Perkins: LeBron James, for now, deserves fourth MVP

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MIAMI – Perhaps the main reason you think Oklahoma City superstar forward Kevin Durant deserves the MVP this season instead of Miami superstar forward LeBron James is because you think it’s “his time.”

That’s OK. It happens every now and then in the NBA. In years when the MVP race is closely contested, the award goes to our favorite player, or the player we feel is most deserving, or the guy you’d hate to see end his career without an MVP.

“LeBron already has three,” you tell yourself. “And he won it last year.”

Well, LeBron deserves a fourth MVP. This season.

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Perkins: Memo to LeBron: Take Part in All-Star Saturday

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MIAMI – LeBron James, the Miami Heat’s All-Star forward and the man considered the best player in the NBA, called it “a story untold.”

He has never been the top-paid player on the Miami Heat. He makes $17.54 million a season, the same as teammate Chris Bosh.

“I have not had a full contract max deal yet,” James said.

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Perkins: If Knicks protect the ball, they can beat Heat

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MIAMI – The New York Knicks commit 11.3 turnovers per game. That’s fewer than any other team in the NBA – and a major reason why they could beat the Miami Heat in the playoffs this year.

Forget about the Heat’s lack of rebounds and lack of size. They had those same limitations last season and won the title. The best way to beat the Heat is to take care of the ball, and that’s what the Knicks do.

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Perkins: Benching of Wade and Bosh shows savvy by Spoelstra

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What Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did Monday night is called coaching.

Or was it overcoaching?

That’s where the debate lies with his risky and somewhat questionable maneuver.

Spoelstra benched All-Star guard Dwyane Wade for the entire fourth quarter of the Heat’s 104-97 loss at Utah. He kept All-Star forward Chris Bosh on the bench for all but the final 40 seconds, when the game was pretty much decided. And he kept starting power forward Udonis Haslem on the bench.

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Perkins: Heat fans are feeling a bit queasy

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MIAMI – HeatNation is worried again.

Yes, the Heat (23-9) have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best record in the NBA. And, yes, they still have LeBron James, whose 26.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists allow him to maintain his title as Best Player on the Planet.

But there’ is grave concern among fans that their defending champion Heat are playing subpar, non-championship basketball.  We’ll see if the six-game road trip that starts tonight at Indiana does anything to quell their unrest.

The dissatisfaction – which has been simmering all season – is so palpable Heat owner Micky Arison took to Twitter on Sunday to address the rumblings, saying, “When did being 1st in the East at the beginning of January become not good enough for some @MiamiHEAT fans?”

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