Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 26.4 pts, 7.3 reb, 7.3 ast (1)
James' case to win his 3rd straight MVP is getting stronger each day. He scored 41 points against Indiana this week, his second straight week with a 40-point game. He is still the best player in the league, which he keeps proving. His stats are not that far below last year's numbers. He plays for the best team in the NBA (not the team with the best record, the best team). And his former team has now set a new record for consecutive losses, even more proof that LeBron is the Most Valuable Player in the NBA.
2. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.2 pts, 6.8 reb, 4.4 ast (2)
Wade continued to play second fiddle to LeBron James this week, putting up just one impressive performance, his triple double against the Charlotte Bobcats. They both seem to fit well into their roles, and Miami has now won 7 straight again, and they have their eye on the best record in the East, which is getting more likely with every Boston loss.
3. Derrick Rose - CHI - 24.7 pts, 4.4 reb, 8.2 ast (3)
Rose scored 36 points in 38 minutes of action against Portland this week, his highest output in nearly a month, but the end result was not the same. Last time he scored 36, Chicago upset Boston, but this time they lost by 6 to the Trail Blazers. Unless the Heat hit a big slump or one of their stars goes down, Rose will not climb any higher in the rankings.
4. Kevin Durant - OKC - 29.0 pts, 7.1 reb, 2.8 ast (4)
By his recent standards, this was a down week for the scoring leader, but the Thunder have maintained their spot at the top of the division, and Durant has now grabbed double-figure rebounds in 5 straight games, something he hadn't done in consecutive games yet this season.
5. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 25.4 pts, 5.2 reb, 5.0 ast (5)
Kobe has been playing very good all-around basketball so far this month, averaging 24.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.2 assists as the Lakers have started the month 4-1, with the only loss coming by one point to the San Antonio Spurs.
6. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.7 pts, 10.5 reb, 1.8 blk (7)
When Pau reaches a double-double, the Lakers are 23-6 this season, but they are only 14-10 when he doesn't. This week, the big man's big games helped LA beat New Orleans and Boston on the road.
7. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.5 pts, 5.1 reb, 8.6 ast (6)
Westbrook posted 3 straight double-doubles this week, but the Thunder last at home to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, which was enough to drop Oklahoma City's point guard down a notch in the rankings this week.
8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 22.7 pts, 6.8 reb, 2.5 ast (8)
The Mavericks' 10-game winning streak came to an end last night in Denver, but the only reason it didn't end a couple games earlier was that the previous two wins were against Cleveland and Sacramento, teams they could beat in their sleep. The loss to Denver was the third straight game that Dirk failed to score 20 points.
9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 22.5 pts, 13.8 reb, 2.1 blk (9)
Howard was a beast this week, averaging 25 points and 16 rebounds over 4 games for the Magic, but their week was marred by yet another loss, this one by 11 points at Boston, one of their chief rivals for the Eastern Conference title.
10. Al Horford - ATL - 16.2 pts, 9.9 reb, 3.6 ast (NR)
Al Horford makes his debut on the MVP rankings this week after missing two games due to injury, and it's easy to see how valuable he is to the Hawks when you notice that he was injured during their two worst losses of the season, the 34-point loss to Philadelphia this week and their 41-point loss to New Orleans last month.
Outside looking in:
Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony
Rookie of the Year
1. Blake Griffin - LAC - 22.6 pts, 12.6 reb, 3.5 ast (1)
You know you're good when it's news that you didn't record a double-double, which was the case for Griffin against New York two nights ago, just the second time since Thanksgiving he had failed to put up double figures in both points and rebounds.
2. John Wall - WAS - 14.8 pts, 4.2 reb, 9.0 ast (2)
After struggling mightily in a loss to New Orleans last week, Wall got his touch back, scoring at least 14 in each of Washington's last 3 games, but his assist numbers suffered as a result. The teeter-totter effect is still showing up heavily in Wall's stats.
3. DeMarcus Cousin - SAC - 13.9 pts, 8.0 reb, 1.8 ast (4)
Cousins was great in the Kings' close losses to Utah and Dallas, this week, putting up 25 and 14 against the Jazz and 19 and 15 against the Mavericks. He seems to be hitting his stride, which could be very good for Sacramento, which is already building a strong young foundation with reigning ROY Tyreke Evans.
4. Landry Fields - NYK - 10.0 pts, 7.2 reb, 1.9 ast (3)
In New York's 3 losses so far this month, he scored a total of 13 points. In their lone win, he had 25 points and 10 rebounds, the best game of his career so far. He may be the second weapon that the Knicks need to go along with Amare, but he needs to do it every night.
5. Greg Monroe - DET - 7.4 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.0 stl (NR)
Monroe registered two double-doubles this week, increasing his total for the season to 8, and all 8 have come since the beginning of January. The extra playing time he's been receiving lately has helped Detroit uncover a very good player in hiding.
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jason Terry - DAL - 16.1 pts, 2.0 reb, 4.3 ast (1)
Terry averaged over 21 points per game this week, shot very close to 50%, and only missed one free throw in 25 attempts. The result was four more wins for Dallas, and if he had made that free throw, maybe they would have had one more.
2. Ramon Sessions - CLE - 11.8 pts, 2.9 reb, 5.2 ast (5)
The spike in Sessions' productivity is probably a direct result of him being inserted into the starting lineup as an injury replacement, but it's no fluke. He is averaging 19.8 points, 10.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2 steals per game in February while shooting nearly 60% from the field, not bad for a backup point guard on the league's worst team.
3. Jamal Crawford - ATL - 15.7 pts, 1.8 reb, 3.4 ast (2)
Crawford came off the bench to score 34 points against the Clippers last Friday, including 5 3-pointers, but in their two games since, he scored only 15 points on 6 for 20 shooting, with no 3-pointers.
4. Thaddeus Young - PHI - 11.8 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.1 ast (4)
Young scored in double-figures in 3 straight games this week, 2 of which were victories for the 76ers, who are still in the hunt for a playoff berth, but only put up 7 when they faced some real playoff competition on Tuesday.
5. Shawn Marion - DAL - 11.5 pts, 6.5 reb, 1.1 ast (NR)
Marion reentered the list of the top 5 bench players this week after scoring in double figures 4 times, one of which was a double-double effort against Cleveland. He still doesn't seem completely comfortable as a reserve, but he is 32 years old, which is past the prime of most athletic players.
Most Improved Player
1. Dorell Wright - GSW - +9.4 pts, +2.4 reb, +1.9 ast (1)
Wright made a strong case for the MIP award with the near triple-double against Denver that won him Player of the Day honors, but he was completely shut down by Phoenix last night, scoring just 3 points on 1-9 shooting.
2. D.J. Augustin - CHA - +8.5 pts, +1.7 reb, +3.8 ast (2)
Wright's struggles last night opened a window for Augustin to slip through, but the Bobcats' point guard struggled this week as well, posting two single-digit scoring games in the same week for the first time under coach Paul Silas.
3. Kevin Love - MIN - +7.4 pts, +4.6 reb, +0.2 ast (3)
Love's double-double streak now stands at 38 games, the third longest in the NBA since the merger in the late 1970's. The only person in that time to post a longer streak was Hall of Famer Moses Malone, just the kind of company to be keeping if you're a big man.
4. Nick Young - WAS - +9.0 pts, +1.3 reb, +0.7 ast (4)
Young keeps scoring, and the Wizards keep losing. Washington plays at Cleveland on Sunday, which is the best chance they will have of winning a road game this season. Young better bring his touch with him.
5. Jrue Holiday - PHI - +5.5 pts, +1.3 reb, +2.6 ast (5)
The Pac-10 is will represented in this week's Most Improved rankings, which is something that we haven't been able to say about the current slate of players in the conference. Holiday contributed 15 points to the 76ers' blowout of Atlanta this week.
NBA Player of the Day
Carmelo Anthony - DEN - 42 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 17-25 FG, 5-7 3P, 3-3 FT
He may have fouled out in the final seconds, but it was Carmelo's big night that put Denver in position to beat the Mavericks and end their 10-game winning streak. It was the second time in three games that Anthony scored over 40, a trend the Nuggets will be happy to see as long as he's still in their uniform.
Predictions - 11 Feb
NBA
Timberwolves at Pacers - Pacers by 7
Hornets at Magic - Magic by 6
Spurs at 76ers - Spurs by 4
Trail Blazers at Raptors - Blazers by 3
Nets at Bobcats - Bobcats by 5
Clippers at Cavaliers - Clippers by 5
Heat at Pistons - Heat by 8
Lakers at Knicks - Lakers by 4
Bucks at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 6
Suns at Jazz - Jazz by 2
Prediction Results - 10 Feb
NBA: 2/3 (.667) 427/601 overall (.710)
College Basketball: 5/5 (1.000) 407/501 overall (.812)
Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 105/172 overall (.610)
No comments:
Post a Comment