Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 26.2 pts, 7.5 reb, 7.2 ast (1)
LeBron averaged 30 points on 55% shooting this week for the Heat, but they still failed to beat another of the top teams in the East last night, going down to Chicago and fellow MVP candidate Derrick Rose. You can't blame James for the loss, however, because there were very few negatives in his performance.
2. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.5 pts, 6.9 reb, 4.4 ast (2)
Wade was also not the one to blame for Miami's loss last night, as he put up 34 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the game, but unless he can outplay James for the remainder of the season, he doesn't stand any real chance of passing the King and taking home his first MVP.
3. Derrick Rose - CHI - 25.0 pts, 4.4 reb, 8.2 ast (3)
You would think that beating Miami last night would have helped Rose's ranking, but you can't forget that Chicago lost their previous game to Toronto, which is much worse than Miami's loss to Chicago. Rose has shot below 37% since the All-Star game, definitely not an MVP-caliber number.
4. Kevin Durant - OKC - 28.8 pts, 7.1 reb, 2.8 ast (4)
After two blowout games where he didn't get much playing time, Durant finally got some serious minutes against the Spurs this week, and he responded with another 30-point game, but the Thunder weren't quite able to pull off the upset of top-ranked San Antonio.
5. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 25.2 pts, 5.4 reb, 4.8 ast (6)
Kobe and the Lakers are returning to form since the All-Star break, starting with Kobe scoring 20 in just 26 minutes of their blowout over Atlanta, and continuing with Kobe's 37 in their overtime victory over surging Portland, which was good enough to make him the Player of the Day.
6. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.7 pts, 10.5 reb, 3.6 ast (7)
Pau has now put up a double-double in 4 straight games, and the Lakers have won the last two. It's too bad his 30-20 game against Cleveland was wasted last week, because that could have been a signature game for him and possibly pushed him farther ahead in this race.
7. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.1 pts, 4.9 reb, 8.5 ast (5)
Westbrook has only averaged 19 points and 7 assists in the first two games since the All-Star game, and he only scored 10 in the game right before the break, and when you couple that with another loss, it means that he has to drop a couple spots.
8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 22.7 pts, 6.6 reb, 2.5 ast (8)
Dirk had a very average game in Dallas first game since the break, nearly matching all of his averages perfectly in the Mavericks' 19-point win over Utah. If Dallas can get back to where they were before his injury, look for him to climb back into the top 5 before the season's over.
9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 23.0 pts, 13.9 reb, 2.1 blk (9)
Howard has now scored 30 points in 3 straight games and 4 of Orlando's past 5, and he also grabbed 17 rebounds in 3 of those games. If Orlando could just win a little more consistently, the big man would have moved up a couple spots.
10. Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 26.0 pts, 8.2 reb, 2.2 blk (10)
Amare only had 19 points in his first game alongside Carmelo Anthony, and he may continue to take a statistical hit for the rest of the season, which will probably knock him out of this race, especially with LaMarcus Aldridge coming on strong right now.
Closing in:
LaMarcus Aldridge, Carlos Boozer
Rookie of the Year
1. Blake Griffin - LAC - 22.8 pts, 12.6 reb, 3.6 ast (1)
Griffin has still been his usual awesome self after winning the Slam Dunk contest this year even after coming in as the favorite, but the Clippers are still struggling to win many games. Their long road trip will mercifully end this week.
2. John Wall - WAS - 15.2 pts, 4.3 reb, 9.0 ast (2)
Wall's huge performance in the Rookie-Sophomore game over All-Star weekend seems to have given him some extra confidence, and on Wednesday he had one of the best games of his young career, finishing with 21 points, 12 assists, and 5 rebounds against the 76ers.
3. DeMarcus Cousins - SAC - 13.8 pts, 8.2 reb, 1.9 ast (3)
Cousins has not played very well this week, failing to reach double figures in either of Sacramento's games, the first time that has happened since the end of December. Another week like this and Cousins will be going back down this list.
4. Landry Fields - NYK - 10.0 pts, 7.1 reb, 2.0 ast (4)
Fields avoided being traded this week, although his name did come up in the Carmelo rumors, but still only scored 7 points in 43 minutes as New York beat Milwaukee this week. While he's never been a big scorer, his role may continue to diminish with another star in town.
5. Greg Monroe - DET - 7.9 pts, 6.6 reb, 0.9 ast (NR)
Monroe led off the second part of the season with two double-doubles, and the latest one was a very impressive 27-point, 12-rebound performance against Indiana in a game that the Pistons nearly won. There's still a bit of a gap between him and Fields, but if he keeps playing this well, he could get as high as #3 before the season is over.
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jason Terry - DAL - 15.8 pts, 1.9 reb, 4.4 ast (1)
Terry has not reached the 20-point mark in over 2 weeks, and with a couple of solid challengers for this award, he needs to turn it around to hold on to his lead. With Dallas getting back to normal, he should be able to settle back into his role soon.
2. Ramon Sessions - CLE - 12.4 pts, 2.9 reb, 5.4 ast (2)
Sessions started again in Cleveland game against Houston this week, putting up 20 points with 12 assists in another close loss, but he is expected to give the starting point guard spot up to Baron Davis once he gets comfortable in Cleveland, which should allow Sessions to remain eligible for this award.
3. Jamal Crawford - ATL - 15.1 pts, 1.8 reb, 3.4 ast (3)
Crawford has increased his scoring totals now for 5 straight games, reaching 19 against Phoenix on Wednesday, and if he continues his upward trend, it's just a matter of time before he regains the top spot.
4. Shawn Marion - DAL - 11.7 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.2 ast (4)
Marion has put together a very solid stretch of 5 games, scoring between 12 and 19 in each of those games, which means that his scoring average has been increasing in each of those games also. He has now scored in double-figures in 12 of Dallas' last 14 games.
5. Thaddeus Young - PHI - 12.2 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.1 ast (5)
Young has scored at least 18 in each of Philadelphia's last 4 games, all while shooting 64% from the field and helping the 76ers win 3 of those games to help them solidify their playoff positioning.
Most Improved Player
1. Dorell Wright - GSW - +9.4 pts, +2.4 reb, +1.9 ast (1)
Wright scored 19 points in Golden State's loss to Boston this week, which is above his season average, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset, just like his first round in the 3-point shootout during All-Star weekend.
2. Kevin Love - MIN - +6.9 pts, +4.4 reb, +0.2 ast (2)
The double-double machine is still on the tracks, single-handedly keeping Minnesota competitive in most of their games. His scoring has dipped a little recently, but he's probably feeling the pressure of trying to carry a team for an entire season.
3. D.J. Augustin - CHA - +7.9 pts, +1.6 reb, +3.7 ast (3)
The All-Star break looks like it did wonders for Augustin, who scored in double figures for the first time in about 2 weeks in Charlotte's win over Toronto on Tuesday. He finished with 23 points on 53% shooting, and had 8 assists in addition.
4. Nick Young - WAS - +8.9 pts, +1.4 reb, +0.6 ast (4)
Young is currently struggling with a sore knee, but he still managed to score 16 and 15 in Washington's two latest losses. He'll be back to his high-scoring ways as soon as his knee is back to full health.
5. Eric Gordon - LAC - +7.2 pts, +0.6 reb, +1.5 ast (5)
Gordon still has not returned from his wrist injury, but the latest reports are that he is aiming for a return on Monday against Sacramento, and the Clippers could sure use his help on the offensive side of the ball.
NBA Player of the Day
Dwyane Wade - MIA - 34 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 12-24 FG, 10-12 FT
The Heat may have lost last night, but it was not because James and Wade didn't play well, because they were the two best players on the court last night, just like most nights. The problem was with Chris Bosh, who shot a horrible 1 for 18 from the field, one of the worst shooting nights in history.
Predictions - 25 Feb
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Suns at Raptors - Suns by 2
Jazz at Pacers - Pacers by 3
Pistons at 76ers - 76ers by 8
Kings at Bobcats - Bobcats by 5
Knicks at Cavaliers - Knicks by 7
Wizards at Heat - Heat by 17
Hornets at Timberwolves - Hornets by 5
Thunder at Magic - Magic by 5
Nets at Spurs - Spurs by 16
Hawks at Warriors - Hawks by 1
Clippers vs. Lakers - Lakers by 9
Nuggets at Trail Blazers - Trail Blazers by 1
Prediction Results - 24 Feb
NBA: 1-1 (.500) 479-197 overall (.709)
College Basketball: 4-2 (.667) 487-114 overall (.810)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 125-79 overall (.613)
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