Stephen Curry and James Harden remain neck-and-neck for the top spot after Curry regained it in last week's NBA MVP Power Rankings. But another Western Conference guard is hot on their heels. Read on to find out who.
Damian Lillard’s MVP hopes rise with each clutch shot
The Portland Trail Blazers’ star is putting himself in the MVP picture with each big shot.
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
1. Stephen Curry (Last week: 1)
Curry posted two double-doubles in a light week for the juggernaut that is the Warriors. Golden State throttled both Indiana and Cleveland, and Curry totaled 44 points and 25 assists in the two wins.
Looking at the bigger picture, Curry’s on/off splits are absurd. The Warriors have been a whopping 22.2 points per 100 possessions better with the point guard on the court this season, per NBA.com. That’s how you become a front-runner for MVP.
2. James Harden (Last week: 2)
After a couple poor shooting performances, Harden has bounced back in his last three games with superb efforts. He averaged over 28 points and nearly seven assists while shooting nearly 57 percent in three Rockets victories.
While Harden currently sits at No. 2 in these rankings, you wouldn’t get an argument from me if you wanted to put him at the top. It’s neck-and-neck between Curry and Harden at this point and should be the rest of the season. Other players could butt in, but those two have the inside track on the award.
3. Anthony Davis (Last week: 3)
It continues to be impossible to move Davis down despite the Pelicans' mediocrity. New Orleans went 1-2 over the last week, but Davis averaged 33 points and nearly 11 rebounds in the two losses. It's tough to blame losses on a guy who does that. He was also solid in an impressive victory over Memphis.
In addition to being awesome in general, Davis has excelled in the clutch this season. The big man is 19-of-25 when the game is within five points with under five minutes to play, per NBA.com. The question is why Davis has only taken 25 shots in the clutch and Tyreke Evans has taken 35 while only making eight.
4. Damian Lillard (Last week: 7)
Don’t look now, but the Blazers are 30-8, which is tied for the second-best record in the NBA. Lillard was already a star in the making in his first two seasons, but now he’s making the leap to superstardom.
Lillard’s PER has gone up over four points in his third year, as he has become a more efficient scorer despite upping his usage. His true shooting percentage is a shade under 60 percent, nearly three points above last year. In addition to the more efficient scoring, the 24-year-old has improved as a rebounder and is at nearly five boards per game, which would be a career-high.
5. Marc Gasol (Last week: 5)
Gasol has held steady for much of the season, although his numbers have dipped a bit in January. Gasol is averaging 16 points, seven rebounds and three asissts this month, which is solid, but not nearly as good as the 20/9/4 line he put up in December.
The Grizzlies are just 5-7 in their last 12 games, and while injuries to Zach Randolph and Tony Allen didn't help, Gasol isn't blameless. While Gasol was still good, Memphis could have used more from him on both ends of the floor to help overcome the injuries.
6. John Wall (Last week: 8)
The Hawks game wasn't a great look for Wall, as he turned the ball over eight times in a 31-point loss. But Wall was his typical self in an impressive blowout victory over the Bulls the game before and he has been dynamite all season. Wall is shooting just under 46 percent on the season and leads the league in assists per game at 10.3. Both marks would be career-highs.
Similar to Curry in Golden State, Washington is worlds better with Wall on the floor. The difference isn't quite as vast, but it's close. The Wizards have been 18.5 points per 100 possessions better with Wall on the court this season, per NBA.com.
7. Jimmy Butler (Last week: 4)
Butler rose up to No. 4 last week, but he drops several rungs down this time due to regression in his shooting that should have been expected. He had been hovering close to 50 percent for much of the season and it simply wasn’t reasonable to expect that to be sustained over a full year given his career to date.
Butler shot just 33 percent over the last five games, although curiously, he shot over 36 percent from three during that span. If Butler can regain his form from two-point range while also shooting that percentage from three, he’ll be even more dangerous.
8. Kyle Lowry (Last week: 6)
Lowry's efficiency began to plunge several weeks ago and that troubling trend continued this past week. The point guard is shooting under 37 percent in January. Not coincidentally, the Raptors are 1-4 this month.
It also doesn’t help that Toronto is currently playing defense at almost league-worst levels. Lowry isn’t helping in that regard, as he has posted a defensive rating of 114.1 in the last five games, per NBA.com.
9. Klay Thompson (Last week: 11)
Thompson's transformation into a legitimate star player took another step forward with his second 40-point performance of the season last week. Thompson poured in 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting in the beatdown of the Pacers.
Making Thompson’s scoring average of nearly 22 points per game even more impressive is the fact that he’s doing it in under 33 minutes per game. He’s putting up almost 24 points per 36 minutes and his PER is over six points higher than last year, all with a usage rate over four points higher than last year.
10. Jeff Teague (Last week: Unranked)
The Hawks don’t really have a “star” player, but it’s about time somebody gets recognized for their unbelievable 29-8 start. That honor will go to Teague, who has run Mike Budenholzer’s offense in Atlanta to near perfection.
Teague’s efficiency has taken a huge leap this season, as his true shooting percentage is near 60 percent and his PER is just under 23. Prior to this year, his career-best true shooting percentage was just over 55 percent and his career-best PER was a tick over 17.
Teague has also been stellar on the defensive end as part of the Hawks’ sixth-ranked defense. He leads the team in steals and Atlanta has been better on that end with him on the floor.
See More:
