When February turns into March, the hope for all NBA coaches is that their teams will be fresh and up to the challenge of competing for respect around the league (relatively speaking for each team, of course). Sometimes things just happen that the neither the coaches nor the players can expect or account for.
In a lot of cases, after the All Star break, some players who were on a roll can run into problems.
That’s why these rankings only matter until he next ones come out, then the next, and so on. And the real votes that count are the ones cast at the end of 82 games.
Unexpected happenings are a part of life, even for NBA basketball players. Whether it’s on the court or off the court, it can lead to a change in production and statistics, sometimes to a point where it can hurt their chances at winning the award.
One thing that it does is make for, in the short term, is an interesting shift to the list.
Ryan Anderson moved from Orlando to New Orleans this summer, and that has been the most recent change for him. Since then, he’s been able to produce at a solid rate. His number haven’t been quite as impressive as they were back in January, but he still was able to shoot 50 percent on the week.
Aside from perhaps Jarrett Jack, whose lower shooting numbers this week may indicate some fatigue, Anderson may be the only player not going through something that’s a bit out of their control.
J.J. Redick, who has been a highlighted member of our list in past weeks, mainly because of trade rumors which eventually led to a deal to Milwaukee, seems to have settled in nicely to his change of scenery. There hasn’t been a single game since he joined Milwaukee where he hasn’t shot the ball well and helped his team. Despite the change of address and climate, he’s managed to continue to look good on the floor.
His influence on offense is more than just his ability to shoot the ball, however. His passing ability has been overlooked for a good portion of his career, and Bucks fans have developed an appreciation for it as of late, highlighted by his 7-assist debut against Atlanta.
Jamal Crawford, Kevin Martin, and Jarrett Jack, all had some issues this week. Their issues are wide-ranging, from the birth of one player’s child, to another where the player is simply on a team that is beating teams by too many points to play him, to something as simple as fatigue. Even with them in there, though, there were off shooting nights from all of them. On the court or off the court, change can make a big difference.
This is how they rank this week: