There are two new players joining the MVP rankings this week, one that has been here a lot in years past, and one that has not because of a more famous teammate with multiple MVP trophies, but who has established himself as the team leader and is leading his team on the longest winning streak of any team this season. Here are my updated MVP and Most Improved Player Rankings, with rising players in green and falling players in red.
Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 28.0 pts, 8.1 reb, 6.7 ast, 1.7 stl, .546 FG%, .390 3P%, .764 FT%
Miami has won 5 straight road games by at least 15 points, and LeBron has been leading them in his typical outstanding fashion. At Milwaukee on Monday he scored 35 points on 16-21 shooting as Miami won in the second of three games in three nights. They were the first team in over 30 years to win three road games in three nights, and the first team in over 40 years to win all three by at least 10 points.
2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 26.8 pts, 8.2 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.3 blk, 1.2 stl, .508 FG%, .343 3P%, .828 FT%
Durant has been great this year, and he has the Thunder sitting at the top of the West, as they have all year, but he is probably going to have to settle for another second place finish if LeBron and Miami continue to dominate the East. Durant's best game of the week came in their lone loss at Houston, but he did have a perfect week from the free throw line, where he hasn't missed since February 9th.
3. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.6 pts, 4.9 reb, 5.4 ast, 2.0 stl, .469 FG%, .803 FT%
Thunder fans received a scare on Friday when Westbrook went down with a sprained ankle in a blowout victory over Golden State, but Westbrook says he is fine and will play today against Denver, so Oklahoma City can breathe a sigh of relief. Westbrook hit exactly half of his shots this week, but he has not been passing the ball as well lately, handing out fewer than 5 assists in each of his last 5 appearances.
4. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 28.9 pts, 5.9 reb, 5.0 ast, 1.2 stl, .440 FG%, .842 FT%
Kobe went off against Phoenix on Friday night, scoring 36 points in 35 minutes of action while grabbing 9 rebounds and handing out 6 assists and generally looking like the MVP he once was. However, in his previous game against Atlanta, he scored only 10 points on 5-18 shooting while turning the ball over 5 times. One MVP performance and one crappy performance cancel each other out, leaving Kobe at #4.
5. Dwight Howard - ORL - 20.3 pts, 15.3 reb, 1.9 ast, 2.2 blk, 1.4 stl, .553 FG%, .501 FT%
Howard did not put up his usual gaudy numbers during the first 3 games of Orlando's current winning streak, but he more than made up for it against Milwaukee on Friday, recording his 7th 20-20 game of the season and shooting a better percentage from the free throw line than from the field (it's true, you can look it up). He also blocked 4 shots against the Bucks in each of their 2 games this week, making a strong case for his 4th straight Defensive Player of the Year award.
6. Blake Griffin - LAC - 21.2 pts, 11.4 reb, 2.9 ast, .532 FG%, .533 FT%
Griffin scored at least 20 points in all 5 of LA's games this week, hitting over half of his shots in each of those games as well, while hitting nearly 60% of his free throws, which is a major accomplishment for him this year. Last night against the red-hot Spurs, he put up a 20-20 game of his own, although it wasn't quite enough to prevent San Antonio from winning their 10th straight game.
7. Chris Bosh - MIA - 18.5 pts, 8.3 reb, 2.1 ast, .490 FG%, .816 FT%
I thought that Bosh would be gone by now, with Wade back in the lineup, but he has been reinventing himself as a big man lately, grabbing more than 10 rebounds per game over the past week and shooting only one shot from beyond the three-point line, where he used to shoot much more often. He did struggle to hit shots this week, but with two of the best scorers in the NBA on his team, he doesn't really have to.
8. Kevin Love - MIN - 25.8 pts, 14.2 reb, 1.8 ast, .464 FG%, .366 3P%, .835 FT%
Since returning from suspension, Love has scored at least 30 points in 4 of Minnesota's 5 games, and he has grabbed an average of 16.6 rebounds in those games as well while lighting it up from all over the court. It almost seems that he is trying to prove that he deserves the spot he was given on the All-Star team, and you won't hear any arguments from me.
9. Tony Parker - SAS - 19.4 pts, 2.8 reb, 7.8 ast, 1.0 stl, .456 FG%, .800 FT%
Parker has been incredible all month, scoring over 30 points 4 times, including 42 points in San Antonio's huge upset of the Thunder on the eve of their long road trip, and he's not slowing down. You would think that scoring all those points would prevent him from sharing the ball, but he's also recorded at least 10 assists in each of the last two games to go along with those 30+ points, and San Antonio has won 10 games in a row.
10. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 21.9 pts, 4.3 reb, 4.7 ast, 1.4 blk, 1.6 stl, .493 FG%, .805 FT%
Wade is rounding into shape for Miami, scoring over 20 points per game over their current 5-game winning streak while playing only 26 minutes per game. Once his minutes get bumped back up to the 36 he's used to, look for his stats to take a nice jump as well. For now, he has to be mentioned here, even if he's not anywhere near the player he has been in the past.
Dropping Out
LaMarcus Aldridge - POR
Derrick Rose - CHI
Honorable Mention
James Harden - OKC
Pau Gasol - LAL
Most Improved Player
1. Jeremy Lin - NYK - +10.9 pts, +1.2 reb, +3.7 ast, +.102 FG%, +.080 3P%
Entering this month, Jeremy Lin's career high in scoring was 13 points, a figure he has now eclipsed 7 times in 8 games. There has never been a player who has suddenly emerged like this from the end of the bench to become a star in such a short period, and it just seems like the script of a Hollywood sports movie, but this is happening. Unless it turns out that these two weeks have been a fluke, which I highly doubt, there is no competition for this award.
2. Ryan Anderson - ORL - +6.2 pts, +1.7 reb, +0.1 ast, +.022 FG%, +.047 3P%, +.036 FT%
In a normal season, Anderson would be a very strong contender for this award, as he has improved across the board in a big way and become a great outside complement to Dwight Howard, but this is not a normal season in any way, but he is still the leader in the Second Most Improved Player Rankings.
3. Greg Monroe - DET - +6.8 pts, +2.1 reb, +1.1 ast, +.193 FT%
Monroe played his way into a starting role toward the end of his rookie year, and this year he has been even better. He has proven to be a real starting power forward, crashing the boards and scoring points in the paint, but he has been very inconsistent this week, with his scoring looking like a roller coaster, going from 27 to 4 to 22 to 3 over four games.
4. Jeff Teague - ATL - +7.0 pts, +0.5 reb, +2.7 ast, +1.1 stl, +.027 FG%, +.063 3P%
Teague seems to be slipping back into reality a bit, showing inconsistency everywhere but beyond the three-point line. Atlanta has been doing the same lately, losing 3 of their four games this week and falling behind Orlando in the race for home court in the first round. Atlanta's fortunes seem to follow Teague.
5. Marcin Gortat - PHX - +5.2 pts, +2.4 reb, +0.1 ast, +0.5 blk
Though many have yet to realize it, Marcin Gortat is the best player on the Phoenix Suns, despite the fact that a certain former MVP was named to the All-Star team instead of him. Gortat is leading Phoenix in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and shooting percentage even though just one year ago he was not even a starter and was getting only 15 minutes a game for Orlando.
Dropping Out
Marc Gasol - MEM
Honorable Mention
Paul George - IND
James Harden - OKC
Marc Gasol - MEM
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