Sheridan’s MVP Rankings, March 5 Edition: What Do the Readers Say?

RANK	PLAYER	RUNDOWN	LAST
1		KEVIN DURANT, F, OKLAHOMA CITY: He would be No. 2 if a certain someone hadn’t missed a last-gasp 3 over Dwight Howard on Tuesday. For now, his body of work over the first 59 games just barely trumps the feats of brilliance we see practically every game from LeBron. KD also might be No. 2 if Erik Spoelstra hadn’t sat LBJ for the first 6 minutes of 4th quarter vs. Houston.	1
2		LeBRON JAMES, F, MIAMI: Had a nice little streak going in which he shot .667 or better for five straight games, and his performance Monday was a jump-off-the-sofa feat of brilliance. The kneejerk thing to do would be to elevate him as a reward, but I am not a kneejerk kind of guy. It comes down to who has carried his team to a greater degree, and that guy right now is KD.	2
3		BLAKE GRIFFIN, F, LA CLIPPERS: Three of their last five games (all wins) have been statement victories: at OKC and Phoenix and vs. Houston. Since the MVP battle is now a two-man race, it’ll be interesting to see who gets third. It’ll be like a little subplot sometime in May when the balloting results are made public.	3
4		GORAN DRAGIC, G, PHOENIX: I dropped him too far last week, so I’m giving him a big bump as a makeup. They are already chanting “M-V-P” for him in Phoenix, where he could have been playing with Pau Gasol if Ryan McDonough had agreed to deal one of his precious first-round picks. With Eric Bledsoe due back any day, this is probably the highest we’ll see “The Dragon.”	10
5		KEVIN LOVE, F, MINNESOTA: Another big bump, this one because the Wolves have won five of six to stay within shouting distance of the West’s 8 seed. Love has topped 30 points in seven of his last nine games, singlehandedly carrying his team. If Wolves are going to make a real push, they must go 6-0 in upcoming stretch vs. NYK, DET, TOR, MIL, CHA and SAC.	9
6		JAMES HARDEN, G, HOUSTON: Reached double figures in assists in two straight games, including 11 vs. Miami. We could penalize him for missing three free throws in each of Houston’s last two games, but the venom runs low when you get this deep in the table. Instead, we’ll give him bonus points for growing his beard into ZZ Top range.	4
7		AL JEFFERSON, C, CHARLOTTE: Face it, folks: There will be a time this spring when you are faced with the choice of watching a Bobcats playoff game or going out for some fresh air. Nine out of 10 will pick the latter. And if it is a choice between watching the ‘Cats in action or going outside for a walk in a driving rainstorm, the percentage drops to 8 in 10.	5
8		DWIGHT HOWARD, C, HOUSTON: Put up 22 and 16 against the Heat in one his more efficient outing of late. It is interesting seeing him play for a team that does not need him to dominate, thanks to Harden (and Chandler Parsons). Also interesting: He has scored 30-plus just five times all season. That means he gets bonus points for subjugating his ego.	7
9		PAUL GEORGE, G-F, INDIANA: Becoming less and less a part of the MVP conversation and is no longer the player to watch when viewing the Pacers – the Evan Turner experiment is just too riveting to turn away from. Check out what Danny Schayes had to say about Turner’s stink job in Tuesday’s home loss to the Dubs.	8
10		JOHN WALL, G, WASHINGTON: There was a temptation to slide Kyrie Irving in here and declare to the ATL that he is going to knock y’all out of the playoffs. But discretion took hold, and we will wait and see if the Cavs can sustain anything positive. The Wiz have been near .500 all season, and you can’t ignore his 20 ppg and 8.7 assists. With a few more dimes, he can finish second.	6