Another one point game in the West.

This, though, was the third straight overtime win for L.

A, their sixth straight win overall.

LeBron scored 10 in the fourth quarter, hit the game, tying three and regulation and in overtime he made some huge defensive plays.

After the game, coach Frank Vogel said This.

You made several defensive plays gone with you.

He's really leaving in charge, taking a matchup of, uh, Horford on certain situations.

And I know it's the West West Matthews that two great defensive stops on Horford post ups as well.

Um, but that's what brought the Broncos on both both sides of the ball.

You know, that's why he's, uh, you know, probably gonna be this year's M V P.

You know, carrying the load offensively and quarterback in the defense and number one defense in the league and taking these tough assignments and making these plays down the stretch.

So, um, yeah, he's playing terrific.

So ESPN actually asked 100 media members.

This is a poll that Tim Bontemps conducts every year.

It mimics the postseason awards voting with the points awarded for different guys for different places.

He also tries to take a sampling of actual voters from different markets.

So you really get an accurate sense of what voters were thinking.

LeBron in first place right now.

53 1st place votes, followed by Joel Embiid.

Nickel.

Yokich Remember, Embiid gets a lot of extra points for being second or third on people's valid.

That's how Tim said the numbers kind of went out this time.

Richard.

How difficult is it going to be then to balance LeBron's M V P campaign because we know he actually wants another one.

We know he deserves to get another one, and he thinks this is the year he could get it with also making sure he is enough rest to get through to and be fresh for the playoffs.

Well, with all due respect to everybody in the Laker organization, this is about LeBron James.

If he feels like he has an opportunity to win a championship and I'll take you back.

I was on the team when it was Russell Westbrook averaging a triple double, James Harden's historic season and LeBron James was up there in the top three and they asked them, Hey, do you think rest is should be going into the equation?

And they all said that, Yes, you shouldn't be resting if you're fighting for an M V P.

So he every season since then has taken upon himself to play as many games as possible unless he's injured.

So I don't see him missing too many games because he's seen people use rest against him.

Yeah, I definitely think it's a tough situation of being a to this point.

Individual accolades strengthen his argument, but we really don't need him.

I know LeBron is in it for rings.

Never got a chance to play with LeBron.

But I'm sure it's similar to Kobe with good luck trying to get someone like Kobe or LeBron to take a night off when they're not really hurt.

So, you know, we just hope that you know he's gonna have the enough energy in the tank because we know it's gonna be a long run for them.

Their odds on favorite Thio win the chip again and if he is able to pick up A M v P in that process, which he's deserved in the past and he hasn't got I'm all for it.

And look, Kobe is someone who should have ended up with more MVPs.

Then he got also It was a victim a little bit, too, who had the best numbers in a particular season versus Who is the best player, which I could do a whole dissertation on.

But I won't today because I like both of you guys.

I will say this, though, If you look at the numbers of games missed in terms of MVPs and how they in the past have done these air the past MVPs, right?

These are the guys who actually won the award in that year, and this is the percentage of games they played.

So there's actually room for LeBron in a 72 game season to hit that 86% mark.

That's a Yanis hit last year.

He could take 10 games off in the 72 game season and still be in that same part of the conversation.

I don't expect him to take 10 games off if he is healthy.

Of course.

Yanis took a couple games off because he was injured last year and it's just a great what if guys, when you look at last year's M V P race, LeBron was coming on so strong in March when the league shut down, there was really a feeling he had just beaten on his head to head.

Yannis was out with an injury.

There was a feeling he could be out for an entire month.

And who knows?

The entire course of LeBron's M V P life would have been different.

Of course, the entire course of the country would have been different as well.

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