Now that we are firmly into the 2nd half of the season, NBA teams still in contention are gearing up for crunch-time. Those teams will have to rely heavily upon their MVP candidates if they wish to not only make the post-season but advance deep in the 2011 Playoffs.
A number of the game’s top tier superstars like Derrick Rose, Amare Stoudemire, and Chris Paul are absolutely crucial pieces to their teams’ success and will play key roles in just how far they advance and even if they make the post-season.
In our last MVP Rankings in 2010, Dirk Nowitzki was our top dog, with Chicago’s Derrick Rose and New York’s Ama’re Stoudemire rounding out the Top 3. With the continued ever impressive all around play of Lebron James, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant, will we see a new player as our #1 selection?
Here are my NBA MVP Rankings for February:
1) Derrick Rose
Chicago Bulls
24.4 ppg, 8.1 ast, 4.6 reb, 1 stl, .442 FG%, ,443 3PT%, .826 FT%
Team Record: 34-14(3rd in East)
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The former ‘09 NBA ROY’s progress towards franchise player and elite level superstar is way ahead of schedule as Rose is undeniably almost there. He is averaging career best numbers across the board and has been the mainstay on a Chicago team which has been rife with injuries to the likes of off-season free agent pick-up Carlos Boozer and their defensive energizer bunny Joakim Noah. Rightly so, Derrick was voted an Eastern Conference starter for this year’s All Star Game and is arguably one of the Top 3 most valuable players to their team’s success. In January he was electric, scoring 20 or more points in 14 of 16 games, including 3 games of 30+. He even tallied his first career triple-double consisting of 22 pts, 12 ast, and 12 rebs against the Grizzlies on Jan 17th.
2) Dwight Howard
Orlando Magic
22.4 ppg, 13.7 reb, 2.2 blk, 1.2 ast, 1.2 stl, .579 FG%,
Team Record: 32-19(4th in East)
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Howard continues to be the league’s most dominant big man even as his supporting cast around him keeps changing. While his GM tries to find the perfect mix of shooters to compliment Dwight, the East’s All Star starter at Center keeps putting up eye popping numbers. He’s averaging a career high in PPG(22.4) and is hands down the league’s best rebounder and shot blocker. Even though his team went a respectable 10-6 in the month of January, Howard put up impressive numbers like 26 ppg, 14.8 rebs, and 2.5 blocks during the same span. For the month he had 14 double-doubles, including a 40 point-15 rebound gem vs Chicago and a 20 rebound game against the Hornets.
3) Amare Stoudemire
New York Knicks
26.2 ppg, 8.9 reb, 1.5 blk, 1.4 ast, 1 stl, .501 FG%, .784 FT%
Team Record: 25-24(6th in East)
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Although the Knicks have been struggling as of late(3-7 over the last 10 games), Amare remains as the key figure in the Knickerbockers’ resurgence to respectability this season. He remains in the Top 5 in scoring(26 ppg) and can be a force when he aggressively attacks the rim. For a player that takes as many shots as he does, Amare is remarkably shooting nearly 50% from the field and is taking a career best 8+ FT attempts per game. In January, despite the team going a mediocre 7-8, Stoudemire still put up great numbers to the tune of scoring 20 or more points in 13 games, including a 41 point explosion vs Phoenix. He also had 4 double-doubles to average 25 ppg, 9 rebs, and 2.2 blocks for the month.
4) Lebron James
Miami Heat
26 ppg, 7.3 ast, 7.2 reb, 1.5 stl, .477 FG%, .358 3PT%, .767 FT%
Team Record:36-14(2nd in East)
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Lebron is proving most of his critics wrong(myself included) by putting up some pretty ridiculous numbers lately. While many thought his offensive production could ever reach the once lofty heights of his days in Cleveland playing alongside D.Wade and Bosh in Miami. James and the team have apparently figured out how to play together since the club has gone 9-5 in January and has moved into the #2 seed in the East. Even though Lebron missed 2 games due to injury in the middle of the month, he still averaged a more Lebron-like 30.6 ppg and scored 23 or more in every game during the month. Despite starting the season off slowly, Lebron’s season numbers are now at or slightly below his career averages and currently ranks as 2nd in the NBA in scoring. We need to appreciate just how good his season numbers are considering he is nearly averaging a triple-double. On the season he ranks 2nd in efficiency(27.7), has 20 double-doubles, and 3 triple-doubles.
5) Chris Paul
New Orleans Hornets
16.6 ppg, 9.7 ast, 4.1 reb, 2.6 stl, .486 FG%, .452 3PT%, .902 FT%
Team Record:32-19(5th in West)
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Perhaps no team relies so heavily on the play of their star player than that of the New Orleans Hornets and Chris Paul. When healthy, he instantly makes them a contender for the Southwest Conference crown and a playoff participant. When sidelined with injuries, like last season, the Hornets are an afterthought and instead become lottery eligible. This season Paul has been spectacular and in turn, his squad has at times looked unbeatable. During the month of January, Paul helped lead the Hornets to an impressive 12-4 mark, including a streak of winning 10 straight contests. From the point guard position, Paul is the ultimate stat-stuffer providing whatever his club needs on any given night. For the month, he averaged 18 ppg, 9 ast, 3 stl, and made at least one trey in 12 of 14 games.
6) Manu Ginobili
San Antonio Spurs
18.8 ppg, 4.8 ast, 3.8 reb, 1.5 stl, .434 FG%, .367 3PT%, .874 FT%
Team Record: 42-8(1st in West)
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Even though Manu’s individual numbers aren’t as eye-popping as a few others on the list, he has been the best player on the team with the best record. He is leading the Spurs in PPG and steals, while ranking 2nd in assists and 3 point shooting. Teammate Tony Parker also deserves some credit for the Spurs tremendous start but with Tim Duncan beginning to show his age, Ginobili has taken up some of the slack offensively as he is coming dangerously close to establishing a new career high in scoring. Behind Manu’s outstanding all around play, the Spurs went a remarkable 12-3 in January with Manu scoring in double figures in 13 contests. For the month, he averaged 19.4 ppg, 4 rebs, 6.1 ast, and made a three in 13 of 15 contests.
7) Kobe Bryant
LA Lakers
25.6 ppg, 5 reb, 4.9 ast, 1.3 stl, .465 FG%, .309 3PT%, .821 FT%
Team Record: 35-16(3rd in West)
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Surely because we have become accustomed to Kobe’s year in and year out outstanding play, in addition to having some great complimentary players around him(Gasol and Odom), we sometimes don’t give the “Black Mamba” his due. Despite reaching hid mid 30’s, Kobe is arguably still a Top 3 player in the league and is once again having a tremendous individual year in terms of offensive production. While the 2 time defending champion Lakers haven’t been quite as dominant as we may have thought to this point, they are still seeded among the Top 3 teams out West, mainly behind the play of Bryant. In January, Kobe led LA to a 10-5 mark, while chipping in 3 games of 30+ points, including 2 double-doubles. For the month he averaged 28.4 ppg, 7 rebs, 6 ast, highlighted by a 41 point explosion in a loss to Boston.
8 ) Paul Pierce
Boston Celtics
19.1 ppg, 5 reb, 3.3 ast, 1 stl, .512 FG%, .420 3 PT%, .850 FT%
Team Record: 37-12(1st in East)
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Similar to the Spurs, it’s been difficult to pinpoint who the best player on the Celtics has been. At times, PG Rajon Rondo has been the man, especially since he leads the NBA in assits(12.5) but he has been injured. You also have to give credit to Garnett and Ray Allen, who rightly so will be joining Pierce in the All Star Game. The one constant has been Pierce. While his numbers don’t blow you away, you can pretty much count on him providing his usual 20 points, 5 boards, and a couple dimes on any given night. He currently leads the Celtics in PPG and ranks 2nd in assists, while shooting a career high 51% from the field and 41% from behind the arc. In January, he has helped lead Boston to a 12-4 record, while he averaged 19 ppg, 5 rebs, 3 ast, and made 2 or more treys in 13 of 16 contests.
9) Kevin Durant
OKC Thunder
28.9 ppg, 6.3 reb, 2.7 ast, 1.1 stl, 1 blk, .466 FG%, .339 3PT%, .883 FT%
Team Record: 33-17(4th in West)
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While he started the year off a bit slow, the “Durant-ula” has been coming on strong as of late to once again lead the league in scoring. While teammate Russell Westbrook(22.5 ppg, 8.6 ast, 5 rebs) has also played at an All Star level, how far the Thunder go this season is dependant on just how well Kevin plays. Despite struggling a bit with his long range shooting this season, he has been ridiculous in the month of January. He has scored 20 or more points in every game but one and has reached the 30 point plateau in 7 games, including 3 40 point gems. During the last week of the month, Durant put up 47(and 18 rebounds), 40, then 33 points in consecutive nights to help the Thunder finish a respectable 7-6 in January. In the month, KD averaged 33 ppg, 8.9 rebs, 3.4 ast, and has connected from deep in every game but 2 contests.
10) LaMarcus Aldridge
Portland Trailblazers
21.4 ppg, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1.2 blk, 1.1 stl, .487 FG%, .777 FT%
Team Record: 27-24(8th in West)
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Despite major injuries to franchise players Brandon Roy and once again Greg Oden, the Trailblazers continue to percevere with the remaining high caliber players on the roster and are somehow clinging to the #8 seed out West. While they have gotten contributions from 2nd year man Wes Mathews(16.5 ppg), Andre Miller(12.9 ppg, 7 ast), and Nic Batum(12 ppg), the true unsung hero has been multi-talented big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who I’d argue deserved a spot on the Western Conference All Star team. He is averaging a career high in PPG, rebounding, steals, and blocks, and has been one of the more difficult bigs in the league to defend up front. He has helped lead the Blazers to a 8-6 mark in January while he 8 double-doubles. LaMarcus has averaged 23 ppg, 12 rebs, 3 ast, and 1.5 blocks in the month.
Next 5:
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics – 10.6 ppg, 12.5 ast, 4.5 reb, 2.5 stl, .515 FG%, .308 3PT%
Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets – 23.9 ppg, 7.9 reb, 3.1 ast, 1 stl, .434 FG%, .811 FT%
Deron Williams, Utah Jazz – 21.9 ppg, 9.4 ast, 3.7 reb, 1.2 stl, .467 FG%, .366 3PT%, .855 FT%
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks – 23.1 ppg, 6.8 reb, 2.5 ast, .522 FG%, .408 3PT%, .873 FT%
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns – 17 ppg, 11.1 ast, 3.6 reb, .528 FG%, .410 3PT%, .916 FT%
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
