Kevin Durant strengthens hold on No. 1 spot in SheridanHoops MVP rankings.

RANK	PLAYER	RUNDOWN	LAST
1		KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: His game-winner Monday with 1.5 seconds left against Atlanta gave him his sixth 40-point game of the season, three times as many as any other NBA player. Durant’s 11-game streak of 30 or more points is the longest in the NBA since Tracy McGrady did it in 14 straight games in March and April 2003. He has gone for 40 five times during that span.	1
3		LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: He is the second-best player in the NBA. That’s all I’m going to say about him this week. Second-best.	3
3		PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: Just wondering … if KD keeps going at anything near his current pace, will there be a homer voter in Indianapolis who keeps Durant from being unanimous? (There could be a similar situation in Miami, where the beat reporters are notorious for being defensive of the team they cover, rather than objective. Not all of them, mind you, but most of them.)	2
4		LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE, F, PORTLAND: This is the part of this column where you hold your nose and fill in a name. And as we go through the season, this fourth place spot will be occupied by many, many players. Right now it is a one-man race for first and a two-man race for second. Everyone else can be lumped together like oatmeal.	6
5		BLAKE GRIFFIN, F, L.A. CLIPPERS: Blake’s team has played 26 road games and 21 home games after completing their Grammy trip, which bears mentioning because they’ve lost only three times at home — tied for second-fewest in the league with Miami and Oklahoma City. Indiana leads that category with just a single home loss. Blake has gone for 20 or more in 9 of 10 — the exception being a 19-point outing. Would be Player of the Month in West if not for KD.	5
6		DeMAR DeROZAN, G, TORONTO RAPTORS: OK, maybe this should be a joint entry with Kyle Lowry, who is playing his way to a max contract after being trade bait earlier in the season. And if you were going to pick a guy on the Raptors who would go for 51, Terrence Ross wouldn’t be the first name that came to mind. But since the Rudy Gay trade, no player (aside from Isaiah Thomas of Sacto) has increased his value more than this guy.	9
7		TONY PARKER, G, SAN ANTONIO: I am being generous to Mr. Parker because his French team defeated Spain at Eurobasket last summer — something that never happens — and because there is a FIBA theme to my intro. But these guys are 32-1 against the dregs of the league and 1-11 against anyone with a pulse. Nobody is scared of them.	5
8		CARMELO ANTHONY, F, NEW YORK: Hey, you score 62, you make this list. Remember how everyone has been saying that 2-3 strong weeks will put you right back in the picture in the Atlantic Division. Well, we’ve seen that with Toronto, then Brooklyn, and now New York. Noteworthy: ‘Melo is scoring 28.7 ppg in January to go along with 9.3 rebounds. Who knew he could be chairman of the boards.	–
9		JOHN WALL, G, WASHINGTON: Quite the snub from Team USA, eh? But if Wall is to be believed, he is going to use it as inspiration. And maybe even get his team above .500? That’s the kind of event that could get Barack and Michelle to come out to see a game. Scoring, assists, steals, FT shooting and 3-point shooting all up from last year. Time to give him some credit.	–
10		JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: Somebody needs to represent the Rockets in these rankings, even if it is a guy who sat out their impressive win against San Antonio on Tuesday night. Picking the most valuable Rocket is like picking the Most Valuable member of the Grizzlies — it ain’t easy, cuz it changes from night to night. This week, we’ll go with the NBA’s seventh leading scorer to round out the top 10.	7