First to the seeding stuff:

You should all go check out Ryan’s breakdown of seeding possibilites for the Hornets, Mavs and Jazz posted on today’s Daily Dime at ESPN.com (#9 in the sidebar). A quick excerpt:

Though the three teams only have two games left, the possible outcomes of those games combine to form 27 different final records for the three teams in question. In an effort to handicap the race, here’s a fast and dirty breakdown of how each of those 27 scenarios treat each team:

The Hornets have a clear advantage, owning the tiebreaker over the Mavericks and a two-game lead over the Jazz. Out of those 27 possible combinations, only one ends with the Hornets in the eighth seed, and a mere four end with the Hornets holding the seventh seed. Really, all the Hornets have to do to avoid the Lakers is win one game — or have the Jazz or Mavericks lose one.

Also in today’s Dime (at #8) Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes of Hell breaks down the battle between the Spurs, Rockets and Blazers for seeds 3, 4 and 5. Worth keeping an eye on that race because the Hornets will likely end up facing one of those teams in the first round.

MVP Controversy: Chris Paul voted fifth by ESPN writers

It’s not so much Chris Paul finishing fifth in ESPN’s MVP voting that’s causing a stir; as Hornets Hype explains, it’s the fact that five of the 18 writers polled didn’t even put Chris Paul in their top 5.

Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie isn’t impressed:

Marc Stein doesn’t even have Paul listed on his MVP ballot, which you’d think would be ridiculous to no end, until you see that he chose Chauncey Billups over Paul. We’ve found another “end,” apparently.

18 points per game, 6.4 assists, three rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 turnovers on the 6^th-fastest team compared to 23 points, 11.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals and three turnovers on the third-slowest (i.e., fewer chances to put up numbers) team in the NBA.

But it’s not about stats, Kelly. It’s not about stats. It’s not about stats.

Well, what is it about, then? I’ve been obsessing over this game for years … what the hell am I missing? What am I not getting? What is everyone else seeing that I’m not seeing? How could anyone rank Chris Paul out of the top two or three players in this game anymore? Why aren’t these people laughed at when they trot out Kobe or Dwight Howard or … Chauncey Billups?!?

To say that this guy isn’t even in the top five? And these are the people with votes. And these are the people who shape the way you view the game.

Last word to Hornets Hype:

I’m just sad for Chris. I’m sad on behalf of all the non- die hards who may only watch general sports news outlets like ESPN and therefore don’t know what they’re missing. I’m sad for the city of New Orleans, because just like the rest of us, the adopted son who bears our name on his jersey continues to be an afterthought.