The MVP vote. (NBA).

Sorry, Tim Duncan. You won Most Valuable Player last year, which is bound to cost you this season. Too bad, Kobe Bryant. The longer the season goes, the more obvious it becomes that you're not even the MVP of your own team. Don't get your hopes up, Dirk Nowilzki and Chris Webber. You won't get as much consideration as you should; your teammates are too good. That leaves you, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett. You're both having career years, you both deserve it, and you can be sure it's going to be a close vote.

The primaries

Garnett: The Timberwolves are battling Portland for the fourth spot in the West because Garnett has hoisted them on his shoulders. He leads the league in double-doubles and hasn't missed a game.

McGrady: Very little Grant Hill, no competent center, not much inside presence. None of those Magic deficiencies has mattered. McGrady leads the league in scoring and in spectacular outings. Like Garnett, he leads his team in points, rebounds and assists. (Garnett also leads in steals and blocked shots.) Like Garnett, he has kept his team in contention.

The general election

Garnett: For years, he seemed determined to prove that a really tall guy could play shooting guard. This season, he finally realized that being 7 feet tall is a good thing. "This is not the Kevin Garnett we used to know," Magic coach Doc Rivers says. "In the last 6 minutes, he's going down to the block, getting the ball and shooting it, whether he's double-teamed or ...