Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 26.6 pts, 7.2 reb, 7.3 ast (1)
LeBron just finished off a week in which the Heat won four straight in spectacular fashion, by becoming the first player this season to score 50 points, and he did it against the Orlando Magic and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dwight Howard. Just when you start to question whether he is still the league's best player, he goes out and proves it.
2. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.4 pts, 6.7 reb, 4.1 ast (2)
D-Wade may not be as good as LeBron (nobody is), but he has scored at least 30 points in 10 of his past 15 games for Miami. It's very rare that the two best players in the league are on the same team outside of the All-Star Game, but Miami has been able to make that claim for several weeks now.
3. Derrick Rose - CHI - 24.6 pts, 4.6 reb, 8.2 ast (3)
Rose now says that his ulcer troubles are behind him, and he proved it on Wednesday, scoring 32 points while leading to the Bulls to a win over the Clippers at the Staples Center, a feat no team had accomplished in a month. He also has Chicago on a 6-game winning streak and just one-half game behind Miami for the #2 spot in the East.
4. Kevin Durant - OKC - 29.3 pts, 6.8 reb, 2.8 ast (6)
Durant has now scored over 40 points in 3 of the last 4 games for Oklahoma City, and in the game he failed to reach that milestone, he managed only a measly 33. His scoring average is inching closer to 30 each time he steps on the court, and the Thunder have now taken control of the Northwest Division.
5. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 25.4 pts, 5.1 reb, 5.0 ast (5)
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Kobe is now officially the best player on the Lakers this season. Before last night's clunker against the Spurs, Bryant was averaging 37 points per game for the week, which makes up for the fact that his team has now lost 3 of 4 again.
6. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.4 pts, 5.1 reb, 8.5 ast (7)
Kevin Durant was not named Player of the Day both times he scored over 40 points this week, due to the fact that in one of those games his teammate, Westbrook, put up an even more impressive line with 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. While the rest of his week was not nearly as impressive, the strength of that performance alone nudged him up a spot.
7. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.4 pts, 10.5 reb, 1.9 blk (4)
As Pau goes, so go the Lakers. When the big man failed to reach a double-double this week, the Lakers lost all 3. In the game that he put up 26 points and 16 rebounds, the Lakers pulled off a win against Houston. Kobe will continue to score, win or lose, but for the Lakers to win the title, Pau has to be the driving force.
8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 23.2 pts, 6.9 reb, 2.5 ast (9)
Last week I mentioned that Dirk's shooting percentage had not returned to where it was pre-injury, and that it was the main reason the Mavs were not winning consistently. That now appears to be a thing of the past, as Dirk shot 65.7% from the field this week as Dallas extended its new winning streak to 6.
9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 22.3 pts, 13.6 reb, 2.2 blk (8)
Howard averaged over 25 points and 16 rebounds per game this week, including 40 points against Chicago and a 20-20 game against Cleveland, but he slips a spot this week due to the fact that Orlando only won one game this week, and that game was against a team with one win in the past 2 months.
10. Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 26.1 pts, 8.7 reb, 2.2 blk (10)
Amare is still playing well despite a knee injury that has been slowing him down. The only place on the stat sheet that has showed a noticeable drop since he started limping is rebounds, where he is averaging only 6 per game over the past 10 days.
Closing in:
Al Horford, Carlos Boozer
Rookie of the Year
1. Blake Griffin - LAC - 23.0 pts, 12.7 reb, 3.6 ast (1)
Griffin's accomplishments up to this point in his rookie year were rewarded this week with a reserve spot on the All-Star team, a first for a rookie since 2003, when Yao was voted in by the fans. He's the first rookie selected by the coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998, which is very good company to be in.
2. John Wall - WAS - 14.7 pts, 4.1 reb, 9.3 ast (2)
Wall finally had a game in which both his scoring and assist numbers were solid, putting up 17 and 10 against Dallas last week, then followed it up with 4 points and 7 assists in a loss at New Orleans the next night. He's very solidly entrenched in this #2 spot, but there is no chance he will every make it to #1.
3. Landry Field - NYK - 10.0 pts, 7.2 reb, 1.9 ast (3)
After last week's big game against Miami, Fields did nothing this week to follow it up. His scoring totals slipped a little lower each day, and he is very close to dropping behind Cousins on this list.
4. DeMarcus Cousins - SAC - 13.7 pts, 7.7 reb, 1.8 ast (4)
Cousins was the key player in Sacramento's upsets of the Lakers and Hornets this week, averaging 26 points and 11 rebounds in the two wins. He also posted 20 points in the Kings' loss to Boston on Monday, but his rebounding numbers were slightly down and the Kings lost a close one.
5. Evan Turner - PHI - 7.4 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.0 ast (5)
Turner's biggest scoring output of the week was only 11 points, but due to the lack of any really good rookies this year, he retains his spot in the top 5. Any other year, Turner would not even make the All-Rookie 2nd Team.
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jason Terry - DAL - 15.5 pts, 2.1 reb, 4.4 ast (2)
Terry won the head-to-head meeting of the top sixth man candidates this week, outscoring Crawford 18 to 11 while his Mavericks beat the Hawks by 11. He also handed out 11 assists in that game, the first time this year that he had eclipsed 10 assists in a game.
2. Jamal Crawford - ATL - 15.7 pts, 1.8 reb, 3.4 ast (1)
He may have lost the battle of top sixth men this week, but Crawford is still one of the best at coming off the bench in the league. Sadly, the loss to Dallas may have been his best game this week, and he can't afford to have many more weeks like this.
3. J.R. Smith - DEN - 11.8 pts, 3.9 reb, 2.0 ast (4)
Smith finally started scoring again this week, posting 23 against Philadelphia and 16 against Portland. His 3-point stroke seems to be missing still, as he only shot 3 for 9 from long range, a trend that started the night after he hit 8 of 14 from downtown against Miami.
4. Thaddeus Young - 11.7 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.1 ast (3)
Young had a very up-and-down week, starting with a down (9 points against Memphis), then peaking with 21 points against the Nuggets, before bottoming out on Tuesday against New Jersey, where he scored only 2 points.
5. Ramon Sessions - CLE - 11.3 pts, 2.7 reb, 4.8 ast (NR)
Sessions is currently starting for the Cavaliers, but only until Daniel Gibson returns from injury, and he is taking advantage of the extra playing time, as you can see from the 25 points he scored in Cleveland's 22nd straight loss on Tuesday.
Most Improved Player
1. Dorell Wright - GSW - +9.6 pts, +2.4 reb, +1.9 ast (1)
Wright continued to play very well for the Warriors this week, averaging nearly 18 points per game as Golden State won 2 of 3 games. Wright often gets overlooked because he plays for a bad team on the West Coast, but he is the most improved player in the league this year.
2. D.J. Augustin - CHA - +8.7 pts, +1.8 reb, +3.9 ast (2)
Augustin has been making this a real race over the past month, putting up two more 20-point games this week, including an awesome 27 points and 12 assists when his Bobcats beat Wright's Warriors last week.
3. Kevin Love - MIN - +7.4 pts, +4.6 reb, +0.2 ast (4)
The league's best big man won't be playing in the All-Star game this year unless David Stern names him as Yao Ming's injury replacement at center, although Pau Gasol is also in the running for that spot. He played his worst game of the season on Tuesday, finishing with just 10 points and 10 rebounds, but did enough to keep his double-double streak alive.
4. Nick Young - WAS - +8.7 pts, +1.4 reb, +0.7 ast (3)
Young continues to score big as Washington's first option, and the Wizards continue to lose on the road. You can't blame him for all of the Wizards' troubles, especially since they traded away their 3 All-Stars from a few years ago for next to nothing, but at least one road win would be nice.
5. Jrue Holiday - PHI - +6.1 pts, +1.4 reb, +2.9 ast (NR)
Holiday reentered this list due to his first career triple-double on Wednesday, when he finished with 11 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in the 76ers' win over New Jersey. The 10 rebounds may have been a bit of a fluke, but the scoring and assists were not.
NBA Player of the Day
LeBron James - MIA - 51 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast, 17-25 FG, 3-5 3P, 14-17 FT
LeBron made this an easy choice today, scoring the most points of any player all season, and by far the most of anyone last night (Monta Ellis was 2nd with 24). He started the night off strong, scoring 23 points in the first quarter and hitting his first 11 field goals. It was the 9th time LeBron has reached 50 in his career, and all 9 have come on the road.
Predictions - 4 Feb
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Trail Blazers at Pacers - Pacers by 2
Knicks at 76ers - 76ers by 4
Magic at Wizards - Magic by 8
Timberwolves at Raptors - Raptors by 3
Heat at Bobcats - Heat by 7
Clippers at Hawks - Hawks by 7
Nets at Pistons - Pistons by 4
Mavericks at Celtics - Celtics by 5
Cavaliers at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 15
Thunder at Suns - Suns by 1
Spurs at Kings - Spurs by 9
Jazz at Nuggets - Nuggets by 6
Prediction Results - 3 Feb
NBA: 1/3 (.333) 394/548 overall (.719)
College Basketball: 5/6 (.833) 366/452 overall (.810)
Upsets: 0/2 (.000) 97/158 overall (.614)
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