RANK | PLAYER | RUNDOWN | LAST |
1 | LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: Just when it looks like he’s human – as it did against red-hot Memphis on Friday when he had just 4 points through three quarters – he shows us again why he is the runaway favorite for this award. Bron had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter, including a dagger with 24 seconds left. He finished 4-for-14 — only the second time in the last 22 games he has shot below 50 percent. | 1 | |
2 | TONY PARKER, G, SAN ANTONIO: As noted above, Popovich said Parker should be considered for any award being discussed. What wasn’t noted earlier was that Pop entertained the idea of becoming France’s coach for the 2016 Olympics. He said he’d only do it if training camp was held in Nice, because that’s where the best French food is made. Food over wine, Pop? What has become of you? And by the way, there is an argument being made that Pop is the best fit to replace Coach K for Team USA — past beefs with Jerry Colangelo be damned. | 2 | |
3 | KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: Two triple-doubles in February’s final week were nice. But 7-5 since January ended? Not nice. And that’s not the kind of KDIsNotNice campaign Nike was envisioning. He awakes today as NBA’s No. 2 scorer behind Carmelo Anthony and likely needs to return to No. 1 to move Thunder ahead of Spurs in the standings during their Parker-less four-week stretch. In six games prior to Sunday’s national TV tilt vs. Clippers, he made two 3-pointers just once. | 3 | |
4 | CHRIS PAUL, G, LA CLIPPERS: What we should expect Sunday is in-control vs. out-of-control. CP3 is second in assists (9.6) behind Rajon Rondo and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.42. OKC’s Russell Westbrook is fifth in assists at 7.8 but has 101 more turnovers than Paul for an A-to-T ratio of 2.20. For those of you who like advanced stats, Paul is 3rd in the NBA in PIE at 18 percent. What does this mean? I have no idea, but the site redesigners at NBA.com made a big deal out of it. I skipped Sloan Conference again this year. Quants make me queasy. | 6 | |
5 | DWYANE WADE, G, MIAMI: To quote Bill Russell speaking to Uncle Drew: “It has always been, and will always be, about buckets.” Last four games: 55 buckets on 84 shots for a nifty .655. Carried the Heat in the first three quarters Friday, when they snapped Griz’s eight-game winning streak. If he keeps that up, he might even catch Parker (.536) for best FG pct. among guards. Wade (.517) is the only other guard making more than he misses. His 16 3s are one more than last season. (He had 224 in the previous 3 seasons). | 5 | |
6 | PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: It appears he is going to be Most Improved Player, unless NBA.com/Montenegro has ballot stuffers pushing Nik Vucevic. Didn’t do anything bad to merit this two-spot drop, but Paul and Wade did enough to merit their northward bumps. Has 19 double-doubles. How many triple-doubles? I dare you to go to nba.com/stats (Exhibit A in how the quants have taken over) and look for that number. If you can find it in less than 20 clicks, you are a better person than me (the answer is … one). | 4 | |
7 | KOBE BRYANT, G, LA LAKERS: Seventh again. Still under .500 as we go to press. Jazz and Rockets hear his Sasquatchian footsteps as the Lakers close on the 8 seed, which he guaranteed. You want to bet against him? Has 33, 29, 38 and 40 in last four, taking 89 shots and making 53 for a Wadesque .596. Looking far, far ahead, if Lakers retain Dwight Howard, will Kobe take a 50 percent pay cut and keep Lakers out of luxury tax in 2014-15 to avoid the Draconian repeater tax? Some food for thought, discussed in more detail here with @KBergCBS. | 8 | |
8 | CARMELO ANTHONY, F, NEW YORK: Leads NBA in scoring. Might merit boost above Bryant if his team could sustain a winning streak, but March schedule is brutal and includes long-awaited return to Denver on March 13 – more than 2 years after Nuggets traded him. Shot 30 percent on 3s and took 21.7 shots per in February, down from .389 and 25.4 in January. Has shot better than 50 percent just four times in 2013. Now starting alongside James White, not the demoted Jason Kidd. Prediction: That won’t last long. | 7 | |
9 | JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: He’s 5-for-22 on 3s his last 3 games but gets some slack because he is at 52 percent overall and 30.2 ppg over last 10. Rockets don’t need a quant to tell Harden to go to the hole more. Leads NBA with 574 free throws. If he averages 35 ppg rest of the way, he could win scoring title. Rockets might need 35 a game from him to hold off Lakers (their opponent on last night of season). If there is a God, there will be an OKC-HOU first-round series. | 9 | |
10 | STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE: A better shooter than his dad. There, I said it. Never thought I’d say that about anybody except Dale Ellis when discussing old man Dell. His team has been struggling with a ton of road games but play 16 of final 22 at home and should be able to secure No. 6 spot. (More reassurance for Dubs fans in this podcast from Saturday afternoon). Just imagine if they had Andrew Bogut. Hey, perhaps they will for the playoffs. Prudence dictates Dubs keep Bogut shelved until needed, which will be Game 1 vs. Clippers/Thunder/Spurs. | – |
DROPPED OUT: Rudy Gay (10).
TEAMS CONSPICUOUSLY UNREPRESENTED: Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls.
OTHER RANKINGS: Most Improved | Rookie | Heisler’s Power Rankings | Sixth Man | Euroleague | Draft Prospects
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(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1)
Chris Sheridan, a 20-year veteran basketball writer, is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.