James Harden's hold on the top spot of the MVP Power Rankings was precarious last week, and that didn't change this week. Was Harden able to hold off the rest of the challengers, or was somebody else able to take over?
Russell Westbrook closes in on James Harden in the MVP race
But The Beard held him off for one more week. Will that change next week?
1. James Harden (Last week: 1)
I was on the verge of dropping Harden out of the No. 1 spot after his dud of a performance against the Suns on Saturday, when he went 5-of-19 in a loss. That was probably dumb thinking because Harden scored a career-high 50 points against Denver the game before.
But with Russell Westbrook charging hard and leading the short-handed Thunder to victory after victory, I was looking for any slipup from Harden as a reason to finally move Westbrook to No. 1. So after Harden's clunker against Phoenix, I was all set to make the switch.
Then, Harden dropped 44 points and seven assists in a victory over Indiana. And -- surprise -- he did a ton of damage at the free throw line, going 21-of-22 at the charity stripe. It’s the second time in three games he has made more than 20 free throws in a game and the eighth time he has scored at least 40 points this season.
Like Westbrook, Harden has been performing at a high level and leading his Rockets to victories with key players out. Dwight Howard still hasn't returned (although he'll be back soon) and Terrence Jones is dealing with another bizarre injury.
We know how much Harden means to Houston by looking at his basic stats. The guy scores a ton of points and initiates a lot of offense with his playmaking. But we get a real sense of his importance when we look at the on/off splits. With Harden on the floor this season, the Rockets have scored over 107 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. That’s an elite mark. With him on the bench, that drops to under 93 per 100 possessions.
Harden remains a worthy frontrunner, and he remains on top for now.
2. Russell Westbrook (Last week: 2)
Sure, Westbrook’s shooting numbers over the last week were disastrous, but he helped make up for that by getting to the line and doing everything else possible to help the Thunder win games and create some separation in the standings.
First, Westbrook put up 36 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals in a win over Boston. Then, 36 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over Atlanta. Finally, he notched 12 points, 17 assists, nine rebounds and four steals in a victory over Miami. The point guard was initially credited with his 10th triple-double in the victory over the Heat, but one rebound was taken away after the fact. So now he "only" has nine.
Westbrook has followed up his insane February with nearly as good a March. He’s averaging 32 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals in the month. While he’s shooting under 41 overall, he’s knocking down 37 percent of his threes and getting to the line 13 times per game. That has his true shooting percentage at a respectable 55 percent in March, which isn’t too much lower than the 58 percent it was in February.
This is all impressive considering the Thunder have been without Kevin Durant for the last month (and most of the season) and will be for the foreseeable future. Serge Ibaka is also on the shelf for another few weeks, so Westbrook will get plenty of chances to improve his MVP case.
Despite all these injuries throughout the course of the season, Westbrook has still managed to direct an elite offense. The Thunder scored 109 points per 100 possessions with Westbrook on the floor this season, per NBA.com, and while some of that is a function of finally having a capable scoring center in Enes Kanter, the point guard deserves most of the credit for being the initiator.
This has been a remarkable season for Westbrook, and it would be quite the story for him to win MVP a year after Durant.
3. Stephen Curry (Last week: 3)
Besides busting out several extraordinary plays per game, Curry hasn’t done anything that crazy in terms of stat lines of late. He even had a couple of poor shooting games, going 8-of-28 in a two-game stretch last week.
But that doesn't mean he hasn't been good, because even when he's shooting poorly, he's controlling the game for the league's best offense. The Warriors' high-powered attack didn't miss a beat when Klay Thompson missed three straight games, and Curry was a big reason for that.
SB Nation presents: Stephen Curry’s most ridiculous highlight moments
4. LeBron James (Last week: 5)
The Cavaliers found themselves in a dogfight with the Bucks on Sunday, trailing by nine points at halftime. That's when James said enough was enough, turning the tables on Milwaukee by leading Cleveland to an 18-point victory. The four-time MVP had 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in the dominant second half.
Since James returned from injury in mid-January, Cleveland has gone 27-7, and James didn’t play in one of the losses and he also missed a win. That makes the Cavaliers 26-6 with James in the lineup since he missed those eight games.
5. Anthony Davis (Last week: 4)
Davis falls a spot after missing two more games and losing the game in which he returned, although it wasn't his fault. Davis put up 26 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals while shooting 11-of-13 against the Clippers, but the result was a seven-point loss.
It would probably help if Davis got more than 13 shots when he's so efficient. ESPN's Tom Haberstroh highlighted last week that Davis has been the most efficient clutch player in the NBA this season. It's a shame the Pelicans are falling out of the playoff race due to injuries.
6. Chris Paul (Last week: 6)
Paul has continued to excel with Blake Griffin back in the lineup, notching three consecutive double-doubles over the last week. He scored 30 points in two straight games for the first time this season, and he's averaging 23.1 points, 10.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 50.2 percent in March.
Considering how great Paul has been this year, it’s crazy that he’s sixth in the running, although our very own Tom Ziller made a case for why he should win MVP. He’s down here at No. 6 because the other guys have been that good.
Next four: Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwyane Wade, Kawhi Leonard
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