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SECAUCUS, N.J., Nov. 8, 2007 --It is bad enough when I get e-mails from readers questioning my player rankings in the Race to the MVP, but now I have a co-worker coming at me sideways.

Here is an instant messenger conversation I had with NBA.com editor John Jacobson.

John: Mo, take this as constructive criticism. There is no way that the Jazz’s Deron Williams is better than the Hornets Chris Paul.
Maurice: Good afternoon to you too.
John:: Oh my bad, how’s it going?
Maurice: Anyway, I don’t know about that. I originally thought that Paul was the more talented of the two, but last season Williams passed him by.
John: How do you figure?
Maurice: Where do you work at again? With the exception of Phoenix’s Steve Nash and New Jersey’s Jason Kidd, Williams was the best point guard in the league last season. He averaged 16.2 points, 9.3 assists and 3.3 boards a game and he led the Jazz to the Northwest Division title.
John: Williams' postseason performance and Paul's injury woes have wrongly convinced people that Deron had a better season, but if you look beyond the most basic statistics you would see that Paul was more productive. The Jazz would be better off with Paul at the helm and any Gm would be crazy not to take CP3 over his Utah rival.
John: And by the way, if you want to simply compare basic stats, Paul's numbers were great. He put up 17.2 points, 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Across the board, he had better stats.
Maurice: Last time I checked, 9.3 was greater than 8.9. I thought you graduated from Princeton? Check out what some fans e-mailed me:

Craig in Utah: I enjoy the column but I have one big complaint. There is no way that Chris Paul deserves to be ranked ahead of Deron Williams. Williams does it all for the Jazz. He is like having a second coach on the floor.

Donnie in Salt Lake City: Not only should Deron not be behind Paul, he also shouldn’t be behind Boozer. Ask any Jazz fan and they will tell you that Deron is the most important player on the team. Other than that, keep doing what you do.

John: They are both from Utah so of course they are going to say Williams is the best.
Maurice: The Jazz won 12 more games than the Hornets last season. And Williams and Carlos Boozer might be the best tag team in the league. You can argue that Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson in Denver or Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston are better but that’s about it.
John: Which is exactly my point. Williams has a better team, meaning Paul is doing more with less.
Maurice: Deron had a higher field-goal percentage (45.6 to 43.7). Paul had a higher free-throw percentage (81.8 to 76.7) and he took care of the ball better (2.52 turnovers to 3.08).
Maurice: Paul is better in the open floor because of his athleticism and despite being smaller, rebounds better. Deron is a better shooter and defender and the perfect fit for Utah’s style of play.
John: Did you see the numbers Paul put up the other night against the Lakers? He had 19 points and a franchise-record 21 assists … That’s sick.
Maurice: And one day later, Deron upstaged him by going coast-to-coast for the winning layup with a second left to offset LeBron’s Cavs.
John: Fine, we agree. They are both pretty good.
Maurice: Yeah, I would love to have either one of them on my Sixers.
Maurice: By the way, what is your beef with my rankings? This season, Paul, who is averaging 18.6 points, 12.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds for the surprisingly good Hornets (4-1) is ranked sixth, while Williams, who is averaging 22.6, 9.8 and 3.0 for the first-place Jazz (3-2) occupies the 10th spot.
John: Hmmm… I guess I shouldn’t have complained to begin with.
Maurice: Nope.

# Let me respond to some of your e-mails. And if you read this, you know I don't have a bunch of free time. Therefore, for one week, you get two-word responses.