On Monday night LeBron James had a game for the ages With 61 points on 22-of-33 shooting from the floor including 8-of-12 from the 3-point line.  For good measure, James also added seven rebounds and five assists in the 124-107 beating of the Charlotte Bobcats.   It has all of the NBA all a buzz wondering what it means for the MVP race and even LeBron’s place in League history.

Something else happened in that game is being overshadowed thanks to LeBron and his greatness. That is the play of Al Jefferson.

Jefferson has been on a tear as of late and his performance last night may have been greater than the rest (even in a losing effort).  “Big Al” made 18-of-24 shots on his way to 38 points.  He also added 19 rebounds against the defending champs.

Jefferson has been a perfect fit with the Bobcats and is one of the main reasons that they are making a strong push to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.  He is averaging 20.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists for a team currently in seventh place in the East.

Jefferson has improved his scoring this year by more than three points a night in his first year in Charlotte to make him one of only four players in the NBA averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game.  To see how impressive that is, all you have to do is look at the other three players on that list.  They are Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMarcus Cousins (Anthony Davis is .1 rebound shy of joining that group) . Not bad company to say the least.

After being bashed by the media constantly in Utah for his lack of ability on the defensive end of the floor, I am really glad to see Jefferson finding so much success with the Bobcats.  My hope is that they can make the playoffs so that the whole NBA universe can see how great of an offensive player Al Jefferson is.