The “race” to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award is over. It was really over a while ago, when the conventional sports media came to a general consensus (in print) that Kobe Bryant deserves to be this year’s MVP. The actual votes will be counted, and the Maurice Podoloff Award handed out in June during the Finals.

We’re used to seeing newspaper editorials published in support of one presidential candidate or another. But what if only the newspaper editors were allowed to vote? From a betting standpoint, you’d have a pretty good idea who the winner would be just from reading the papers. That’s what has happened to the NBA MVP race – the voters are telling you whom they are going to vote for, and why.

Betting on the MVP should remain one of the hotter commodities on the NBA futures market. It’ll just be a shorter betting season, cut off by the MVP bandwagon.

Charting the rise and fall of NBA teams is essential to good handicapping. Thus the explosion of power rankings on the Web. My current Top 5 is a blend of John Hollinger’s stat-based rankings and recent ATS performance.

1. Houston Rockets: Seventeen straight wins at press time, 14-1 ATS in their past 15 outings. Fifth in the Hollinger Rankings.

2. Los Angeles Lakers: The best team in the league right now in terms of quality. Scorching hot at 13-2 since the Pau Gasol trade, but may have peaked at 2-3 ATS in their last five.

3. Utah Jazz: After a 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS run to close out February, Utah has won and covered three straight. Hollinger ranks the Jazz sixth overall.

4. Orlando Magic: Were down to Carlos Arroyo and Hedo Turkoglu (!) at point guard, but getting healthy now. Orlando is 8-2 SU and ATS in the last 10 games and seventh in Hollinger.

5. New Orleans Hornets: No. 8 on the Hollinger list, yet a title contender and 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five.

We’ve cleared the halfway mark of the 10th NBA season since the Michael Jordan Bulls charged into the sunset. The Eastern Conference has been dominated by the West ever since. And for every Kevin Garnett that comes in, out goes a Shaquille O’Neal and a Pau Gasol.

But maybe the New Jersey Nets will get their midterm grade raised by sending Jason Kidd to Dallas by next Thursday’s trade deadline.

Boston: A+
Detroit: A+
Orlando: A
Toronto: C+
Cleveland: C
Washington: C-
Atlanta: D-
New Jersey: F
Indiana: F
Milwaukee: F
Charlotte: F
Chicago: F
New York: F
Miami: F
Philadelphia: Satisfactory

Looks like half the conference needs remedial school. The Sixers have performed admirably since the Allen Iverson trade (more Western poaching) and therefore receive a Satisfactory mark for their rebuilding efforts. Charlotte is no longer an expansion team, so no slack for the Bobcats. And of course, Boston and Detroit are at the head of the class.

What, no more football? No sweat. The NBA is ready to take center stage, and with a new look this season at the top of the standings. The Boston Celtics are clinging to first in the East, and the Phoenix Suns are a half-game up on the New Orleans Hornets (!) for first in the West.

The big story this week, though, is the significant trade that sent Pau Gasol to the L.A. Lakers. Going the other way is a relatively modest package including Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and a pair of first-round picks. The Lakers added a star player without touching their core assets; they’ll win plenty of games with Gasol, and when Andrew Bynum comes back – yikes.

The defending champion Spurs look like they’re out of gas, and the Suns are too thin to avoid the wear and tear of the playoff grind. How about a Lakers-Hornets Western final?

At this point in the NBA season, the best player in the league is LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He leads all players in points per game at 29.7, and in Player Efficiency Rating at 30.79, both career highs. Meanwhile, Cleveland is 12-15 (11-16 ATS) at press time.

Is there anything else James can do to get some more wins for his teammates? His shooting touch is still less than true: 30.6 percent from behind the arc and 72.4 percent from the free-throw line. But James has been working diligently on these things for some time.

There is one thing James could try, although behind closed doors: engineer the firing of coach Mike Brown. James has already been critical of Brown over his defensive style of coaching. Cooler heads prevailed then, but with the Cavs slumping and James with a player option for 2010, the King gets to make the rules.