After a short hiatus to focus more time on the NCAA Tournament, I've brought back my MVP rankings this week, but the faces haven't changed that much despite the time off. I'm still at odds with the majority of the world on my choice for MVP, but most seem to disagree with my choices for Most Improved and Sixth Man also. I'm just telling it like the numbers are telling me. Here are my updated rankings, with previous ranking in parentheses.
Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 26.6 pts, 7.5 reb, 6.9 ast (1)
Since the last time I updated, the Heat have gone 8-2 and LeBron has averaged 28.9 points over that time. It is hard to dispute that he is the best player in the league, and his team is still in contention for the top seed in the East. The fact that he won the past 2 MVP awards is being held against him.
2. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.8 pts, 6.5 reb, 4.5 ast (3)
As good as LeBron's been lately, Wade has been keeping pace, averaging 27.4 points over the same 10-game span and putting Miami in position to pass the Celtics and Bulls to lock up the top seed. I believe that LeBron is a bigger part of the reason for Miami's success, but Wade is a very close second.
3. Derrick Rose - CHI - 25.0 pts, 4.2 reb, 7.9 ast (2)
The Bulls have also lost only twice in the past three weeks, and if they had won those two, I would have put Rose neck-and-neck with LeBron for the MVP lead, but what happened in their last loss was disturbing. Rose's turnover total (10) was greater than his combined assists and rebounds (9).
4. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 25.2 pts, 5.2 reb, 4.8 ast (4)
The Lakers have not lost in three weeks, and have only lost once to Miami since the All-Star break, and Kobe is the main reason why. He nearly recorded a huge triple-double against Phoenix, finishing with 42 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in their closest game since Miami.
5. Pau Gasol - LAL - 19.0 pts, 10.2 reb, 3.4 ast (5)
Pau has scored at least 20 points in 6 of the last 7 games for Los Angeles, and they are undeniably the hottest team in the league today. If he keeps up this pace, who knows if the Lakers will lose again.
6. Kevin Durant - OKC - 27.8 pts, 6.8 reb, 2.8 ast (6)
Durant's scoring has dipped a little bit since last month, but his 3-point percentage is through the roof. He shot nearly 46% from long range in March, well above his season average of 36%, and that kind of marksmanship will come in handy in the playoffs.
7. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.0 pts, 4.6 reb, 8.3 ast (8)
Westbrook has the Thunder rolling, winning 11 of their past 12 games to take control of their division over the surging Nuggets and clinch a playoff berth again. Westbrook hit 4 3-pointers on Sunday against Portland, the first time he has made more than one in a game since mid-February.
8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 23.3 pts, 7.0 reb, 2.5 ast (7)
Dirk has picked up every aspect of his game in March, even his free throw shooting, which was already great. His season average is 89%, but he hit 96% of his charity shots this month, with only 4 misses all month. If only the Mavs hadn't lost 6 games in March, they could have overtaken San Antonio for the best record in the league.
9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 23.1 pts, 14.2 reb, 2.4 blk (9)
Even though he is a little behind in both categories, it doesn't appear that Howard has given up on leading the league in rebounds or blocks this season, with averages of 16 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game in March. He seems like a safe bet to win another Defensive Player of the Year award.
10. LaMarcus Aldridge - POR - 21.9 pts, 8.6 reb, 2.1 ast (10)
Aldridge hasn't been able to keep up the pace that he set around the All-Star break, when he was making headlines almost daily for his exploits on the court around the time of his All-Star snub, but he has Portland in a pretty good position entering the final weeks of the season, and has still managed to remain healthy in the Bermuda Triangle of knee injuries.
Rookie of the Year
1. Blake Griffin - LAC - 22.4 pts, 12.1 reb, 3.7 ast (1)
Griffin has never been anywhere but #1 in these rankings all year, and even though he is coasting into the finish line somewhat, there is absolutely no doubt that he is the league's best rookie, and if the voting isn't unanimous it will be an outrage.
2. John Wall - WAS - 16.0 pts, 4.5 reb, 8.6 ast (2)
The rookie wall sure didn't affect Wall, who continued to improve each month of his rookie season. His only bad performance was when he scored only 2 points against Miami on Wednesday, and that's easily explained away by his early ejection for throwing a punch at Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
3. DeMarcus Cousins - SAC - 14.1 pts, 8.6 reb, 2.4 ast (3)
Just imagine where the Kentucky Wildcats would be this year if Wall and Cousins had stayed in school. Oh, yeah, they're in the Final Four without their freshman stars from last year.
4. Landry Fields - NYK - 9.9 pts, 6.5 reb, 1.9 ast (4)
Fields is just another in a long list of Knicks players whose production took a dive after Carmelo Anthony was acquired last month. His performance after being a second-round draft pick is still very impressive.
5. Greg Monroe - DET - 9.0 pts, 7.3 reb, 1.2 ast (5)
Monroe has been the most improved rookie this season, turning into a very solid player for the Pistons once he started getting playing time in January. He is setting himself up nicely to become a future star.
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Lamar Odom - LAL - 14.4 pts, 8.8 reb, 3.0 ast (1)
Some people may not vote for him because he started so many games this year, but he is eligible according to the rules, and he has been a force off the bench for the Lakers all season long, especially against Phoenix last week, when he scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the victory.
2. Jason Terry - DAL - 16.1 pts, 1.9 reb, 4.2 ast (2)
The JET's production tailed off a little this week, when he scored a total of 11 points in two games in Los Angeles. If the award required that you start less than one-third of your team's games, he would run away with this award.
3. Shawn Marion - DAL - 12.0 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.3 ast (5)
After a disappointing start to the season, Marion has come roaring back lately, scoring over 20 points twice this month and grabbing more than 10 rebounds four times, all while playing fewer minutes than what he's used to.
4. Thaddeus Young - PHI - 12.5 pts, 5.4 reb, 1.1 ast (4)
Up until this week, Young had been having a down month, but consecutive games of 21 and 22 points showed that he is back at full strength and ready to help his team in the playoffs.
5. J.R. Smith - DEN - 12.2 pts, 4.1 reb, 2.2 ast (NR)
Smith has benefited greatly from Carmelo's departure, shooting nearly 47% from 3-point range during the month of March, which included his 9 for 16 performance against Detroit on the 12th, a game that he finished with 31 points, his new season high.
Most Improved Player
1. Dorell Wright - GSW - +9.4 pts, +2.0 reb, +1.7 ast (1)
Golden State had to play 18 games in March, but it didn't slow down Wright, who scored right at his season average for the month, and posted two games of more than 30 points for the Warriors, who weren't mathematically eliminated from playoff contention until a few days ago, a huge improvement over last year.
2. D.J. Augustin - CHA - +7.9 pts, +1.6 reb, +3.5 ast (3)
Augustin is slowly working his way back to January form, when he took over the reins when Paul Silas took over as coach and put the Bobcats in the playoff hunt. After a subpar February, Augustin has Charlotte right in the middle of the race for the final playoff spot with only two weeks left in the regular season.
3. Kevin Love - MIN - +6.3 pts, +4.3 reb, +0.2 ast (2)
After going for more than 3 months without missing a double-double, and setting a new record along the way, Love has had 3 games this month where he failed to record one, but the last two can be blamed on an injury that kept him out for four games.
4. Nick Young - WAS - +8.8 pts, +1.3 reb, +0.6 ast (4)
Nearly all of Young's averages are double what he recorded last season, despite the fact that his minutes have only increased by 65% this year. He has taken his talents to a whole new level this year, and the Wizards have a good young core to build around.
5. Jrue Holiday - PHI - +5.9 pts, +1.4 reb, +2.5 ast (5)
Holiday is finishing his sophomore season in strong fashion, scoring at least 24 points twice this week and reaching double-digit assists twice in the past 12 days. He'll be an important piece for the 76ers in the playoffs.
NBA Player of the Day
Rajon Rondo - BOS - 22 pts, 5 reb, 14 ast, 11-20 FG
Rondo finally had a good shooting game, and it couldn't have come at a better time for Boston, who was able to upset the league-leading San Antonio Spurs on the road last night thanks to the efforts of their point guard. If he can shoot like this in the playoffs, the Celtics will be very tough to beat.
Predictions - 1 Apr
Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.
NBA
Bucks at Pacers - Pacers by 3
Bobcats at Magic - Magic by 12
Nets at 76ers - 76ers by 10
Cavaliers at Wizards - Wizards by 4
Bulls at Pistons - Bulls by 8
Celtics at Hawks - Celtics by 3
Grizzlies at Hornets - Hornets by 2
Heat at Timberwolves - Heat by 9
Spurs at Rockets - Spurs by 1
Thunder at Trail Blazers - Blazers by 1
Nuggets at Kings - Nuggets by 7
Clippers at Suns - Suns by 5
Lakers at Jazz - Lakers by 6
Prediction Results - 31 Mar
NBA: 1-1 (.500) 664-273 overall (.709)
