The Top 10 NBA MVP Candidates, Week 3

Last week was an interesting seven days for our MVP race. Derrick Rose has been out with an injury, which left room for others to move up in the ranks. D-Wade is back to playing MVP-worthy basketball, which makes things a bit tougher for LeBron individually. Kevin Durant‘s level of play is ridiculously consistent, despite Russell Westbrook taking basically the same number of shots as him.

So the race isn’t LeBron’s to lose, despite what people are thinking. There is a lot to be determined in the oncoming weeks in the NBA MVP race. At this point in the season, you can’t count out anybody, but by the recent looks of it, Kobe Bryant is slowly shooting himself (literally) out of contention, Tony Parker is still cooking and Chris Paul is conflicted.

The competition heats up in our third edition of our weekly “Race to the MVP” Watch. Here is our MVP update for last week, (Monday through Sunday)…

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10. TONY PARKER – Last week: 25 ppg/9.3 apg/2.8 rpg
Last Week: No. 10, maintaining
Through four games since last Monday, Tony Parker averaged just about 25 and 10 against some pretty good teams. Not only was he scoring, and distributing, he was shooting an efficient field-goal percentage. In his only two home games last week, he went 13-for-18 against Washington with 31 points, then another 31 against Dwight and co., shooting 12-for-21 which is still above 50 percent.

In his 1st game on the road he went 10-for-22 at OKC with 25 points, which was enough for the victory. Then on Saturday the Spurs took their first lost of the week at Dallas, but Parker had a double-double with 13 and 11. Now with the addition of Stephen Jackson, TP gets another seasoned vet, and yet another scoring threat to distribute the ball to.

TP is in a tight spot right now in the MVP race. In the upcoming weeks he could either move past Kevin Love with the success of his team as the deciding factor, or he could fall out of the top 10 with the way Andrew Bynum has been playing recently.

9. KEVIN LOVELast week: 25.7 ppg/12.2 rpg/1.0 apg
LW: No. 7, falling
Kevin Love finally came back down to earth against Pheonix on Tuesday in his first game without a double-double since the end of February. However, he picked it right back up with three double-doubles against the Jazz, Lakers and Kings respectively, although they were all in losing efforts. Kevin Love’s individual play has been off the charts, but he just can’t seem to translate it into wins. That’s been his problem all season long. If he can begin to get consistent wins and put the Timberwolves in a comfortable position to become a playoff team, he can make significant strides in this MVP race. It’s really hard to fathom the impact Kevin Love could have on different team. You could only imagine where he would be in this MVP race if he were playing for a more competitive team.

8. CHRIS PAULLast Week: 15.8 ppg/9.0 apg/5.0 rpg LW: No. 5, falling
It’s been tough goings for Chris Paul and the Clippers as of late. They’ve been losing more games than they’ve been winning recently, and just can’t seem to close games out down the stretch. Chris Paul is still trying to limit his shot attempts and create more for his teammates, which are his natural instincts, but when games come down to the stretch his rhythm just isn’t there.

With the absence of Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul has officially turned into the number one scoring option for the Clippers late in games; He just hasn’t seemed to realize it yet. Blake isn’t developed enough to be the go-to-guy for the Clippers down the stretch, and frankly there just isn’t anyone else for Chris Paul to turn to. He’s got to realize that it’s time for him to become more aggressive and really start winning some games for his team: 3-2 last week in five games, which is better than the 1-3 they went the previous week. They have the addition of Nick Young who can help in the scoring department, but it’s gonna take some work for CP3 to get the Clippers riding high again.

7. KOBE BRYANT – Last week: 27.5 ppg/5.8 rpg/4.3 apg
LW: No. 6, falling
It’s been an ongoing trend for Kobe in this MVP race. It seems as if each week he puts himself in position to catch up to the top three, then he takes two steps back and regresses right back to where he was. The last week was a good week for the Lakers as a team. They went 3-1 in their four games, so they’ve been playing well collectively. But, Kobe Bryant has been shooting a horrendous field-goal percentage. He’s been getting to the line effectively, which isn’t anything new, so he’s been able to continue to put up substantial scoring numbers while shooting terribly from the field. At Memphis on Tuesday he was 11-for-25 with 34 points. At New Orleans on Wednesday he was 10-for-23 with 33 points. On Friday against Minnesota he was 9-for-20 with 28 points, and then on Sunday against Utah, he went a horrendous 3-for-20 with 15 points and seven turnovers.

Sure he’s been scoring, and sure the Lakers have been winning, but Kobe can’t just go out hoisting up shots, finishing under 50 percent from the field every night and expect to make a run for the MVP. By the way, Andrew Bynum has been playing like the most valuable player on the Lakers as of late.

6. RUSSELL WESTBROOK – Last week: 26.5 ppg/5.0 apg/4.0 rpg
LW: No. 9, rising
Many fans of the Thunder believe that Westbrook is shooting the basketball too much. He is, but you can’t ignore the fact that he can flat-out score. He deserves the amount of shots he’s taking because he can put the ball in the basket. However, is he doing what the Thunder really need him to do to win? In four games last week the Thunder went 2-2. They fell to Houston on Tuesday in a game where Westbrook shot under 50 percent. They got a W at Denver, but Westbrook had seven turnovers and only five assists, though he did chip in 23 points on 17 shots. Against San Antonio in a nine-point loss on Friday, Russ went 13-for-29 (29 shots is way too much for a point guard) with 36 points, and then against Portland on Sunday he had 28 on 12-for-21 shooting.

Am I the only one itching to see Westbrook play at the two spot? His value would be higher if he weren’t the one responsible for distributing the ball, and getting the most shots for the best player (which he’s not doing).

5. DERRICK ROSELast week: 32 pts/seven ast/six rebs
LW: No. 3, falling
D-Rose’s last game was on Monday in a victory against New York. He went 12-for-29 with 32 points and seven assists. In his absence, John Lucas III and C.J Watson have definitely held it down for Chicago, especially in that win against Miami (guess his supporting cast isn’t as bad as everyone says). Rose has been pretty banged up as of late, and he now has an injured groin. Whether or not it will affect his play on the court is yet to be determined. For now, there isn’t much to judge him upon, so his stock has fallen a couple of notches.

4. DWIGHT HOWARDLast week: 20.5 ppg/13.5 rpg/2.0 bpg
LW: No. 8, rising
Last week was a very crucial week for Dwight Howard. Some (mainly Orlando fans) admire his loyalty and respect him for sticking it out, but the majority of NBA fans are thinking he somehow was guilted into committing to staying in Orlando through next season. Regardless of what the masses may believe, Dwight will be under close watch for the remainder of his time in Orlando so people can decide if he really made the right choice or not.

Last week the Magic went 2-3 against a tough group of opponents. Dwight exploded for 24 and 25 against Miami on Tuesday, proving that the trade rumors weren’t affecting him. Now that he can finally play with a free mind and work towards making a run for the championship, look for Dwight to really turn it up in the oncoming weeks.

3. DWYANE WADE Last week: 26.7 ppg/4.0 apg/7.5 rpg
LW: No. 4, rising
D-Wade is back to playing at the top of his game right now. He’s rigorously climbed his way up the MVP list. He started out the season not playing his best basketball, but he’s really picked it up and now is back to playing up to his capabilities. He’s been shooting a good percentage recently, going 12-for-22 for 28 points against Orlando on Tuesday, 16-for-26 for 36 points against Chicago on Wednesday, a double-double against Philly on Friday, and then a 31-point performance against Orlando on Sunday on 13-for-25 shooting. He’s also been playing great at the end of games.

D-Wade has been playing so well as of late, you have to wonder if it could have any impact on the play of LeBron James going forward.

2. KEVIN DURANTLast week: 25.7 ppg/8.5 rpg/3.7 apg
LW: No. 2, maintaining
KD’s play has been just about as consistent as it can get. He’s taken 15-19 shots in his last six games, making eight or nine field goals each night while his scoring output has been maintaining around 25 points. He’s also been rebounding well and has been shooting right around 50 percent from the field. The team is only 2-2 in their last four, but they still sit atop the Western Conference and KD has been making it look as if he just doesn’t do anything wrong on the court.

1. LEBRON JAMESLast week: 24.2 ppg/8.7 rpg/6.7 apg
LW: No. 1, maintaining
LeBron James continues to lead the way in this MVP race mainly because he’s the only player in the league right now that leads his team in every category. That speaks volumes about his value.

Last week wasn’t exactly his best week statistically. If you look at the numbers from last week, he isn’t exactly miles ahead of his competition. He pulled another disappearing act in the fourth quarter against Chicago (without Rose), finishing with 35 when he had 33 through the first three quarters. But all in all, two double doubles in a 2-2 week for Miami. Good enough for LeBron to sit tight in first place for now.

Do you agree with this list?

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