the Mavs after managing only 92 in a 24-point loss to the Spurs Tuesday. Jackson, not coincidentally, was 1-for-11 with 2 points against the Mavs and 2-for-12 with a pair of 3-pointers against the Spurs. Eight points in two games won’t do for Captain Jack, averaging 20.4 for the season.

Where they go from here, with a game at Memphis Friday and the road trip ending at New Orleans on Sunday, is anybody’s guess. They do finish the season with four of their last five games at home with a game at Phoenix in between, so this thing could turn again depending on the Mavs and Nuggets. Of the four home games, the Nuggets are the only winning team, with the Clippers, Kings and Sonics the other three.

The Wizards’ position in the East is just as shaky – although they are far from falling out of the playoffs in the less competitive conference. However, the loss dropped them from the fifth seed pushing the Cavaliers for home court into a three-way tie for fifth with the Raptors and Sixers – three games ahead of the eighth-place Hawks – and light years (OK, seven games) ahead of the Nets and Pacers. The status of Jamison and Stevenson is huge moving forward – not only for the remaining seven games but for the playoffs.

As for the Lakers, they’re still waiting for 20-year-old starting center Andrew Bynum to return from the knee injury that has sidelined him Jan. 13. They are hopeful over the next few days, and obviously they’d love for him to play at least a handful of games before the playoffs.

Nobody figured this first Wednesday in April would be so significant, so you never know.

 

There are a lot of reasons why Kevin Garnett should be recognized as the league’s best defensive player this season. Maybe he’ll get the nod and maybe he won’t. The case on why he should isn’t difficult to make, though, as we trace the history of the award and other possible candidates. History tends to dictate the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year is a shot-blocker first and foremost. Since the award — voted on by the media — began in 1983 with Milwaukee Bucks uber-defender Sidney Moncrief winning the first two years, 16 of the next 23 winners were shot-blockers — including Marcus Camby last year.

That’s not to say the shot-blocker, who's virtually always an exceptional rebounder as well, doesn’t deserve the award. It’s just easier to distinguish the cause and effect, recognizing that it isn’t just that particular stat that makes the difference, but the intimidation factor as well. When you have guys like Camby, four-time winner Dikembe Mutombo and multiple winners such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning patrolling the paint, it does allow the rest of the team to play tougher on the ball because he’s back there as a fierce last line of defense.

The same can be said for on-the-ball pressure, with Hornets point guard Chris Paul leading the league in steals, although that rarely predicates the award-winner.

It would make it easy to tab Camby again considering he’s leading the league blocks again and is right up there in rebounds. Young Magic center Dwight Howard will garner a lot of votes, too, since he’s leading everyone in rebounding and is near the top of the league in blocks.

The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, a fierce one-on-one defender will get his share of votes because he’s so talented and popular overall. Generally speaking, it’s difficult to single out individual defenders. Over the years, other than Moncrief, the awards have gone to great one-on-one defenders such as Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. There are those who believe the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen has deserved it for years but can’t get the necessary votes because there is a perceived notion of dirty play on his part.

This year, we’re going a different direction, giving the nod to a team-defense guy who is making everyone around him better: the Celtics’ Garnett. That’s not to say Garnett hasn’t been acknowledged as a great defender before. He was voted first-team All-Defense six years in a row by the coaches until slipping to second team the past two seasons. KG has never been voted the top defender by the media and this time around he should.

Ironically, his overall individual defensive statistics — 1.3 blocks, 1.4 steals and 9.4 rebounds — are below average over the breadth of his career. But the spidery arms, great hands, superior defensive knowledge and instincts of the 6-11, 240-pound Garnett have made the Celtics the best defensive team in the league this season. His help defense has given everybody else on the team more confidence and enhanced the team’s overall defensive IQ.

Heck, Celtics center Kendrick Perkins has more blocks than Garnett. But KG’s presence has given the young starter the freedom and confidence to come from the weak side and becoming an increasingly effective shot-blocker.

It’s hard to say how the rest of the voters will go in this instance. Camby will get a lot of votes again, so will Howard considering how much he and the Magic have risen in the NBA consciousness this season. And certainly neither would be the wrong choice.

Nonetheless, the reason Garnett deserves this is the same reason he will attract a lot of votes for Most Valuable Player too – he does so much to make the other players better with his consistent presence – his overall impact is incalculable.

To be sure, coach Doc Rivers and his staff deserve a lot of credit for transforming this team on the defensive end into a powerhouse that is leading the league in field-goal defense and defensive scoring average But none of it would have been possible without the towering president of “The Big Ticket,” in the middle of the fray to control things.

That’s why in my book, Garnett stands alone as the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.

Without the deepest bench to support him, somehow Eddie Jordan has kept the Washington Wizards going all season, and even flirting with the home court in the first round.

Sure, they were on the verge of setting a franchise record Monday night at Utah when Jerry Sloan mercifully called off the dogs in the 42-point destruction of the Wizards. But along with Gilbert Arenas missing his 65th straight game, Caron Butler was sidelined with a strained left hamstring and Antonio Daniels sat out due to a sprained left wrist. So really, the 2-3 swing West doesn’t look so bad, with the possibility of all three playing Wednesday night at home against the languishing Milwaukee Bucks.

Looking up, the Wiz is just three games behind the erratic Cavaliers.

Looking down, they are tied for fifth with the Raptors and just a game ahead of the red-hot Sixers.

Nonetheless, with little but mouth coming from Arenas all season, and Butler struggling since very early February with hip problems and now the hamstring, Jordan’s coaching job has to be considered one of the best in the East. Antawn Jamison has been special all season, playing in all 74 games, averaging 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, while Brendan Haywood and DeShaun Stevenson have been solid while averaging in double figures. In the process, Jordan has also developed a decent bench with youngsters Andray Blatche, Roger Mason, Darius Songaila and Nick Young.

In the stretch run and looking forward to the playoffs, the Wizards could be very dangerous if they somehow get healthy. It’s impossible to distinguish between fact and fiction coming from Arenas’ mouth – even the latest about how he’ll take a pay cut this summer in his new contract so Jamison can get what he deserves – so we don’t know if he’s going to play Wednesday, or not at all this season.

Either way, Jordan deserves praise for how well they’ve played in what could have had this team struggling to make it at the bottom of the playoff chart.

 

And before we let go of the Jazz, what is it with them? In the last two weeks they have lost at Minnesota, at the Lakers, at New Jersey and at Chicago. They did look impressive winning at Boston, but it’s tough to take them as serious contenders to win the West considering they are 16-22 on the road. They have yet to put any consistent play together away from the friendly confines of the Great Salt Lake, where they have set a franchise record with a glittering 33-4 record already.

 

Switching back to the East, the Hawks won their fourth in a row and have a three-game lead in the loss column over the Nets and Pacers in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The next four games will be huge, with the Raptors coming in, followed by a home-and-home series with the Sixers, and a trip to Indy. Joe Johnson has averaged 23.4 points as the Hawks have won eight of 10 to strengthen their grip on the eighth seed. The jobs of coach Mike Woodson and general manager Billy Knight are hanging in the balance even if they do make the playoffs, with ownership still in a state of disarray. But at least the fans finally have something to wrap their arms around now that Knight finally figured out they needed a point guard when he dealt for Mike Bibby.

 

The Pacers know they may have to sweep their final eight games to make the playoffs, but there was a reason to get excited Monday night. Jermaine O’Neal played for the first time since Jan. 16 during their 20-point win over the Heat, and responded with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in 18 minutes. O’Neal missed 33 games with a bone bruise on his left knee and few expected him to play anymore this season. Wonder why? Well, he’d certainly like to help the team make the playoffs, but also wants to prove he can play. The Pacers would love that too, particularly if he can garner interest and unload that $20 million-a-year contract. Wouldn’t Larry Bird love to have that offer of Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic from the Nets, again?

 

We’ll know a lot more about the Mavericks very soon, but you can’t write them off yet. They busted that three-way tie for seventh in the West last night with a win over the Clippers, while the Nuggets were blowing a big lead at Phoenix with a second-half collapse. So the Mavs (46-28) now lead the Warriors (45-28) by a half game, with the Nuggets (45-29) falling to ninth, a half game out of eighth and a full game out of seventh. The Mavs play host to the Warriors and the Nuggets play host to the Suns tonight, with the Mavericks playing at the Lakers and Suns over the weekend. The Mavs are now 11-0 against sub-.500 teams with Jason Kidd and 0-10 against teams with a winning record. Tonight will be a great one. Dirk Nowitzki has begun jogging on that balky knee and ankle, but for him to return this weekend could cause him to miss the rest of the season. It will be interesting.

 

Now that commissioner David Stern has the Board of Governors fawning all over Oklahoma City too, you have to wonder what Seattle is going to do with its lawsuit to hold the Sonics for two more years. Do they squeeze more money out of owner Clay Bennett and let him go next season to have the rest of the dough to pay the $300 million to double the footprint of KeyArena, and wait for another team? Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the news broke last week that Chicago-based owner Michael Heisley’s Memphis partners with the Grizzlies saw their share drop from 30 percent to 5.8 percent and lost the right of first refusal to match any offer for the team. Could Seattle have a dark year, then regain a team in the fall of 2009? Evidently, $350 million to Heisley, plus the $105 million to buy out the lease might put the Grizzlies in Seattle. Or, it could cost a lot less if the Hornets are ready to move from New Orleans in 2009. It would certainly help with the Western Conference schedule and travel to put one of those teams in Seattle for the Northwest Division and the Oklahoma team in the Southwest Division.

 

Figuring out the most improved player in the NBA is a lot like picking the most valuable player. The criterion is always the problem.

Is it the guy who comes out of nowhere with good stats?

Is it a good player who becomes a better player, or a good player who becomes great to help his team win?

Is it a disappointing player who finally puts it together?

You can make a case for all of the above as we give you the five most improved players and settle on one. Our top candidates are Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo from the Celtics, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Jose Calderon in Toronto.

Right out of the blocks, we eliminated a top candidate – the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum because he played in only 35 games due to a knee injury and has been out since Jan. 13. It’s a shame because Bynum went from averaging 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as an iffy center a year ago to 18 double-doubles this season – averaging 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks with a major impact on the Lakers.

Another decent contender who would be tough to vote for would be last year’s winner, Monta Ellis, even though he has improved. He went from being an immature guard with skills right out of high school two years ago to an impact player last season while averaging 16.2 points, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals, allowing the Warriors to trade Jason Richardson for the draft rights to North Carolina’s talented 6-10 Brendan Wright. Ellis has responded with flashes of stardom, at 19.8 points, shooting 53.3 percent from the field, and became one of just nine players in history to shoot better than 60 percent from the field in a month (February). But we know about him now and he hasn’t improved so much from last year that he can become the first ever to win the award in consecutive years.

So is including Howard but not Ellis a double-standard? No, because Howard has gone from being star quality to a superstar – leading the Magic to the third-best record in the East. He’s the key figure in nearly every game, leading the NBA with 63 double-doubles and in rebounding at 14.5, and has increased his scoring average from 17.6 to 21.2 while also leading the league in free-throw attempts. He has become the most dominant big man in the game. But because he was an All-Star, he’s fifth in the countdown.

Aldridge had nine consecutive 20-plus games for the Blazers until spraining his ankle Monday night at Seattle. At 6-11, 240, he was the second overall pick of the 2006 draft, and to some that eliminates him right there because of expectations. I don’t buy that one. Part of a draft day deal from Chicago, he blew hot and cold as a rookie, averaging just 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in Zach Randolph’s shadow. But when Randolph was unloaded and 2007 top pick Greg Oden went down with a knee injury, Aldridge began to blossom and has averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks as a power forward. He’ll be even better next year with Oden and along with Brandon Roy has everything to do with why the Blazers have been one of the surprise teams in the league.

Third is Calderon, a point guard who very quietly kept the Raptors flowing in the wake of another serious spinal injury to starting playmaker T.J. Ford, and the knee problems that have had All-Star Chris Bosh in and out of the lineup. He’s raised his average from 8.7 points to 12.2, and improved his field-goal (53.2 percent), 3-point (45.2) and free-throw shooting (91.9). He’s also up to 8.0 assists a game while leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. He would have been higher, but his effectiveness has dropped off since Ford and Bosh returned. The team is struggling with its chemistry. but it certainly has nothing to do with Calderon, who has kept the chemistry intact for the bulk of the season. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and will create a lot of action because he’ll make somebody better.

Second in the countdown is Rondo, the feisty 22-year-old point guard that Danny Ainge refused to part with in his offseason reconstruction. It has paid off remarkably with Rondo setting the tone for the defensive orientation of coach Doc Rivers with relentless pressure on the ball. He’s also raised all of his numbers to 10.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals and improved his shooting from 41.8 to 47.8 percent. The only reason he didn’t win is because it helps him immeasurably to have veterans Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce around him. Nonetheless, the 6-1 Rondo has responded superbly in just his second season and has a lot to do with Boston’s record-breaking success.

So that hands this year’s award to Turkoglu, the versatile 6-10, 225-pound native of Istanbul. With great expectations as a rookie in Sacramento in 2000, there were thoughts he would play point guard like Magic Johnson, or score at will, and things never really panned out in his three seasons there. He was part of a three-way deal between the Kings, Spurs and Pacers, sending him to San Antonio for one mediocre season and he signed as with Orlando as a free agent in 2004. That’s when things gradually began to change. His numbers and impact went up, but nothing like this season. Turkoglu, Howard and Rashard Lewis consistently put up the best numbers in the game.

However, Turkoglu has been the X-factor all season and should have been an All-Star. He tied a franchise record with two triple-doubles and has had eight double-doubles; beat the Celtics with a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a huge win, and raised his numbers to career-highs with 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 83.4 percent on free throws, 40.7 from 3-point range and 45.3 overall. He has become a star for the Magic, the man with the ball in the clutch, and has responded.

And that’s why he is our most improved player for 2008.

 

Voting on the top-five for the most valuable player in the NBA this season will be easy compared to figuring out how to pare down to the top three coaches.

In the Western Conference alone there are at least eight great candidates, and three more in the East. Trying to squeeze 11 guys into three spots isn't going to be easy.

But we will go about this unenviable task over the next month and start thinking about it seriously right now. Since the East has only a few contenders, let’s start there with the best one -- Doc Rivers of the Celtics. Rivers is proof positive how much better a coach can be the second time around, and with this team he has been magnificent. Sure, he was handed Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on a silver platter by general manager Danny Ainge, who is a lock to be executive of the year. Ainge even did a brilliant job of filling in the blanks with veterans to augment what Garnett, Allen and incumbent All-Star Paul Pierce do. Let’s not forget the development of youngsters Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Glen Davis by the coaching staff either.

But what we couldn’t know is that they would become the best defensive team in the league. Not only do they have the best scoring differential, but they are leading the league in fewest points allowed, lowest field goal percentage and lowest 3-point percentage, while ranking third in offensive field goal percentage and ninth in scoring. That translates into the team sticking to the game plan, rotating and closing out, and most importantly, really playing hard. Some of that comes from the great leadership of Garnett, et al, but Rivers has put it all together. With already 30 more wins than last season, they will shatter the all-time turnaround record.

Stan Van Gundy has coaxed the Orlando Magic to an entirely different level, too. He’s got evolving Superman Dwight Howard to dominate, but he has also pushed Hedo Turkoglu to playing at All-Star status, even if he didn’t get picked, and integrated Rashard Lewis to create the best frontcourt in either conference. They don’t have the goods to go anywhere in the playoffs, but he has managed to have the second best road record in the league and at least stay in shouting distance of the Pistons for the second best record in the conference despite very pedestrian point guard play.

Speaking of the Pistons, we have to mention Flip Saunders attempting to get the Pistons to a record sixth consecutive Eastern Conference final, as he and management have figured out how to develop a bench this season. Too bad they haven’t figured out how not to be so dependent on mercurial Rasheed Wallace to win a playoff series.

Let’s throw kudos to Eddie Jordan for preventing the thin Wizards from falling apart despite not having Gilbert Arenas for virtually the entire season and losing Caron Butler for the bulk of the second half as well. And only a pure cynic would overlook the job Mo Cheeks has done prodding the young Sixers back to not only respectability but into the seventh seed in the East and on their way up.

Cross the Rockies and this coach of the year stuff is much more complicated, with 2.5 games separating the top seven teams, 4.5 the top eight and 6.0 the top nine.

Consequently, we’re start from the top, with the Rockets and Lakers tied. It’s impossible not to be overwhelmed by the job Rick Adelman has done in Houston, coaching the Rockets to an amazing 22-game winning streak in his first season -- reeling off the last 10 without All-Star center Yao Ming. They’ve done it with a great synergy on defense and on the offensive end. It’s hard to know how they’ll respond from Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics and finishing the season with 10 of 15 on the road could cause them to drop like a rock in this tight race. But that doesn’t minimize the second longest streak in the history of the league.

Hanging at or near the top all season have been the Lakers, and the way coach Phil Jackson has kept them together may ultimately make this the best coaching job of his career. He had to compartmentalize the Kobe Bryant trade demand and sit him out of training camp for a while, develop youngsters Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar, re-integrate Derek Fisher into the starting lineup and then take it to another level with the theft of Pau Gasol from Memphis. As if that wasn’t enough, Bynum has been out for months with a knee injury and won’t play until the playoffs and Gasol may not either with a high ankle sprain. Of course, Bryant makes all of this easier … but Jackson makes it all hum.

On the other hand, nobody has done a better job than Byron Scott has with the Hornets, which oddly enough seems almost like a secret. They’ve been hanging out near or at the top of the conference and the rugged Southwest Division all season. Budding superstar point guard Chris Paul has had plenty to do with it, as has young All-Star forward David West and rapidly developing center Tyson Chandler. But Scott, like Rivers, is proving that a lot of the criticism from his first job has paid off in the second one, and the Hornets – despite a lack of depth – are legit challengers in the West. Having won two conference titles in the East as coach of the Nets plus his three championship rings playing for Pat Riley on the Lakers make him eminently qualified to compete with anybody.

Always overlooked in the balloting, but constantly in the discussion is Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who now has coached the Jazz 20 seasons, the longest tenure in league history. Their 29-3 home record is the best in the NBA and will be the best in franchise history, built around Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, a second generation Stockton and Malone.

Despite winning just 32 games last season and losing top overall pick Greg Oden for the season to knee surgery before training camp even began, Nate McMillan has develop the Trail Blazers into a legit team above .500 in the West. They won’t make the playoffs, but that’s not the point. After a 5-12 start, they won 18 of 20, including 13 in a row and he has developed youngsters Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw into explosive young players. They all defend every night and they’ll be scary next year with Oden in the middle of that lineup.

Of course, Gregg Popovich has once again done a stellar job keeping the defending champion Spurs in contention and the same goes for Avery Johnson, despite the exaggerated criticism he gets even with the Mavericks always in the mix. And it’s great to know the howling has stopped around Suns coach Mike D’Antoni now that they’ve won five in a row while assimilating the huge round peg – Shaquille O’Neal – into a quite small square hole in their lineup.

It also would be wrong not to mention how well last season’s darling Warriors have hung on for Don Nelson and the bizarre possibility the Nuggets could win 50 games for George Karl and still not make the playoffs – but the latter two carry asterisks because both teams have the fatal flaw of not playing a lick of defense.

Now that we’ve gone through the exercise, it’s time for the top three, with the caveat that I still have a month to change my mind on the second two – particularly if the Rockets and/or Hornets crash:

1. Doc Rivers
2. Rick Adelman
3. Byron Scott

Give us your top three …

The consolation prize is dangling with the enticement of a toxic carrot for one team in the Eastern Conference to back into the eighth playoff spot. And the good news is most of the inter-conference play is over, which means they’ll essentially be slugging it out between themselves for the distinction of being put to bed by the powerful Celtics.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t the obvious benefit of experience and extra money for teams that haven’t been there forever like the currently No. 8 Atlanta Hawks. Their last postseason was nine years ago, so both general manager Billy Knight and coach Mike Woodson have been regarded as on the verge of being unemployed because of that familiar underachievement song.

Or consider the long-shot Charlotte Bobcats, suddenly five games behind the Hawks with 15 to play. . They were in the mix to crash the party for the first time in the five-year history of the franchise until the past week under rookie coach Sam Vincent; a four-game tailspin has essentially taken them out of the picture.

And in between we’re left with the New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers – all of whom have suffered horribly disappointing seasons. Playing for the final spot as opposed to home court brings to mind whether their preference is to make the playoffs or slip into the draft lottery with the infinitesimal odds of moving into the top four in the NBA Draft.

In the case of the Hawks, it’s a moot point because their pick goes to the Phoenix Suns as part of the payback from the controversial Joe Johnson sign-and-trade acquisition in the summer of 2005 that created a split in the ownership group that continues even today. With a half-game lead over the Nets, they desperately need to get into the playoffs – particularly after swinging the trade for Mike Bibby last month that presumably ended the perpetual need for a point guard.

Despite their recent three-game winning streak that pushed them ahead of the Nets, they Hawks have won only four of their last 10 games – so vulnerability lingers. But on the bright side, eight of their final 15 games are at home, with only three of those games against teams playing better than .500 ball. In many ways, this is the perfect opportunity for Johnson, who has averaged 27.8 points and 7.1 assists over the past nine games, to prove he’s more than just a token All-Star and the guy who can carry them to a new height.

It’s a different deal for the Nets. They’ve been in the playoffs the past six years and into the second round the last two. President Rod Thorn is rebuilding them on the fly – unloading discontented Jason Kidd and adding youth around veterans Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson – the most prominent being Kidd’s replacement Devin Harris.

The Nets seemingly have the edge – certainly in experience and generally speaking in talent. However, nine of their final 16 games are on the road, with six of those games against winning teams. And we’ll learn a lot quickly, with New Jersey playing at Chicago tonight before the Hawks come to Meadowlands in a big one tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Bulls and Pacers have been dancing around each other most of the season as they generally do, only this season while languishing. The Bulls are still trying to see if their new pieces fit. Ten of their final 16 games are at home, including the next four against the Nets, Spurs, Pacers and Hawks. Perhaps more importantly, they’ll find out how well Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden add to the cause less than a month after their big three-way trade with Cleveland and Seattle.

And lastly we have the broken-down Pacers, lost in the abyss since their brawl with Pistons fans 4½ years ago, they’ve been weighed down not only by uneven play on the court, but constant problems after hours. Nobody is happy with what has happened since Larry Bird presumably took the reins from Donnie Walsh as team president even before the brawl. And now the 67-year-old Walsh, with the title of CEO, apparently is either going to retire or take over another team next season. Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley have been broken the entire second half of the season – reflective of how Bird has waited far too long to move either player.

Nonetheless, they’ve been hanging in there since the All-Star break behind the sweet-shooting Mike Dunleavy’s career-best season, and they’ve got the best schedule – nine of 15 at home, with only two games against playoff-bound teams.

Logic says the Hawks are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1999 or, to put it into perspective, three jobs ago for their now-retired coach Lenny Wilkens. Not only is it huge for Woodson and Knight to keep their lofty positions, but it will show if Johnson has mentally grown into his immense talent. That’s not to diminish the value of Bibby, the multi-skilled Joshes – Smith and Childress, Marvin Williams or rookie-of-the-year candidate Al Horford. This is why they got Johnson in the first place.

It’s now or never for the Hawks.

Just as we suspected, the landscape of the Western Conference continues to change-- which means the big trades that seemed so clearly defined have taken a U-turn as well.

In other words, this is all still shaking out.

We’re all still flabbergasted by the crazy 22-game winning streak of the Rockets -- second only to the 1971-72 Lakers in NBA history -- which has leapfrogged them into the top seed of the West. It’s a remarkable story that is continuing to add chapters.

And then there is the eye-widening tale of Shaquille O’Neal’s 330 pounds of mass leaping into the stands last Sunday that may not only have tilted the foundation of the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, but the Pacific Division and the West as well.

You see, well on their way to yet another defeat at the hands of the Spurs, O’Neal’s wild hustle play to save a ball from going out of bounds ignited the home crowd and sparked the Suns to a come-from-behind win and that may have very well changed everything.

While everyone has been singing the praises of the Pau Gasol theft from the Grizzlies that pushed the Lakers to the top of the conference and the Pacific Division (and rightfully so); lost in the excitement had been Gasol’s failure to play 60 games in two of the previous three seasons with foot problems until he sprained his ankle last week. Now he’s out indefinitely.

Not coincidentally the Lakers have lost three of four.

People had begun writing off the Mavericks for giving up so much to get Jason Kidd. Now they’ve won five in a row.

Throw in the Hornets, Jazz and Warriors keeping pace and a measly 4.5 games separate the top eight teams in the West with 4½ weeks left in the season.

So how did O’Neal’s play change the balance other than the obvious effect on the Richter scale in the southwest?

It guaranteed for the first time in five years the Suns wouldn’t lose the season series to the Spurs, and at least gave some credence to the concept shared by Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr that O’Neal could be the difference-maker matching up against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio machine.

That’s not to say you can point to that one play or game as to why the Spurs have lost three in a row and five of six. But for whatever reason, their edge is gone and the Suns have grabbed it. Sure, the Suns miss Shawn Marion -- his rebounding, nose for the ball, perimeter defense and speed on the floor -- from the O’Neal trade. They may even miss him more as time progresses.

Too many people gave up on the Suns too quickly when they lost four of their first six with O’Neal in the lineup. It has already become patently obvious Boris Diaw does not have the aggressive nature to pick up the slack for Marion. His 2006 NBA Most Improved Player Award was more a product of circumstances than how significant a role he would play in the Suns future with a freshly minted and fat long-term contract. That will become more of a story as time progresses. The drop in Leandro Barbosa’s productivity this season hasn’t helped either.

And yet, whatever Grant Hill has left in the tank will pick up some of the slack for time being. Even the recently signed Gordan Giricek had a big hand in their 79 first-half points as they trashed the Kings Saturday night. That helps the cause, too.

But Amare Stoudemire is approaching pre-knee surgery numbers and that speaks volumes for what the Suns have figured out around O’Neal.

The key to what has brought the Suns back to within a game of the Lakers in the division and two games of the lead they had in the Western Conference has been the adjustment made by not only O’Neal, but point guard Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni -- the masterminds to this franchise. And Stoudemire is now reaping the benefits.

Of course O’Neal doesn’t fit into their fun-and-gun offense that turned the NBA upside down; nor does his skill-set work in their halfcourt pick-and-roll preference. Consequently, the response was D’Antoni is a one-trick pony as a coach and Nash has lost his remarkable feel that made him the top point guard in the game the past three seasons. To arrive at those conclusions in a couple of weeks was ludicrous.

Given time, D’Antoni has stolen a page out of the Tex Winter’s legendary triangle offense to run some of the plays through O’Neal. Now Nash knows not only is the lane more cluttered with bodies, he throws lob passes at or below the rim for O’Neal to dunk. O’Neal’s presence in the post has also opened up Stoudemire’s vastly underrated mid-range game. This wasn’t going to be a sudden change. It just required some time and patience, which nobody seems to have these days in any walk of life -- let alone in the world of sports.

That’s not to say the Suns are now all on the same page and will run the table come playoff time into the Finals. Rather, the turnaround has added credence to the notion that they need to overcome the physical and mental obstacle posed by the Spurs. The Suns are just 8-15 against them with Nash since 2004-05 explaining why their 2-1 series lead this season is so vital. And in the big picture, O’Neal’s presence to deal with Duncan removes a tremendous load from Stoudemire’s shoulders.

With anywhere from 15-17 games remaining on the regular season for these eight teams in the West -- and the Rockets playing in their own stratosphere -- it’s impossible to get a handle on the last team standing in this amazing race. But the past week has reinforced what we learned many years ago … it may get cloudy in Phoenix from time to time, but it never stays that way for long.

They began the season 14-3 and still have the third-best road mark in the NBA with a virtual lock on the Southeast Division. And yet, the buzz in the Eastern Conference always surrounds the Celtics, Pistons and Cavs.

So what will the blossoming Magic do when the playoffs begin … just disappear?

Never mind that Dwight Howard has become the best center in the NBA at the age of 22, leading the league with 57 double-doubles and 14.5 rebounds a game while standing fifth in blocks at 2.36 and still averaging a career-best 21.8 points. And yet, all anybody wants to talk about was his spectacular Superman-esque dunk display over NBA All-Star Weekend.

It seems far too easy to ignore the ascension into an impact player by Hedo Turkoglu, a prime candidate for most improved player while averaging 19.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists – all career bests.

And while maximum-paid free agent Rashard Lewis has been riding a roller coaster of effectiveness all season, he’s producing 18.5 points, and 5.2 rebounds, leads the team with nearly 1.2 steals a game, and has become more consistent lately.

There is no frontcourt trio in the NBA putting up better numbers on a nightly basis than these guys. Are they ignored simply because they have accomplished this in the East and a 42-24 record going into Friday’s games just isn’t impressive enough?

Maybe it’s the always-candid comments of coach Stan Van Gundy that put it into perspective this week after beating Atlanta. They’ve been too erratic for anybody to be sold on them as a serious contender just yet.

“I think we have to deal with situations better,” Van Gundy said. “And one of the situations for us is when things are going well. The other night we come off a big win in Washington. We come in, we’re playing well, we play Golden State and we have a good first half and then we sort of shut it down. We didn’t deal with the success of the first half very well, and we really didn’t tonight either coming out in the second half.

“We’ve got to get more into a 48-minute mentality of playing every minute. We have a tendency to really relax with a lead. I think that’s a maturity thing, but it needs to change and we need to take advantage of those situations and put games away. It’s really just about energy and focus and understanding that, No. 1, we have a lot we need to improve before the playoffs and ,No. 2, we still have a lot left we need to accomplish. That’s sort of the message we’re trying to give the team.”

Nonetheless, this has been a ground-breaking season for the Magic, figuratively and literally. All the talk about them being sold and perhaps moving has vanished. They’re selling out most games these days and have a new building on the horizon in a spectacular downtown complex.

They’re on their way to 50 wins for the first time since 1996, when Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway led them to 60 wins – Shaq’s last season there before stunningly bolting in a mastermind plot from then-president Jerry West. And they haven’t won 45 games since 1997; or even had a winning season since 2003 for that matter.

All of that explains why the national bandwagon remains virtually empty.

And then there is the point guard situation, with Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo splitting the position – neither capable of taking control of the job nor exhibiting the kind of consistency at the position a serious contender must have. They’ve tried a number of combinations in the backcourt, with Maurice Evans now the starting shooting guard, while Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling have also made their play for the spot. Occasionally, Turkoglu will slide back to shooting guard and with his superb ballhandling skills on his 6-10, 230-pound frame, Van Gundy has even dabbled a bit lately putting him at the point.

A lot of that is because turnovers are still a problem. It killed them while blowing that aforementioned game to Golden State and Van Gundy didn’t mince words about who needs to step up. They need somebody to be the difference-maker with the ball in their hands.

“Offensively our three main guys (had) 15 turnovers - Jameer with three,” Van Gundy said. “It’s just not good enough; you can’t handle the ball like that and expect to win. And then they gave them opportunities in transition and we couldn’t get our defense set.”

Nonetheless, Turkoglu became the first player in franchise history to have two triple-doubles in the same season with his performance against the Hawks. At 28, he is establishing himself as a great clutch player to go along with myriad skills – including a career-high in 3-pointers. Not coincidentally, when the Magic hit their first trey in Friday’s game at Miami it will be their 623rd, a new franchise record.

Howard continues to get stronger and more dominant, responding exceptionally – his sub-60 percent free-throw shooting notwithstanding -- when Van Gundy challenged him to focus more on rebounding and defense and not worry about scoring. It was a gamble the first-year coach took with his young superstar, and it speaks volumes about both of them.

There is a question about the bench, with Arroyo, Bogans, Dooling and forward Brian Cook streaky. Veteran center Adonal Foyle is solid for his 10 minutes a game to hold the fort defensively and on the boards, highly-regarded shooter J.J. Redick still hasn’t earned consistent playing time, and Pat Garrity can do little other than drain a 3-pointer on occasion these days. All of that makes it obvious why Van Gundy has shortened his bench of late in preparation for the playoffs. There isn’t a lot of dependability there.

The remainder of the schedule is dominated by sub-.500 teams, with the key matchups a couple of games with the Cavs and a home game against the defending champion Spurs. Meanwhile, they are 5-4 against the cream of the East, splitting four games with the Pistons, winning the series with the Celtics 2-1, and 1-1 with the Cavs.

They’ve already proven they can compete with the best of the East during the regular season. The big question is how they will do in the playoffs, where they haven’t won a series since 1996. And despite playing so well on the road, they’ve been completely unpredictable at home – even struggling there a good bit early in the season. But they appear to be gaining traction at home now, having won seven of their last eight. On the other hand, they had lost three of four in the Magic kingdom before this recent turn of events – the losses coming to the Cavs, Lakers and Mavs.

“It’s not so much (about) building momentum,” Van Gundy said. “We need to get better, but when you’re fighting so hard to get a home-court advantage in the playoffs we have to play better on a consistent basis to make the home court truly an advantage. For us it’s not a matter of home or away we just need to keep getting better.”

With less than a quarter of the NBA season left, it’s time to get serious about the awards voting. Some are easier than others.

We won’t get into those yet because, well, they won’t require the hemming and hawing that voting for the Most Valuable Player Award generally does. Sometimes, it’s obvious, most of the time, it’s not — and that comes from more than 20 years of experience.

This year is no different. Voting for five is no problem because there are five great candidates. Moving from East to West, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. Some people can even make a case for others. Manu Ginobili comes to mind as a sleeper for the top five, and the same may go for Tracy McGrady if the Rockets continue on their amazing pace … but don’t count on either one to jump into the fray.

Now that we’ve settled on a quintet, let’s break them down.

Garnett has already won the award (2003) in the middle of a historic run of six consecutive seasons of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. This is different, because this is about leadership and presence that has changed the persona of the Celtics. However, they did very well when he was injured before the All-Star break. His stats — 18.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists — are modest by his standards, and more reflective of involving his teammates while doing what it takes to have the best record in the league.

. The Magic would be nowhere without Howard, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks — all career-highs — and tops the league in rebounding. He has become the most dominant center in the game, averaging 21.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. The frightening thing is he just turned 23 and is getting bigger and better.

That takes us to James, whose is leading the NBA in scoring at 30.8 points to go with 8.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists — the latter two career-highs. The combination of stats makes him worthy of comparison to the greatest player in history, also at the ripe age of 23. Remember, too, he has missed six games plus was injured early and did not return in a blowout loss to Detroit; the Cavs were 0-7 in those games. He also leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring and the Cavs lead the league with 15 wins when trailing going into the fourth quarter.

Paul has exploded this season with career-bests in all the vital categories (including shooting percentages) with 21.3 points, 11.0 assists and 2.7 steals. He leads the league in steals and is second in assists, and has controlled the tempo in virtually every game they’ve played. Conversely, when he suffered through ankle problems last season, the Hornets did not make the playoffs. They’ve been near the top of the West since November.

And that brings us to Bryant, who has led the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the West, which is rather stunning when you consider he wanted out of the organization almost up until opening night. But he stayed focused, the team started well and then the Lakers stole Pau Gasol in February to start a 15-3 run. In fact, it’s even tempting to make Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and general manager Chris Wallace the co-MVPs for handing the Lakers a potential title on a silver platter.

Nonetheless, the story is Bryant, who despite a torn ligament in his right pinky that will require surgery is averaging 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals — right on his career marks.

With about 20 games left, things won’t change much for the leading candidates, short of injury. And upon further review, the Celtics’ 7-2 mark without Garnett hurts him more than the others. As for Howard, the fact that the Magic probably can’t be serious contenders in the East may take him out of the MVP picture, too.

Paul and the Hornets are in a very similar situation, although New Orleans is a better team overall. That pushes Paul to third.

And that leaves us where we figured to be anyway — the impossible decision between Bryant and James. Bryant is a newer, bigger model of Michael Jordan, and James is a newer, bigger version of Bryant. Bryant is a better pure shooter and defender, but James is a more natural passer, much stronger and a better rebounder. James taking the Cavs to the Finals last year doesn’t factor into this season, though that 0-7 mark when he’s out is like a neon light.

But the Lakers are nowhere without Bryant either. It’s almost as if his conniption fit over the summer slapped sense into him, and he’s showing leadership like never before. He’s not only playing through the hand injury, but playing so well that the injury is scarcely remembered anymore.

Because of the transition he’s made and where the Lakers are today, he’s earned his first MVP. James will have his day soon enough; and he might win the award anyway.

But from our vantage point, that leaves us with this:

1. Kobe Bryant
2. LeBron James
3. Chris Paul
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Dwight Howard

With the final third of the season in front of us, it’s inconceivable how close the race in the Western Conference really is. A win Wednesday night at home over the Suns and the Nuggets will be playing .600 ball for the season – and still a couple of games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Should the first place Spurs, winners of 10 in a row and alone atop the West, lose their edge for 10 days and lose three out of five games, they could fall into the sixth spot and lose homecourt.

Incredibly enough, only five games separate the Spurs and the eighth-seeded Warriors.

In other words, a very good team is not going to make the playoffs, while right now the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in the East are below .500. Maybe the top 16 records in the league overall should be in the playoffs, regardless of conference.

But that’s a different story for a different day. We’re here today to decide two things in the West … who’s in and who’s out.

Let’s blow through the nine teams and make an educated guess:

1. Spurs (42-17): As long as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are healthy, they’re a lock to be in and the odds-on favorite to defend their NBA title, giving them four in six years and five over 10 – a certifiable dynasty despite all this talk about them being too old. The additions of Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire help with depth, with aging a factor for the team overall.

2. Lakers (43-18): They’re in, and the vogue choice to win the West since the gift of Pau Gasol from Memphis. Kobe Bryant is certainly the favorite to win the MVP Award and Lamar Odom is playing great. The torn ligament in Bryant’s right pinky is a concern and Gasol may prove to be softer than people think. Andrew Bynum’s knee injury makes them vulnerable up front over the long haul.

3. Jazz (39-22): They’re in too, with control of the Northwest Division behind Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, and toughness in their depth that reflects coach Jerry Sloan. But to win the conference, they’ll need Andrei Kirilenko to be healthy and consistently effective, and Kyle Korver has to keep everybody honest with his shooting in his first big postseason.

4. Hornets (40-19): With point guard Chris Paul leading the way as an MVP candidate, they’ve hung in there near the top longer than people have expected. David West and Tyson Chandler have been big too, and the late addition of Chris Andersen will help their depth. They'll make the top eight, but beyond the first round? That will test coach Byron Scott.since this club lacks experience.

5. Suns (40-20): The loss of Shawn Marion and addition of Shaquille O’Neal has been a shock to their system, losing four of their first six together. It’s almost impossible to believe they’ll fall out of the playoffs, but do they have the wherewithal to win in the playoffs when they’re only 18-16 in conference play? Even with Steve Nash running the point, they are a different team now.

6. Rockets (39-20): This NBA-high 15-game winning streak they’re on is hard to fathom, mainly because the last three came after Yao Ming went down for the season with a fractured foot. So now what? Last season, he was hurt too, but Tracy McGrady stepped up with an MVP-caliber season. McGrady doesn’t have that anymore. How will this group react when they hit a bump now? They are on the bubble now.

7. Mavericks (39-22): The big question is how good they will be when Jason Kidd locks into their system. Right now, they’re suffering from the loss of Devin Harris’ speed and DeSagana Diop’s presence inside since the trade. Harris will be missed down the road, not in the immediate future. Diop will hurt both. They’ll get in, but are Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard enough to win the West?

8. Warriors (37-22): Last year’s darlings are back, with Baron Davis and his blossoming young partner Monta Ellis rivaling Parker and Ginobili as the most dynamic backcourt in the West. But what will Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Matt Barnes et al bring to the table? They have a little breathing room ahead of the Nuggets, but Davis’ always questionable health could knock them out.

9. Nuggets (35-24): With only 23 games left in the season, the Nuggets still haven’t found their identity. With Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony the third and fourth leading scorers in the league and league-leading shot-blocker and second-best rebounder Marcus Camby on board, you’d think that would be plenty. Instead, they have too many lapses for games at a time.

So if everything stays relatively status quo health-wise with these teams, where does that leave us? Well, certainly the Nuggets have to prove they can climb their way back into the race with more consistent play, while the Warriors have to fend off lapses of judgment that cause them to shoot their way into and out of games. But there also is the question of how the Rockets will sustain once their momentum runs out despite their four-game lead over the Nuggets.

My guess is the Rockets will run out of gas.

What do you think?

We’ve all seen what has happened to the Lakers since acquiring Pau Gasol – 11-1 overall, including their present 10-game winning streak headed into the weekend. It’s allowed the Lakers to move into the top seed in the West and just four games behind the