| RANK | PLAYER | RUNDOWN | LAST |
| 1 | ![]("http://sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/OKC_Durant_Kevin-e1352656994258.jpg "OKC_Durant_Kevin") |
KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: Gazing into the crystal ball, two sets of numbers will be crucial to his candidacy: We start with 50-40-90, which we should call the Bird standard. Durant remains on pace to become the sixth member of that club. The second set of numbers are the respective records of the Thunder, Spurs and Heat. They are separated by two games in the loss column going into Sunday’s games. Best record of the bunch will tip some scales when ballots are cast. | 1 |
| 2 |  |
LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: What a sick week! Let us review his past four games, collectively gazing in awe at the numbers … 10-for-16 vs. Toronto, 30 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds. 13-for-14 in comeback W at Charlotte, 31-8-8; 11-for-18 vs. Houston; 32-5-6; 9-for-11 against Clips, 30-6-5. Guy took 59 shots and made 43 of them. That’s sick. Field goal percentage now up to .560, which is 7th in the NBA. LBJ has taken more than 2X as many shots as each guy ranked ahead of him in FG pct. | 3 |
| 3 |  |
TONY PARKER, G, SAN ANTONIO: What’s the over/under on number of games Tim Duncan plays on the nine game rodeo trip? I’ll set it at 4 1/2, and lean toward the under. Last week I said I’d be watching Parker closely to see how well he can carry his team during this trip, which could end up with the Spurs having Al Jefferson on their roster if they can utilize Scott Layden’s connections to the Jazz front office. ICYMI, Layden left the Jazz and became RC Buford’s right-hand man at the start of this season. | 2 |
| 4 |  |
CARMELO ANTHONY, F, NEW YORK: Tempted to move him up to No. 3, but I want him to earn his bump with a closing flourish prior to the break — maybe something that remotely resembles LeBron’s 73 percent week cited above. He has been at a 50 percent clip — 10-for-17, 27; 10-for-10-for-23, 31; 13-for-26, 36; since his 20-point streak ended at a team-record 31 in rout of Kings. (His next game vs. LBJ is 3 weeks from today). | 5 |
| 5 |  |
PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: From the “I have no social life” files, I spent Friday night on the sofa watching the fourth quarter of Raptors-Pacers. Amir Johnson sent it to OT at the buzzer and Toronto won. Takeaway for the Pacers? Winning streak did not increase to 6, meaning national media will continue to ignore them (except here). George cracks Top 5 in these ranks, and he’s running away with Most Improved, IHMO. But I don’t write the MIP rankings, which we run every Tuesday. | 6 |
| 6 |  |
CHRIS PAUL, G, LA CLIPPERS: Maybe the worst stat line of his career in his injury comeback loss at Miami: 3 points, 3 turnovers, 2 assists in 19 1/2 minutes in which he was a minus-27. #betterwithbledsoe hashtag campaign will be organized if they continue slumping into the All-Star break. Grammy trips can be brutal. CP’s team is 2-4 in first six, with b-to-b Sun-Mon vs. NY-Philly. Don’t think Jrue Holiday hasn’t had this one circled on calendar. | 5 |
| 7 |  |
KOBE BRYANT, G, LA LAKERS: Holding steady at 7. Mamba is a snake in the grass. Will it be Portland or Houston that gets bitten? Or does the Dwightmare blow up full force after the “He’s not a doctor,” quote from D12 when Kobe said Dwight needed to play through the pain. I will make one and only one pre-deadline Dwight Howard prediction: If the Lakers trade him before Feb. 21, it’ll be a Jim Buss move that might not just cost him Howard, but maybe Mitch Kupchak, too. | 7 |
| 8 |  |
JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: Welcome back, James. We’ve been keeping you on the outside looking in because you have looked too much like a chucker on too many nights. But when you put together a string like you’ve been putting together (50 percent or better in 5 of last 8, including 13-for-16 show against Portland), we take notice and give props. For those who gamble, I’d take a risk on him winning MVP next Sunday on his home court. (We’ll alert y’all via Twitter when odds are posted). | – |
| 9 |  |
KEVIN GARNETT, F-C, BOSTON: After beatdown of the Lakers the other night, Garnett was unprompted when he told reporters to stop making up trade rumors about him, saying he “bleeds green.” He also has a no-trade clause, and right now we are watching him enable Danny Ainge to sit tight and continue to keep Paul Pierce in green, and we are suckers for Reggie Miller types who spend their entire career with one team. Whether they run hot or cold, it’s still safe to say they’ll be a tough out in the playoffs for someone — even as a No. 8 seed. | – |
| 10 |  |
RUDY GAY, F, TORONTO: Some of my Canadian tweeps have been pleading with me to give some respect to the Raptors for getting the best player — and exactly what they needed, their own version of Harden — in the big trade. And truth is, too much attention has been focused on Memphis’ slide rather than the Raptors’ mini-surge (2-2) with Rudy averaging 24.3. Canada’s team is 14 games under .500, which it’ll probably take to get No. 8 seed. Stranger things have happened. | – |
DROPPED OUT: Luol Deng (7), David Lee (8), Kyrie Irving (10).
TEAMS CONSPICUOUSLY UNREPRESENTED: Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz.
OTHER RANKINGS: Most Improved | Rookie | Heisler’s Power Rankings | Sixth Man | Euroleague
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 14)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 13)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 12)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 11)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 10)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 9)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 8)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 7)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 6)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 5)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 4)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 3)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 2)
(MVP RANKINGS FROM AFTER WEEK 1)
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Paul George over Cp3 ad Tony Parker is absurd.
George is having an Allstar season. But, the Clips and Spurs go nowhere fast without their playmakers.
So you’re finally going to suck it up and put LeBron at #1 this week, right? Because we just saw those two guys head to head- again- and it was blatantly obvious which one is the greater all-round player- again.
You seem like a good guy, Sheridan, so I’ll give you a comment. LeBron shooting 40% on threes is enough for me, but Durant, and his improved playmaking is still a valid choice. But Paul George over Chris Paul? Come on, man. I’d like to donate to the “please fill up conseco fieldhouse” fund as well, but now you’re just making noise.
But overall this site is much more intelligent than espn and I thank you for that
did somebody think tony parker has a chance to be MVP this year ?