Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “I gotta challenge my old friend Ric Bucher on his Twitter suggestion earlier this week that LeBron James has to have the lead on Kevin Durant in the MVP race at the season’s midpoint because LeBron’s D is so much better. Buch is certainly entitled to cast his vote any way he wants, like the other 125-ish folks who are handed ballots at season’s end, but here’s my counter: If that’s standard, LeBron might as well be named MVP before the season starts, because he’s going to be the best two-way player in the league for years to come. MVP, to me, is the prize that goes to the guy who had the best season. And halfway through, if only fractionally, it’s Durant.”
Phillip Barnett of Forum Blue and Gold: “They benefited from a few missed calls from the refs (both Durant and Westbrook got clobbered on the head on field goal attempts), they shot an abysmal 55 percent from the free throw line and lucked out with Durant and Westbrook missing a lot of shots that they normally knocked down, but even with all of that, it was still a huge win and a well played game from the Lakers. The Lakers now have one more home game before they hit the road for their Grammy trip. New Orleans is up next with their first three road games coming against Phoenix, Minnesota and Detroit. This is definitely a win they can build on, and in a perfect world, they will.” Keep Reading…
