By MICHAEL DAUBER
STAFF WRITER

A little over halfway through the season, people have already begun the perennial discussion of the only award that really matters in the eyes of most NBA fans during the regular season: the MVP award. This year we have the usual suspects in contention, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant showing their top stuff. In my eyes, however, this year’s debate is a little different than the discussion the league has held the past few years. Instead of Durant vs James, as is usually the case, the matchup this year should really be Durant against Paul George.

Before anyone gets mad, let me just say that LeBron James has by no means had a bad season. James is currently posting 26.2 points per game, which is roughly in line with his career average. He has continued to shoot efficiently both from the field and from deep, and he has even bumped his free throw percentage into the eighties, settling one of the only criticisms naysayers had to offer thus far in his illustrious career. I don’t see him as the league MVP this year, however, for his general failure to secure the best record in the league for his team. Granted, this shouldn’t be his responsibility in the first place, but that didn’t stop him from shoring up his squad each of the past two seasons as Dwyane Wade’s health and performance steadily declined. In addition, James has failed to put forth any serious scoring rampages or heroic victories so far this season, leading many to say he is simply “coasting” this season.

Kevin Durant has been on an absolute rampage lately. If LeBron James is supposed to be the best player on the planet, the Durantula clearly missed the memo. He has scored 25 points or more in his last 15 games and went off for 54 points in one game in January. In addition, his scoring binge in January placed him among the top five all-time for points scored in one month. Durant’s performance has been spurred by the loss of Russell Westbrook to knee surgery. Westbrook will return soon, but Durant recognized the need to excel in order to keep his team atop an always competitive Western Conference.

Paul George is something of a growing phenomenon in the NBA. In 2012 he was instrumental in pushing the Indiana Pacers to the conference semi-finals against Miami, and he was voted the league’s most improved player. Last year he garnered his first all-star appearance and drove Miami to the brink in the conference final, matching LeBron James in terms of his contributions. This year, George sits at 22.8 points per game and 6.4 assists per game. He has lead his team to the number one seed in the East and has helped best Miami once this season. Indiana lost twice to Miami, but in one of them George was the victim of a no-call three-point foul by LeBron James. George most likely would have made the free throws to tie or win the game, and he would have beaten the King twice if not for the refs’ tendency not to call fouls in the closing seconds of a game.

So who ought to be MVP? Personally, I’m compelled to say Paul George, simply for the fact that his team could not have gotten nearly as far as it has without him. Indiana has other big players such as Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson, but neither one of them could lead Indiana to the top of the East if George weren’t around. One could make the same argument for Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, yet OKC is buoyed (except for the past few weeks) by Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, both all-star caliber players. In the trip to the finals in 2012, it was Westbrook, not Durant, who did the most damage to Miami and carried the team. Even though most fans will yell at me, I see George as more valuable to his team than Durant is to OKC. The award is supposed to go to the player who does the most for his team. In recent years, this has generally become code for the player who puts up the best numbers. If everything were perfect, however, I would say that George should get the award; Indiana just wouldn’t be Indiana without him. Even though Durant may very well pick up the award this spring, just look beyond the stats to see the diamond in the rough.