Race to MVP – Week 3

Jan 18, 2012

Week three (January 7th – January 16th) MVP rankings of the 2011-12 NBA Season was memorable for numerous reasons. The main stories of the week include Kobe Bryant’s four 40+ scoring games and LeBron choking for the Heat. Read on to find out!

 
 
1. Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) – 30.8 PPG / 5.7 RPG / 5.5 APG
Last Week: 2
The Lakers have gone 6-1 since January 6th and the main, and maybe only, reason why is Kobe Bryant. Kobe averaged 35.9 points, including 40+ performances in four consecutive games. He had his best night in the matchup with Phoenix, scoring 48 points on 18 of 31 shooting to go along with five boards and three assists and steals. Everyone who said Kobe is done has been proved wrong by the Black Mamba himself.

 
2. Kevin Durant (OKC Thunder) – 26.0 PPG / 6.8 RPG / 3.4 APG
Last Week: 3
The Thunder went 7-0 in a week featuring huge games against San Antonio and New York. Durant took only 9 and 13 shots respectively, scoring an average of 24.5 points in those games. Against the Alamo, Kevin just missed a triple-double with 21 points, 10 boards and 7 dimes. All in all, it was a quiet but solid week by the two-time defending scoring champ.

 
3. Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) – 20.8 PPG / 3.5 RPG / 8.7 APG
Last Week: 4
For our reigning MVP it was a week with ups and downs. After a solid performance at Orlando (21/8/10), D-Rose had a down-night in the loss to Atlanta (by the way, that was their only loss in the last ten days), only shooting 3-10 for eight points, along with just 4 boards and 6 assists, but 5 turnovers. But Rose came back to finish off the week strong, including a 31 point, 11 assist game versus the Timberwolves.

 
4. LeBron James (Miami Heat) – 29.5 PPG / 8.2 RPG / 7.4 APG
Last Week: 1
The Heat only had four games over the last twelve days. Their opponents: The Nets, Warriors, Clippers and Nuggets. That should be like a 4-0 or 3-1 road trip for a team looking to win 8 titles. Well they failed. Starting their trip with a record of 6-1, they came back at 7-4, falling short to the last three teams mentioned. For sure, it wasn’t only LeBron’s fault – the whole team failed to succeed – but LBJ wasn’t there in the final minutes, especially of the close games against the Clippers and Warriors. While his numbers should have him ranked higher, his missing leadership has led to his drop of three spots from 1st to 4th place.

 
5. Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) – 19.4 PPG / 14.8 RPG / 2.2 BPG
Last Week: 10
D12 is definitely back. The best center in the world has proven that since the last week of rankings. After some struggles with his shot selection over the first games, Howard has established himself as #3 in FG-percentage, #11 in scoring, #5 in blocks and finally as #1 in rebounding . His week featured a night for the record books, as he was sent to the line 39 times by the Warriors with the Hack-a-Dwight strategy, breaking Wilt Chamberlains record of 36 attempts at the charity stripe in a regular season game (Shaq also has 39 attempts, but in a playoffs game). Dwight had 45 points and 23 rebounds in that game, which was definitely a MVP caliber one.

 
6. Chris Paul (LA Clippers) – 18.0 PPG / 3.0 RPG / 8.4 APG
Last Week: 9
This week, CP3 is still above Griffin in the MVP rankings even though he doesn’t have the stats Griff does. The reason for it is different though! This week, Paul finally showed what he’s capable of in two major wins against Miami and the Lakers. He had 27/6/11 and 33/4/6 in those games to go along with 3 steals in each of them. He is definitely the reason why the Clippers are leading the Pacific Division.

 
7. Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) – 26.1 PPG / 6.3 RPG / 4.3 APG
Last Week: 8
Carmelo Anthony started the week off well with 3 wins, but ended it as bad as they started it, leaving them with a 3-game losing streak. Carmelo did miss one of those games, and had to sit out the rest of the game in the first loss, because he injured himself in that one. Melo came back with a 33-point performance in their third loss, but he missed too many shots, making only 9/27 against Orlando. The Knicks really need Baron Davis to get well soon, because the Knick offense is a catastrophe right now.

 
8. Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) – 25.6 PPG / 14.3 RPG / 1.8 APG
Last Week: 5
Kevin was in the top five last week because he’s been putting on a clinic this year. He has 13 straight double-doubles to start the season, but with the Timberwolves at 5-8 (3-3 for the week) we can’t rank him higher than the players above him.

 
9. Blake Griffin (LA Clippers) – 23.1 PPG / 11.1 RPG / 2.6 APG
Last Week: N/A
Blake is a monster, and he’s the other reason the Clippers are as good as they are right now. Griff had a solid week and the Clippers went 4-1, but he’s just not as important to the team as Paul is.

 
10. LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers) – 22.7 PPG / 7.9 RPG / 2.3 APG
Last Week: 7
Portland was great…WAS. Then they lost three in a row this week. Admittedly those were three losses against difficult opponents – two of them by only 3 points – but if you want to make noise in the NBA, you have to win those. LaMarcus had a very good week and that’s why he is still in our top 10!

 

Barely Missed the Top 10

 
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) – 19.6 PPG / 4.3 RPG / 5.4 APG
Last Week: 10
Dwyane is out of our rankings, and he is out with another injury. That’s not the reason though. The main reason is the same as LeBron’s fall from 1st to 4th, which is not putting up the numbers when it counts. Wade had a huge game against the Warriors with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals, but didn’t show up in the 4th or overtime, leading to a Golden State win. Dwyane definitely has to improve. Oh and happy birthday to Dwyane, who turns 30 on January 17th!

 
Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) – 14.5 PPG / 5.2 RPG / 10.0 APG
Last Week: N/A
Rondo’s rolling but the Celtics aren’t. The Celtics have looked even older this past week and are now on their first 5-game losing streak since the Big Three was formed. Ouch! Doc officially stated that Boston is now Rondo’s team, but we don’t think that an amazing Rondo can help the Celtics redeem their status as a monster anytime soon.

 
In the conversation: Kyle Lowry (HOU), Monta Ellis (GSW), Dirk Nowitzki (DAL), Spencer Hawes (PHI), Andrew Bynum (LAL), Roy Hibbert (IND), Brandon Jennings (MIL), Al Jefferson (UTA), Kyrie Irving (CLE), Josh Smith (ATL), Marc Gasol (MEM)

 
Yannik Lingen & Patrick Roland