Bledsoe’s Injury Leaves Most Improved Player Rankings Wide Open

RANK	PLAYER	RUNDOWN	LAST
1		ISAIAH THOMAS, G, SACRAMENTO: It’s getting hard to ignore what The Namesake has accomplished this season. He went for 26 and 6 assists in Sunday’s 124-80 win over the Cavs and is having an incredible month, averaging 20 and 7. Sacramento has won 3 straight and looks like a legitimate team again.	2
2		ANDRE DRUMMOND, C, DETROIT: ‘Dre is rebounding like Wilt Chamberlain right now. He grabbed 17 boards against the Knicks, 16 against the Raptors last week and is averaging 14 per for the month. He also ranks second in the NBA in shooting percentage (.597), behind only the Chamberlain-like DeAndre Jordan.	3
3		ANTHONY DAVIS, F-C, NEW ORLEANS: The basketball gods giveth, the basketball gods taketh away. The ‘Brow is back in the rankings after his own injury hiatus. He put up an insane 28 and 14 in Saturday’s loss at Dallas. He’s shooting 75% from the line, which all the girlies say is pretty high for a big guy.	–
4		LANCE STEPHENSON, G, INDIANA: Back in the rankings after back-to-back double-doubles. Stephenson leads the Pacers in assists (5.2) and ranks second on the team in scoring (13.3). He also has become one of Indiana’s better defensive players and leads the NBA with three triple-doubles.	–
5		JEREMY LAMB, G, OKLAHOMA CITY: At this time last season, Lamb was toiling in the D-League. Now he is a legitimate rotation player, averaging 21.7 minutes per game. He put up 17 points in Saturday’s win over Milwaukee and scored 22 against Houston last week.	–

DROPOUTS: Eric Bledsoe, G, Phoenix (1); Khris Middleton, F, Milwaukee (4); Reggie Jackson, G, Oklahoma City (5).

NEXT FIVE:  Reggie Jackson, G, Oklahoma City; Marcus/Markieff Morris, Fs, Phoenix; DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento; Arron Afflalo, G, Orlando, Miles Plumlee, C, Phoenix.

Kels Dayton is a freelance writer whose work has also appeared in SLAM Magazine. You can check out more of his work at RoundballDaily.com and SportzEdge.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoundballDaily.