The 2013 NBA MVP race is heating up as we approach the middle of the season. Since our last ladder, the Clippers have been streaking, and Chris Paul has made a significant case for himself as the frontrunner for the award. While LeBron and Kevin Durant have both had their moment in the sun, Chris Paul has never been there.
There’s a world of difference between “best player” and “most valuable player.” What makes this award so special is the fact that it’s not all about numbers, and Chris Paul has been taking advantage of that. Paul gives the Clippers exactly what they need. His ability to distribute the basketball and attack from different angles allows every player on his supporting cast to shine at what they do best. While Kevin Durant and LeBron James have simply been doing what’s expected of them (as crazy as that sounds), Chris Paul is exceeding expectations. His mentality has the Clippers believing in themselves more than they ever did in the past. That holds value. Before it looked like it would come down to Kevin Durant and LeBron James again, but now it’s looking like those guys better not let Chris Paul’s Clippers finish with the best record in the league or else they both could be leaving this season empty handed.
As for the bottom of the ladder, David Lee earned his way onto our last ladder, but has quickly fallen off and it’s not his fault. While he’s playing great basketball, Stephen Curry is just more important to the Warriors at this point. And even though the Atlanta Hawks are beginning to look like the sub-par team we expected them to be, Josh Smith deserves to be on the ladder for taking that team as far as he has.
Here are our rankings for our fourth volume of Dime‘s official MVP Ladder.
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10. JOSH SMITH
Last week: 11.6 ppg/3.6 apg/7.6 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 8
On the MVP Ladder, Josh Smith is skating on thin ice. He earned his way on by leading the Hawks to a 19-10 record through December. That came as a surprise to many, considering the Hawks are in their first season without Joe Johnson and are heading for rebuilding mode in the near future. In the New Year, the Hawks have been on a serious decline. After only losing five games in both November and December, they’ve already lost six out of the eight games they’ve played so far this month. Now sitting at 21-16, they went from being one of the top teams in the East to falling to the middle of the pack. They’ve watched teams like Brooklyn and Indiana pass them by, and other teams like Boston and Chicago are very close to doing the same.
The Hawks’ recent struggles couldn’t come at a worse time for Smith, who is hoping to earn his first All-Star appearance. Although he’s shooting a dismal 42 percent from the field in January, he still has four double-doubles this month, and has picked up his assist numbers. Even though Atlanta has been playing terribly as of late, Josh Smith has never been more deserving of an All-Star spot. He’s been doing a great job being “the guy” for Atlanta this season, and that’s exactly why his name is on the ladder.
9. STEPHEN CURRY
Last week: 25.0 ppg/7.6 apg/2.0 spg
Vol. 3 rank: 9
It’s tough to decide who’s more valuable to the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry or David Lee. Judging on numbers only, the untrained eye would choose Lee. He’s averaging a whopping 20 and 11 this year, and is second only to Zach Randolph in double-doubles. However, there is no denying that Stephen Curry is the main reason the Warriors have been playing so well. He’s been the catalyst for the Warriors offense all season, and really allows the team to play their brand of basketball. The reason the Warriors have been winning has a lot to do with the play of David Lee as well, but without Curry, the offense wouldn’t move as fluidly as it does and they wouldn’t be able to play that up-tempo style and actually win games.
Curry has been playing so well, he’ll likely make his first All-Star team this year. He’s been consistent all season long and has done a great job running the offense for the Warriors. While Lee has been having an outstanding season for Golden State, it’s just so hard to say he’s more valuable to the team than Curry.
8. KOBE BRYANT
Last week: 25.4 ppg/5.6 apg/4.0 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 6
While the Lakers’ poor play has been the headlining topic for the entire season, nobody has been able to say the same about Kobe Bryant. At 34 years old, he’s surprisingly having the most efficient year of his career. He’s averaging about 30 points a game on 48 percent shooting, which is above his career averages of 25 on 45 percent shooting. Throw in the five assists and five rebounds he’s averaging this year and you would think he’d at least be in the top three on the ladder.
But the reason that isn’t the case is Kobe’s Lakers still have a losing record, and with that said, his high numbers hold very little value. Sure Kobe’s been playing great, but that doesn’t mean anything if the Lakers aren’t winning. In fact, some may argue that Kobe’s high numbers this season have a lot to do with the Lakers’ shortcomings.
After acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the offseason, many expected to see a new-look Lakers offense with Nash as the catalyst, Howard as the centerpiece and Bryant as the leading security blanket. However it’s just been more of the same for the Lakers: Kobe jacking up shot after shot night in and night out. He’s averaging a league high 22 attempts per game on a team with a roster built so he doesn’t have to take those high-volume shots.
In Kobe’s defense, the Lakers haven’t had much time to play together. Injuries to Nash, Howard and Pau Gasol, as well as that coaching change at the beginning of the year, made the season everything but the smooth ride they expected. In December, they had Lakers fans optimistic they would pick up the pace after they won six of their last seven games. But then they turned right around and lost their first six games in January. If the Lakers want to make the playoffs (they’re currently three spots behind what would be the eighth and final playoff spot), they must make changes. With Nash and Howard back and Gasol nearing his return, it’s critical for them to turn things around right now. They’ll have to become the team we all expected them to be, even if Kobe has to sacrifice his numbers. If they’re successful, he might just find himself in the conversation for MVP at the end of the season.
7. RUSSELL WESTBROOK
Last week: 21.2 ppg/8.5 apg/6.7 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 7
The Thunder have the best record in the NBA right now and it has a lot to do with Russell Westbrook. A lot of folks don’t give him the credit he deserves when in actuality, he’s really what makes the Thunder so good. He’s averaging 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists this season.
Being a superstar player and being the second option on your team at the same time can be difficult to deal with (just ask Dwyane Wade). But the difference with Russell Westbrook is his game doesn’t suffer at the cost of Kevin Durant. They emerged as the best duo in basketball because they both make each other better. They showed how dangerous they can be on Monday against Phoenix. People love to knock Westbrook by saying he’s not a true point guard, but Kevin Durant and the rest of his teammates would beg to differ. What makes Russell Westbrook so good is that he’s always in his comfort zone. In previous seasons, whenever he had a bad shooting night he let it take him out of his game. He let the criticism get to his head and it was holding him back. But now, when he’s having an off night, he accepts it and dominates the game in different ways.
Saying Russell Westbrook isn’t a true point guard may have been an accurate statement last season (he only averaged 5.5 assists a game compared to the 8.4 he’s averaging this season). But now it seems he has it all figured out.
6. ZACH RANDOLPH
Last week: 15.6 ppg/8.2 rpg/1.6 apg
Vol. 3 rank: 4
Leading the NBA in double-doubles will most likely always have your name in the MVP conversation, especially when your team is playing well. Zach Randolph is doing exactly that for the Grizzlies this season. What’s hard to imagine is the Grizzlies are open to negotiating trade offers for him. Although it’s a possibility that makes some sense – his value is as high as it’s ever been – why would you break up a good thing?
The Grizzlies are one of the few teams in the NBA that have every piece they need. When O.J. Mayo departed for Dallas this summer, it did leave them with some backcourt issues, particularly at the two spot. But another guard is easy to come by. What’s difficult is attaining a frontcourt like the Grizzlies have. Randolph and Marc Gasol have turned into the best frontcourt duo in the NBA. That’s an advantage that the Grizzlies would love to have over opponents come playoff time. So it’s hard to see Memphis giving Z-Bo up for anything short of a complete steal, especially since he’s an on-n-off top five MVP candidate this year.
5. JAMES HARDEN
Last week: 27.2 ppg/5.0 rpg/5.7 apg
Vol. 3 rank: N/A
Everybody knew James Harden would be good, but nobody expected him to be this good. Harden has been on a tear this season and while many thought he would slow down at some point, he’s proving he’s more than capable of leading the Rockets. The Beard currently has them in good position in the playoff hunt, despite a recent losing streak.
What impresses you most about James Harden is his ability to do it all. In Oklahoma City, we all got to see his scoring and playmaking abilities, but we never got to see him really dominate an entire game from start to finish. That’s what he’s been doing for the Rockets all season. At averages of 26.4 points, 5.3 dimes and 4.3 boards, his numbers are way above his career averages of 14.7, 2.9 and 3.5. Although many questioned him wanting to leave the Thunder for his own show, he’s convinced many that he made the right move with his stellar play this season.
4. CARMELO ANTHONY
Last week: 28.6 ppg/4.3 apg/6.0 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 2
Carmelo Anthony just can’t break the mold. There’s no question he’s a top five player in the NBA and in the MVP race, but there’s something holding him back from taking that next step. While Durant and LeBron are really head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, Carmelo Anthony should be right there with them. He has the talent to be that type of player, so why hasn’t he taken that next step?
The answer is more simple than you think: Carmelo has to become a better all-around player. He’s working on that this season, but he’s still somewhat of a black hole. With Carmelo, there’s a glaring difference in his game when he’s in distributing mode and when he’s in scoring mode; Kevin Durant and LeBron James don’t have that glaring difference. It simply comes natural to them. While Carmelo has the highest scoring average of the bunch, and second only to Kobe at 29.3 points a game, his assist numbers and rebounding numbers fall a bit short. He’s still giving people reason to call him a great scorer as opposed to a great player. For him to take that next step, he’ll have to start making his teammates better and making the right play every time down the floor. Despite all that, he still has the Knicks in great standing right now, and has been dropping 40 every other game this month.
3. LeBRON JAMES
Last week: 20.2 ppg/6.8 apg/6.8 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 3
LeBron’s streak of 20-point games finally came to an end last week on Thursday night in Miami’s loss to Portland. Although he has been trying his hardest to single-handedly cover up Miami’s deficiencies, he can only do so much. What really makes LeBron the MVP is not his numbers, although they are MVP worthy at 26 points, 6.9 dimes and 8.2 boards a night, but the fact that he really plays positions one through five for Miami (they need a point guard on some nights and a center on others). For example, in Miami’s loss at Utah on Monday of this week, LeBron guarded Al Jefferson for the fourth quarter and as a result, he lead Miami to a furious comeback that came up just short.
LeBron is everything Miami has needed this season. He’s literally the only player in the NBA you can position anywhere you want on any given night. He’s a mismatch for anybody and that’s what makes him the most unique and overall best player in the NBA. Winning three MVPs in a row is no easy task. For LeBron to make that happen, he must continue doing it all for Miami. Still, it will likely take a strong push for both Miami to finish with the NBA’s best record, and for LeBron to win this award again.
2. KEVIN DURANT
Last week: 30.4 ppg/5.8 apg/6.8 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 1
Kevin Durant has been deserving of an MVP for some time now. This season might be the one to get it done for him. He’s playing more efficiently than he’s ever played. While many say nothing good can come from his friendship with LeBron, they must not recognize Durant’s all-around game developing the way it has. KD knows what it will take to beat out LeBron for the MVP award – he’s doing it. He’s cut his shot attempts down and is shooting a higher field goal percentage than he ever has (52). Despite that, he’s still averaging 28.9 points a game, good enough for third-best in the league right now.
However, Kevin Durant can’t let up even the slightest bit if he wants to win the award. Right now, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA and that’s exactly where they’ll have to stay if KD wants this MVP. With Chris Paul and the Clippers playing so well and LeBron doing everything but cleaning the floors for Miami, KD must finish with the best record. If he can achieve that, it’ll be pretty hard for the NBA to give the MVP to somebody else.
1. CHRIS PAUL
Last week: 14.5 ppg/16.0 apg/3.0 rpg
Vol. 3 rank: 5
LeBron James and Kevin Durant have both had their moment in the sun for the past two seasons. While it’s hard to see LeBron winning three in a row, many would say it’s Kevin Durant’s turn. However, there’s another guy out West who might have something to say about that. Chris Paul has the Clippers as one of the NBA’s hottest teams. After they went the entire month of December without suffering a single loss, it’s time Chris Paul gets his fair share of recognition. This MVP award is very much up for grabs, and in the event the Clippers finish with the NBA’s best record, there’s a high chance Chris Paul could it.
What makes the strongest case for Paul in the MVP race? The Clippers aren’t supposed to be this good. People expected Miami and Oklahoma City to be the top two teams in the NBA. Both teams are coming off of a Finals appearance, and both teams had the top two players in MVP voting. Chris Paul and the Clippers barely surfaced on the radar last year.
This season, they’re the NBA’s hottest team and it’s all because of the unselfishness of Chris Paul. Early in the season, Paul recognized that the winning formula for his team was for him to take less shots and spread the butter among his teammates. He scores specifically when necessary. Since he made that sacrifice, the Clippers have been seemingly unbeatable. They’ve won 22 of their last 25 games. What more could you ask for from Chris Paul at this point?
Who’s the NBA’s MVP at this point?
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