This month, I’ve realized two things are overrated: New Year’s resolutions and determining who’s better between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

We put so much emphasis on the start of a new year without thinking about just how random the date is. All it marks is a point on the Earth’s orbit, and if we’re not going to use in our everyday lives the days the Earth is closest to or farthest from the sun, one day is really no different from any other day. To us, nothing really changes on Jan. 1. Where is the start or finish on an ellipse? Someone (apparently, Julius Caesar) happened to pick Jan. 1, so that’s the date after which the waiting times for the treadmill at your health club increase thanks to all the extra people who resolved to lose weight. It’s arbitrary.

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Dislocated right ring finger and all, Kobe Bryant did just what the Los Angeles Lakers needed against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So did his teammates.

Bryant and LeBron James tussled to a virtual standoff Monday night, but Bryant’s supporting cast was far more effective, and that was the difference as the Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes despite dislocating the ring finger on his shooting hand less than two minutes into the game.

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Kobe Bryant won his first most-valuable-player award last season, but will LeBron James prevent a repeat performance?

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward has the better statistics and a comparable team record at this point. He also has an important vote — sort of.

Bryant seemed mildly uncomfortable when asked for his MVP choice near the season’s halfway point.

“LeBron,” he said. “Leave me alone about that stuff.”

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NBA math, courtesy of the Lakers: Two stars are better than one.

Monday’s game was supposed to boil down to Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James, but Pau Gasol pushed the numbers in the Lakers’ favor, an equation that turned into a 105-88 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Staples Center.

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His shredded pinky finger in the second half of last season, his back spasms during the playoff series in Utah, all more painful than the ring finger he popped into a unnatural angle while trying to swipe the ball from James early in Monday night’s game.

But the mere fact that we have some many fine, brave moments from Bryant’s career to hold up for comparison serves as a reminder of just how much further James must climb to stand shoulder to shoulder with the man he looked up to as a kid.

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After a taut battle, it came down to the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul. When Bryant outdueled Paul in the final week of the regular season to help the Lakers claim the Western Conference title, the voting for MVP was completed in rather tidy fashion.

After years of being regarded as the best player in the NBA, Bryant was finally voted as its most valuable, earning 82 of the 126 first-place votes in one of the most clear-cut MVP votes in history.

With the Lakers again on top of the conference this season, Bryant revving up his game in each month and just as valuable to the team as ever, it would seem he’d be the favorite to win yet another MVP award.