January 8, 2014

Sheridan’s MVP Rankings, Jan. 8 Edition: Vegas Baby, Vegas

RANK	PLAYER	RUNDOWN	LAST
1		KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: How do I justify giving this spot to a guy who just lost to the Utah Jazz? Well, for one thing, he dropped 48 points for the second time in three games — but had the misfortune of doing it on a night when Gordon Hayward was out of this world good, scoring the Jazz’s final 17 points. That guy will be an All-Star one day. Durant, meanwhile, is encroaching on the 30 points per game mark, and he’s doing it despite opponents keying on him in the absence of Russell Westbrook. He’s scored at least 33 in five of the last seven games.	3
2		LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: He is about to come into New York and break the Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center scoring records on back-to-back nights (yes, I am testing by powers of prediction as a pre-Vegas warmup), and his team is getting ready – or perhaps has already begun — its march toward another 27-game winning streak like the one they put together in the first two months of 2013. At what point will the Heat pass the Pacers in the standings? My prediction on that one is March 1.	2
3		DAMIAN LILLARD, G, PORTLAND: As mentioned in the preamble, Kobe Bryant was throwing him some mad props the other day by encouraging fans to vote for him in All-Star balloting, and the more I watch this guy, the more I am mesmerized. Does anyone take as many 3s as this guy from 3-4 feet behind the arc? He is at .448 from long distance, good for fifth in the league, and leads all players with 116 3-pointers. He earned this mega-bump ahead of his teammate with his 26-point 4th quarter Tuesday night.	6
4		LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE, F, PORTLAND: Two Blazers in the top 4? And no Pacers? Yes, my Left Coast bias is already rearing its ugly head. And as much as I admire the Indiana Pacers, their “superstar” just had a pretty underwhelming week from a statistical perspective. Aldridge, too, had a below-par week given the level he had been playing at beforehand (he is shooting only 41 percent in January), but his overall body of work merits placement in the Top 4.	1
5		PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: Mr. November still merits a top 5 placement given that his team has the best record in the NBA, and he is the best player on his team. But the Pacers are getting it from a lot of different guys on a lot of different nights, and this fellow is shooting 35 percent overall and 20 percent from 3-point range in the month of January. One more week like that, Mr. George, and there will be consequences. Got it?	4
6		STEPHEN CURRY, G, GOLDEN STATE: An argument could be made that this spot should be given to a different member of the ‘Dubs, like David Lee (24.5 ppg, 12.8 rpg in January) or Andre Iguodala (2nd in the NBA behind Marco Belinelli in 3-point percentage at .481). But Curry is dropping 9.5 dimes per game, and his team is on the verge of going 7-0 on their current road trip — something that no NBA team has ever accomplished.	7
7		KEVIN LOVE, F, MINNESOTA: The Wolves have finally made it to .500, and this future member of the Lakers has surpassed Carmelo Anthony for the No. 2 spot in the individual scoring race and is nipping at DeAndre Jordan’s heels for the league lead in rebounds per game. I don’t think he’ll catch KD, but if he somehow manages to win the scoring and rebounding title, he’ll join a select group that includes Neil Johnston, Bob Pettit and Wilt Chamberlain, who did it an astounding five times.	9
8		JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: He is fifth in scoring, and second (behind Carmelo Anthony) in minutes played, and he has managed to be an alpha dog that his insecure teammate, Dwight Howard, does not resent playing second fiddle behind. Going for 38 and 37, with five 3-pointers in each, over his last two games gets him back into these rankings for the first time since the Dec. 18 edition. On downside, only Kobe, Westbrook and Curry average more turnovers per game than Harden’s 3.9.	–
9		CHRIS PAUL, G, LA CLIPPERS: His injury will eventually lead to his removal from these rankings, but his return will likely get him back in the mix. It should be noted that Clippers coach Doc Rivers said the team is trying to sign a point guard currently playing in China. Might it be Bobby Brown? Or Delonte West? To find out how those guys and other Americans are fairing, check out this column from our man in Beijing, James Hsu.	5
10		DWYANE WADE, G, MIAMI: Welcome to the rankings, my fellow Marquette guy. You have displaced Tony Parker, who was a mainstay in these rankings since Week One. Even though Wade is not playing every night, it’s time to give some appreciation to what he is doing on the nights when he does play. For starters, he is shooting .538, which is 12th-best in the league and an astonishing number for a guard — especially a guard who shot a career-best .521 last season.	–