Nba 2012: MVP Durant vs. James

Dal sito Nba.com:
Hard group to beat
March 30 -- The best races always come down to the wire, don't they?
This year's MVP race will be a photo finish with a pack of NBA stars sprinting to the tape. But the leader of the pack in this week's stage is definitely Kevin Durant, who remains atop the Kia Race to the MVP Ladder for the second straight week after nudging ahead of the Heat's LeBron James just a week ago.
But let's be clear, what looked like a two-man race for much of this condensed season has turned into a much tighter affair here recently. In fact, some of the best basketball being played in the league right now is by guys who have spent their time on this list in the bottom half of the top 10 -- most notably Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook -- and even down into the guys who don't get a rung like Steve Nash, Blake Griffin and Josh Smith.
The fact that we've had so few new entries into the top 10 speaks to the fierce competition that has gone on around the league. For someone to move up on this list, someone has to slide down. And when superstar performances are being turned in nightly, it becomes nearly impossible to rearrange this list without slighting someone.
The biggest risers this week are Love and Westbrook, whose recent work simply cannot be denied. They were the co-headliners, along with Durant, of course, in that instant classic between the Thunder and Timberwolves last Friday. Westbrook dropped a career-best 45 points, Durant added 40 points and a season-high 17 rebounds as the Thunder survived Love's 51 points to win a 149-140 double-overtime thriller in Oklahoma City.
Recently acquired Thunder veteran Derek Fisher summed up the performances best when he said, "The stars were stars tonight. There's no question about it. That's why those three guys were All-Stars in the Western Conference. I think they showed in every way why they're three of the best players in our game right now. Fortunately, we had two on our side, and they only had one."
They are three of the brightest stars in the league and three of the superstars racing to the tape in this season's MVP race.
-- SEKOU SMITH