| RANK | PLAYER | RUNDOWN | LAST |
| 1 |  |
LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: He received the best restaurant recommendation he will ever receive on Wednesday night, but whether he made use of it in Milwaukee remains an unknown. When I told him the steakhouse was in Jeffrey Dahmer’s old neighborhood, LeBron was quick to note that Dahmer was doing his business in Ohio before be relocated to the section of Milwaukee just west of Marquette. For the record, I think the team with the best chance of ending Miami’s streak is the Celtics on Monday night in Boston. | 1 |
| 2 |  |
DWYANE WADE, G, MIAMI: Where is KD, you ask? Hey, hey ain’t the only one who can be Not Nice. Check out Wade’s last 12 games as second fiddle: 24, 20, 21, 23, 23, 22, 24, 32, 20, 22, 39, 24, 33. How many times did he shoot 50 percent of better in those games? Once, when he went 8-for-17 against the Bucks at his old stomping grounds. Some intel you won’t find elsewhere — DWade is not expecting much from Marquette in the NCAA tourney. (You can enter our $100,000 bracket challenge, $75K to winner, between now and noon EST Thursday.) | 3 |
| 3 | ![]("http://sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/OKC_Durant_Kevin-e1352656994258.jpg "OKC_Durant_Kevin") |
KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: In the past five games he has taken 69 shots (with 22 turnovers) while Russell Westbrook has attempted 79. In the previous four games, Durant took 87 shots (with 15 Tos) to Westbrook’s 104. Opponents are now clearly daring Westbrook to try to defeat them, giving him the slightest penetration opportunities to make him unwittingly hog the ball, thereby reducing KD’s attempts. The 6-7-8 teams would all rather face Thunder than Spurs-Clippers-Grizzlies. | 2 |
| 4 |  |
CHRIS PAUL, G, LA CLIPPERS: Since this is turning into somewhat of a Russell Westbrook-bashing rendition of the weekly MVP rankings, let’s compare the two PGs. CP3 committed a season-high 5 turnovers in the Clippers’ loss to the Grizzlies, the third time this season he has had a 5-turnover game. Westbrook has had 22 games with 5 or more. Paul is shooting .897 at the line. Westbrook is at .799. Paul’s FG percentage is up from last season despite his points being down. Westbrook’s points and FG pct are down. | 6 |
| 5 |  |
KOBE BRYANT, G, LA LAKERS: Drops one spot as a penalty for e-mailing Woj after the loss in Atlanta and complaining about Dahntay Jones, who did absolutely nothing wrong in defending Kobe on the shot that caused Kobe’s sprained ankle. I like Kobe, but I don’t like it when he acts like a diva. It is not befitting of a player of his caliber. Heisler is back in love with the Lakers, BTW. He’ll tell you why in this video and these Power Rankings. | 4 |
| 6 |  |
TONY PARKER, G, SAN ANTONIO: The tough love continues as Parker continues to sit out with an ankle sprain. He was No. 2 in these rankings before the injury, and the Spurs have maintained first place in the West despite his absence — which says a ton about Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan. And if you want to read a ton about Pop and Timmy, read this column and buy Jan Hubbard’s book, which is excerpted on this site. | 5 |
| 7 |  |
TIM DUNCAN, F-C, SAN ANTONIO: Returns to the ranks with a bullet after a prolonged absence caused by his 87-point February. (That’s right, 87 total points in 7 games, including an 8, a 9 and a 9 in the points column of three boxscores.) Back with a vengeance now, though, with games of 28 and 30 to snap a 12-game streak of not reaching 20 points. Spurs have won 6 of their last 7 without Parker, with Duncan grabbing double-digit rebounds in five of those games. Shooting a career-high .806 on FTs. | – |
| 8 |  |
PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: He is going to win the Most Improved Player Award, and he has been a fixture in these rankings all season. But when the official NBA ballots go out a month from now, I can’t see him getting more than a smattering of fourth- and fifth-place votes. He is having a spectacular season, but these guys have looked mighty mortal lately with late-game meltdown vs. Boston, blowout home loss to Heat, road loss to woeful Sixers. | 7 |
| 9 |  |
JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: To repeat: Please, please, please let there be a Rockets-Thunder first-round matchup. More on that here in our previous featured column by Jan Hubbard. These guys are going to be fun to watch in the playoffs unless they self-destruct in April. Remainder of March schedule is brutal, but 6 of 7 are at home. 6 of 9 April games are vs. lottery teams. | 9 |
| 10 | ![BOS_Garnett_Kevin]("http://sheridanhoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/BOS_Garnett_Kevin-e1357776933388.jpg:) |
KEVIN GARNETT, C, BOSTON: After passing Jerry West for 15th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and watching Paul Pierce move past Charles Barkley for 20th, KG gave an insightful postgame interview — maybe the best interview he’s ever given. (Hat tip to Ben Rohrbach, Celtics blogger for WEEI.com, for the video link.) Tied with Knicks in win column for first place in Atlantic Division. More here from Moke Hamilton on how much Knicks suck. | 10 |
DROPPED OUT: Carmelo Anthony (8).
TEAMS CONSPICUOUSLY UNREPRESENTED: Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks.
OTHER RANKINGS: Top 15 Free Agents | Most Improved | Rookies | Heisler’s Power Rankings | Sixth Man | Euroleague | Top 20 Draft Prospects
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 19)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 18)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 17)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 16)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 15)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 14)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 13)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 12)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 11)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 10)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 9)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 8)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 7)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 6)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 5)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 3)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 2)
(MVP RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1)
Chris Sheridan, a 20-year veteran basketball writer, is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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