The recent career high performance by Lebron James has brought about MVP talk. Also, can Lebron average 40 points a night?

The experts weigh in. In late January, Kevin Durant has wrested the MVP lead with a powerful string of performances. As OKC slumps, Lebron and his team are scary good again.

Despite his superior all-around game, it is difficult to separate the MVP award from scoring. Perhaps that is what propelled Lebron to take more shots. If he really wanted to, can Lebron actually score 40 points per game?

From ESPN:

Zach Harper, A Wolf Among Wolves (Minnesota NBA blog): (Yes) The problem, though, is that there are a few players in the NBA who could do this and it would never be a good 40 per game. They'd be forcing up a dozen horrible shots just to get their scoring average and it would actually take away from their game immensely.

Josh Krolik, Cavs Blog: (No) Even though LeBron is third all-time in career points per game, he's really not a volume shooter at heart. His game isn't perimeter-oriented; if he misses two or three outside shots in a row, he decides to break down defenses by trying to get into the lane or set up his teammates. To average 40, you need that Kobe/Curry/etc. mentality that you're going to make your next deep jumper, even if you've missed your last five in a row, and LeBron isn't wired that way, as we saw in his hot-and-cold Finals performance.

Brian Windhorst, ESPN: (No) He's not the kind of pure scorer like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant; he doesn't play the same way. To illustrate, Jordan had 130 regular-season games of 30-plus shots, Kobe has 105, and Monday was LeBron's 28th of his career. LeBron did average 30 points a game for a season earlier in his career and won a scoring title, but that is not his style."

The point is, if Lebron wanted to do that, he should have stayed in Cleveland. A team with scorers like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh does not need a 40 point scorer. Incidentally, Wade did not play in Lebron's 61 point performance.

The big question: Is Lebron the 2014 Most Valuable Player? Has he surpassed Kevin Durant?

"Harper: (No). I think it's a dead heat between LeBron and Durant for the final quarter of the season. LeBron had the advantage heading into January. Durant followed that up with his historic play up until the All-Star break. LeBron has come out of the All-Star break on a tear. We're even.

Windhorst: (No). I'm not sure he's the front-runner. A month ago, it looked like it was Durant's award, and now it's probably a tossup, and that says a lot because it's not like Durant has fallen off much."

There are still about 30 games for each team. It's a toss-up and also a race to the playoffs! James Vs.Durant will be headlines, perhaps all the way to the Finals.