The top players all played very well this week, but some of the MVP leaders saw their teams collapse around them, hurting their standing among the top players. Of the ten players currently on my list 9 are currently on teams that are in playoff position, and six of those also would have home court advantage in the first round. Here are the updated MVP leaders, with rising players in green and falling players in red.
Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 29.2 pts, 8.0 reb, 7.1 ast, 1.9 stl, .549 FG%, .379 3P%, .756 FT%
Each of the stats listed above is impressive on its own, but consider the fact that each one is higher than LeBron's career average, and these numbers are just mind-blowing. Actually, one of his stats is below his career average this season: his minutes per game, which is 3 minutes lower than his average, meaning that he's doing more than he used to with less time on the court. Miami is currently the #2 team in the East, and LeBron has done most of that without Dwyane Wade to help him out. Keep this up, and he'll take home his third MVP.
2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 26.3 pts, 7.6 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.2 blk, 1.2 stl, .507 FG%, .836 FT%
Durant and the Thunder have won 11 of their past 12 games, even though Durant only topped 30 points in one of those 11 wins. Oklahoma City now owns the best record in the entire NBA, and they may have the best chance at winning the Finals, especially after all the playoff experience they gained last season by making the Western Conference Finals. If Durant wants to win the MVP, he's going to have to at least keep the Thunder atop the West, but taking the top overall record would nearly clinch it.
3. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 30.2 pts, 5.7 reb, 5.6 ast, 1.2 stl, .454 FG%, .840 FT%
The Lakers have continued to struggle, but Kobe is still leading the league in scoring, and Los Angeles hasn't fallen completely out of playoff position, thanks to a win over the Clippers on Wednesday. His shooting percentage has continued to drop as the season has progressed, so if he doesn't get some help, his MVP back at home won't be getting any company.
4. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 20.8 pts, 4.7 reb, 5.8 ast, 2.0 stl, .456 FG%, .781 FT%
Westbrook celebrated his big, new contract extension with his best game of the season, putting up 28 points and handing out a season-high 11 assists as the Thunder won their 11th game in the past 12. The win gave Oklahoma City the league's best record, which is why they have two players among the MVP leaders, one of only two teams that can say that.
5. Chris Bosh - MIA - 21.2 pts, 7.8 reb, 2.2 ast, .527 FG%, .796 FT%
Bosh wasn't even in my top ten last week, but that was before he put up his best week with the Heat. He topped 30 points twice, both Miami victories, and shot over 94% from the free throw line, including a perfect 14 for 14 in their win over Cleveland. If he had played better last night against the Knicks, you might have seen him pass Westbrook for the top sidekick award.
6. Blake Griffin - LAC - 21.3 pts, 11.2 reb, 3.1 ast, .521 FG%, .504 FT%
Griffin's averages are down across the board this year, but the Clippers' best player is still an obvious MVP candidate, since Chris Paul's numbers haven't been as good as usual so far. It's obvious that Griffin is doing something right, and maybe that something has something to do with his shooting percentage, which is the only statistic in which he has improved this season. There has to be a reason that a different Los Angeles team is #3 in the West, and Griffin seems to be the easiest one to spot.
7. Kevin Love - MIN - 24.9 pts, 13.8 reb, 1.6 ast, 1.1 stl, .437 FG%, .404 3P%, .806 FT%
I had Minnesota down for three upsets this week. The first, against Houston, did not happen, but you can't fault Love for that. He scored 39 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while hitting all 5 of his three-point attempts, but Minnesota was unable to upset the visitors. Upset #2 was against San Antonio yesterday, when Love let others handle more of the scoring and concentrated on grabbing 16 rebounds as the Spurs went down up north. Their next upset chance comes tomorrow against the Lakers, who are currently in the #8 spot that the Wolves so desperately want to reach.
8. LaMarcus Aldridge - POR - 22.5 pts, 8.9 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.1 stl, .497 FG%, .773 FT%
This week, only one number popped out when you look over Aldridge's performances, and that was his 16-rebound performance in 28 minutes against Sacramento on Monday. Other than that, he had a pretty average week, and the Blazers followed suit, winning 3 but losing twice, which keeps them in the running for the playoffs, but did nothing to set them or their star apart from the rest of the field.
9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 19.9 pts, 15.6 reb, 2.2 ast, 2.1 blk, 1.4 stl, .555 FG%, .478 FT%
Howard has still been playing pretty well lately, but Orlando suffered two of the worst losses in its history this week, including a 31-point loss at Boston, a team that had 5 players sitting out due to injury. Howard shot only 4 for 15 during that game, which definitely didn't help things, but it seems that his teammates aren't contributing much at all. This morning Howard called out his teammates for their lack of effort in recent games, so we'll see if he can get some help or if he'll be leaving town.
10. Danilo Gallinari - DEN - 17.9 pts, 5.2 reb, 2.8 ast, 1.5 stl, .467 FG%, .887 FT%
Denver has won 6 straight games, and other than the dud he put up against Philadelphia, Gallinari has been the biggest reason. His best game came against his former team, New York, where he put up 37 points and 11 rebounds while hitting 18 out of 20 free throws as the Nuggets beat the Knicks to lengthen their slide out of playoff position. Denver, meanwhile, has the #2 record in the West and looks to have gotten the better end of last season's blockbuster trade so far.
Dropping Out
Andre Iguodala - PHI - 12.9 pts, 6.2 reb, 4.7 ast, 1.9 stl, .446 FG%, .371 3P%, .671 FT%
Last week Iguodala made his first appearance among the MVP leaders, and right on cue he had the worst week he could have possibly had, averaging just 8 points on 37.5% shooting as the 76ers lost twice, one which came to the hopeless New Jersey Nets, which is absolutely inexcusable for a team that was looking like a real contender just two weeks ago.
Carmelo Anthony - NYK - 23.6 pts, 6.9 reb, 4.3 ast, 1.2 stl, .394 FG%, .803 FT%
New York finally won a game this week, but it was despite Anthony, not because of him. The Knicks' best player scored just 1 point in 30 minutes of action, quite possibly the worst game of any MVP candidate in history. In the game before that he was severely outplayed by Danilo Gallinari, the player he was traded for last year, and he shot less than 30% for the week. Maybe New York needs to give the keys back to Amare.
Honorable Mention
Derrick Rose - CHI
Carlos Boozer - CHI
Joe Johnson - ATL
James Harden - OKC
Josh Smith - ATL
Paul Millsap - UTA
Most Improved Player
1. Jeff Teague - ATL - +6.8 pts, +0.8 reb, +3.3 ast, +1.5 stl, +4.0% FG%, +3.0% 3P%
Teague stepped in as Atlanta's starting point guard in his third NBA season, and he is showing that that is exactly where he belongs. Atlanta has been one of the surprises in the East so far, currently holding the #3 spot in the conference, and Teague has been a surprise also, currently ranked #5 in the league in steals per game.
2. Greg Monroe - DET - +6.4 pts, +2.1 reb, +1.5 ast, +20.5% FT%
Monroe became a starter midway through his rookie season, and slowly climbed the Rookie of the Year rankings, although Blake Griffin and John Wall made it impossible for him to win the award, but he is even better this year than he was toward the end of last year, establishing himself as the best player in Detroit despite being only 21 years old, and he has put up two straight 20-10 games against two of the three best teams in the East.
3. Ryan Anderson - ORL - +6.0 pts, +1.2 reb, +3.0% 3P%, +6.6% FT%
Anderson has been a huge surprise so far this season, hitting over 42% of his threes so far, although he shooting nearly 60% of his shots from back there. The common thread in Orlando's two blowout losses this week was Anderson, who missed all 8 of his shots and failed to score against Boston, then didn't play against New Orleans because of a calf injury.
4. Marc Gasol - MEM - +3.2 pts, +3.2 reb, +0.7 ast
There is now a real debate over which of the Gasol brothers is a better player, and statistically there is little separating the two. Even with Rudy Gay returning, Gasol has set himself apart as the best Grizzly this year, and his three double-doubles this week are a large part of the reason that Memphis is in contention for the playoffs.
5. Marcin Gortat - PHX - +4.7 pts, +2.0 reb, +1.7% FG%
Gortat went from playing only 15 minutes per game and averaging 4 points as Dwight Howard's backup early last season to leading the Phoenix Suns in scoring in less than one season. He had 9 straight double-doubles until he was held to only 8 points against Portland last night, but there is no doubt that he was just sitting there ready to explode last season.
Honorable Mention
Ty Lawson - DEN
Kyle Lowry - HOU
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