Race to the MVP: LeBron still tops, but Paul makes his move

Happy day-after Thanksgiving. I had planned to have this edition of Race to the MVP ready on late Thursday soon after everyone had their last turkey sandwiches for dinner. I wanted you to be able to print it out and take it with your Christmas list so you had something to read while you waited in line for your favorite department store to open at 5 a.m.

Alas, I could not rouse myself from my tryptophan-induced stupor to get this done in time. Aside from that, it's tough to type when you're holding a fork in one hand and a four-inch pile of pie (What kind of pie? Every kind, of course! A slice that, a sliver of this ...) on a plate in the other. It's physically impossible. I tried. Just check out the first thing I wrote with my hands full:

"hppy day sfter Tnaksgivin ..."

That's fine when you're trying to Twitter someone, but not so good when you're writing an article. So, apologies to those who had nothing to read and froze their fannies off waiting in line with complete strangers looking to get 30 percent off on something that's marked up 40 percent.

Despite my cynicism toward Christmas commercialism ("I never thought it was such a bad little tree..."), I like giving presents as much as the next person. Still, I get just as big a kick giving gifts as I do getting them. In the spirit of the holiday season, and in spirit with those folks who waited in line this morning, I'm making a list and checking it twice for those in the Race to the MVP Top 10 (and some others). After all, what do you get guys who seemingly have everything? LeBron and Kobe are so tough to shop for ... I know, I've tried. Making a list is key because you must plan. You need to know what you're looking for.

I'll gladly take your Christmas lists for next few mailbags, where we'll combine your holiday wish lists with some of your very, very involved formulae for figuring out what makes an MVP.

Just drop us a line here RacetotheMVP@gmail.com and we'll try to publish the best over the next few weeks. Before we get into this week's rankings, here's my list for last week's top 10.

Rob's Race to the MVP Christmas List
LeBron -- An end to the 2010 talk (Oh, wait, that's my gift to me)
Kobe -- A ring without Shaq
Chauncey -- Find a new shot to replace the old one
D-Wade -- A point guard so he won't need to handle the ball so much
Dwight -- A killer instinct
CB -- A healthy Jermaine O'Neal
CP3 -- A return to 2007-08 form
Boozer -- A reason to keep him in the Race to the MVP
Amar'e -- A box of apostrophes
Pierce -- Another ring (Why get him something different?)

Hoops Line of the Week: Chris Paul: Nov. 22 vs. Oklahoma City 29 points, 16 assists and 10 boards

Considering basketball fans celebrated Oscar Robertson's 70th birthday on Monday, Nov. 24, I felt giving HLotW to a point guard with a stellar triple-double was appropriate.

Line of the Week: "As I told these guys, together they are accountable for each other. I expect guys not to be late. I expect that if a guy's not here, somebody will call that guy. We have to make sure as a group that we hold each other accountable because as a staff and an organization, we're darn sure going to hold them accountable." -- Pistons coach Michael Curry on Allen Iverson missing practice ("We're talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Practice!") on Thanksgiving.

Who knows? Maybe he just wanted to get to Wal-Mart early. That, and the practice rant never gets old.

Drop of the week: Carlos Boozer, Jazz (- infinity, out of the Top 10)
Rise of the week: Tim Duncan (+ infinity, into the top Top 10)

1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers | Team Record: 12-3 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 27.9 7.2 6.3 1.9 0.9 .487 .786 Last Week's Rank - 1 With the exception of facing the New York media on Tuesday and getting hit on by them ("So, LeBron, are you doing anything in 2010, because if you're not, we could, you know, get a cup of coffee or something.), James had a breezy week as the Cavs notched 14-, 18- and 35-point wins this week. The Cavs were so crushing the Thunder, James played a mere 17 minutes on Wednesday.

2. Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers | Team Record: 12-1 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 23.7 5.0 3.9 1.8 0.7 .452 .831 Last Week's Rank - 2 For the first two games of this week, Kobe actually had a very Kobe week (A Very Kobe Week? Sounds like a show on The Disney Channel.), scoring 53 points helped by a 22-for-38 performance from the field in those games. Then, against New Jersey, went 5-for-17 and had 12 points. What gives? Not the Lakers, evidently. They're so good now that they don't need Kobe to take over for them to win.

3. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets | Team Record: 9-5 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 20.6 5.7 12.0 2.9 0.2 .524 .865 Last Week's Rank - 7 Welcome back, Mr. Paul. Your top three table is waiting. Despite dropping to No. 7 last week, we always have a spot reserved here for Paul. He's too good to keep down on the list. This week, he showed why he's a legit MVP candidate: four Hornets' wins, three on the road, two triple-doubles and a partridge in a pear tree. Paul followed a 29-point, 16-dime and 10-board game against the Thunder with a 14-17-10 performance in L.A. against the Clippers two nights later. And, in the Hornets' win on Thursday, he hit some huge shots down the stretch.

4. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic | Team Record: 12-4 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 21.2 13.5 1.5 0.9 3.9 .588 .572 Last Week's Rank - 5 After a sub-par 13-point, nine-board performance in a loss to Houston last Friday, Howard turned it around this week. He had a stellar 24-point, 13-rebound and six-block performance against Milwaukee and averaged 23.7 points, 13.7 boards and 3.7 blocks in three games. It's weird to see a guy average two times as many block as assists, but that's Dwight's game and that's why he's this high -- defense. That, and he can dunk ... which he may not do this year at All-Star Weekend.

5. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat | Team Record: 7-8 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 27.4 4.9 7.5 2.5 1.7 .482 .747 Last Week's Rank - 4 Could you imagine how good the Heat would be if they had ... Oh, who cares? You can speculate all you want, but Wade's having a superlative season on both ends of the floor. I remember Craig Sager playfully teasing Wade about his defense during the Olympics and saying that Pat Riley would love to see that kind of intensity in the regular season. Wade's defense made it through customs. He's second in the NBA in steals with 2.5 thefts per and is the only guard in the top 15 in blocks, with 1.7 per game. Oh, and he's third in the league in scoring, just behind of ...

6. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors | Team Record: 7-7 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 27.6 10.5 2.0 0.6 0.9 .556 .826 Last Week's Rank - 6 What a week for Bosh. Too bad the Raptors as a whole couldn't follow suit. They played an instant classic against the Nets and Bosh had 42, but the Raptors fell -- on a Vince Carter dunk, no less -- in OT. Then came the debacle against the Celtics, and Bosh became visibly frustrated. Bosh then put up 39 and 11 in Toronto's win over Charlotte. Another impressive stat: his stamina. He averaged 43 minutes per game. Let's hope he's not worn down by the end of the season.

7. Tim Duncan, san Antonio Spurs | Team Record: 8-6 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 21.7 9.9 3.3 0.2 1.7 .537 .675 Last Week's Rank - OLI Welcome back to the top 10, Big Fundamental. (May I call you Fundamental?) You're here because you're single-handedly keeping the Spurs afloat this season. You haven't had Tony Parker, and you just got Manu Ginobili back, but the Spurs are over .500 in a rugged Western Conference because of you. Yes, you. And you know what's impressive? You're averaging 16.5 shots per game, the most since 2003-04 and your shooting percentage is .537, your highest in two seasons. Some things do get better with age.

8. Amar'e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns | Team Record: 11-5 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 22.2 7.9 1.8 1.2 1.4 .568 .836 Last Week's Rank - 9 Mr. Stoudemire is in danger of sliding out of the top 10. That's rough justice, but I'm just not feeling the intensity from STAT this season. Maybe it's the change in offense and maybe Shaq's stealing some of the youngster's thunder, but 22.2 points and 7.9 boards per game average just seems ... average. What happened to the unstoppable Amar'e? I miss his ferocity.

9. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics | Team Record: 14-2 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 19.1 7.1 3.7 1.3 0.3 .408 .833 Last Week's Rank - 10 It'd be nice to see Pierce increase his accuracy (though, he's often the guy chucking up the shot as the shot clock winds down ... that'll kill anyone's percentage), but we'll take his increased intensity on the boards, where he's averaging seven-plus boards per game for the first time since 2002-03.

10. Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets | Team Record: 10-6 PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 16.4 2.8 6.8 1.5 0.4 .384 .889 Last Week's Rank - 3 I don't think you can underestimate how important Billups has been to the Nuggets, but as some readers wrote in, his influence isn't tangible in his individual numbers. Translation: his numbers stink. And even I must admit his shot looks off right now and his .384 shooting percentage won't get him much love going forward. Then again, ESPN.com's Bill Simmons covered this in his first NBA column: the Nuggets now have offensive discipline. That, and Billups can still shoot free throws.

Dropping out: Carlos Boozer

Outside looking in, for now, in alphabetical order: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, Danny Granger, Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose, Brandon Roy