MVP watch

Fresh Prince

Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder 31.2ppg, 7.7rpg, 5.5apg)

LeBron James (Miami Heat, 26.5ppg, 7.0rpg, 6.6apg)

LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers, 23.9ppg, 11.4rpg)

Paul George (Indiana Pacers, 22.2ppg, 6.4rpg)

Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs 17.7ppg, 6.2apg)

Chris Paul (LA Clippers, 19.2ppg, 11.1apg)

Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, 24.6ppg, 9.0apg, 4.4rpg)

Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves, 25.8ppg, 13.2rpg, 4.0apg)

His Airness

Kevin Durant: 31.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists. The way this guy is playing is crazy, averaging 32 points while shooting 55 percent over the last 10 games. Durant has sustained his high level of performance and is not looking like stopping. With the All Star break coming up and the return of Russell Westbrook in the coming weeks it will be interesting to see if Durant’s numbers drop or continue to impress.

Lebron James: 26.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists. Lebron’s number’s continue to impress, scoring more than 30 points in his last 3 of 5 games. Lebron looks to continue his rise in performance, he has begun to shoot the ball more, now taking nearly 20 shots a game which could be an attempt to save his MVP hopes. Lebron’s game winner against the Warriors has made up for his shocking performance against the Jazz.

Blake Griffin – 24.2 points, 9.8 rebounds. The third spot in the MVP ladder is a tough one, at the moment it is hard to live up to the level of Durant and Lebron but Griffin is doing his best and has put up some impressive performances over the last 5 games. With the return of Chris Paul look for Griffin’s numbers to only improve and maybe make a run at the top two.

Nighthawk

Kevin Durant (OKC) - 31.2 ppg , 5.5 apg , 7.7 rpg

Durant’s Thunder keep racking up the wins and are 8-2 in their last 10 with losses coming against Washington and a surprise last second loss to Orlando. Durant seems like he is coasting at the moment in his last 10 - he's averaging 32.1ppg, 7.4rpg and 7.2 apg while shooting 55% from the field and this is still without their other star Russell Westbrook. The question remains will the Thunder be more dominant with him back or will they take a step backwards?

Lebron James (MIA) - 26.5 ppg , 6.6 apg , 7.0 rpg

Lebron has been on a tear ever since his loss to Durant’s Thunder and it seems Lebron now has some competition and has began to pick his game up. Over the past 10 games, he's averaging 27.9 ppg 8.4 rpg and 6.6 apg. He is finally beginning to take more shots and the Heat are benefitting from it as they have gone 8-2 in the last 10. LeBron is also fresh off a clutch performance after he hit a game winning fade-away 3 to beat the Warriors the other night. It seems that Durant hasn't won the MVP race yet and this is going to be fun to keep an eye on after the All Star Weekend.

Blake Griffin (LAC) - 24.2 ppg , 9.8 rpg , 3.5 apg

Blake Griffin has been great over the month of January and has continued that form and then some in February. He is averaging close to 35 a game and 8 rebounds. Griffin is proving he’s more than just a player who scores on huge dunks but a player who's capable of beating you in a variety a ways. That’s not say he doesn't still throw it down as he had back windmill dunks in their huge blowout win against the Sixers. With Blake’s great play and now a returning Chris Paul the Clippers now become a legitimate title contender as we go into the All Star weekend.

Standouts

FP - Blake Griffin/LA Clippers

Blake Griffin has bought life to the Clippers franchise that has had little to celebrate before they drafted him in 2009. Now they are one of the NBA’s premier teams and the All-Star power forward is excelling under Doc Rivers tutelage. Over the past 10 games he is averaging 35.4 ppg and 8.8 rebounds per game. That includes three games of 36 points and one with 43 points. The Clippers have gone 7-3 over those past ten games and have only had all-star Chris Paul back for two of those past ten. The Clippers are a team on the rise and with their All-Stars leading the way, the depth to make a good playoff run and one of the NBA’s top coaches I expect the Clippers to continue their winning ways after the All Star break.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are another Western Conference team that is looking stronger every outing. With All-Stars James Harden and Dwight Howard playing well, the Rockets have won seven straight games, the last one against the Washington Wizards coming off a James Harden game winning layup with 0.7 seconds remaining. The Rockets are a team that also benefits from having two All-Stars and good depth in their roster and are now sitting third in the Western Conference, a good place to be going into the All-Star break.

Teams on the rise

FP

Oklahoma City Thunder

Miami Heat

LA Clippers

Houston Rockets

Dallas Mavericks

HA - Houston Rockets

The Rockets remain in my ‘team on the rise’. They are currently on a 7 game winning streak and sit third in the West. With Howard and Harden playing well this team is starting to live up to the hype created during the off season.

Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavs have won their last 4 games and although they haven’t played any decent teams during this run they are looking a bit better. Their next five games look promising as well, with their toughest opponent being the struggling Hawks.

NH - Houston Rockets

The Rockets were my team on the rise last week and are still there this week. They are currently on a 7 game win streak and still aren't getting much attention which may be a good thing for them. Over this winning streak Dwight and Harden are leading the way, they are averaging a combined 50 points per game together and are also getting a good punch from Jeremy Lin off the bench. The Rockets are under the radar and could be a dark horse for the title this year.

Teams on the slide

FP

Philadelphia 76ers

LA Lakers

Atlanta Hawks

Denver Nuggets

HA - Philadelphia Sixers

The Sixers are on a 8 game losing streak, however it gets worst, they recently became only the second team to lose back to back games by 40 points. Are the Sixers tanking? Or are they really that bad.

NH - Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have been on the slide lately. They are currently on a 5 games losing streak. Al Horford’s injury has hurt them especially on the offensive end and Jeff Teague hasn't been as good without him. The Hawks have surprisingly been better without Teague as they are scoring 10 more points per 100 possessions without him on the floor. The Hawks however are a top 10 defence without Horford but its proving that Horford’s offence is more valuable to the team than his lack of defence.

Performance of the week

Lebron James – 36 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 14-26 FG, 4-8 3PT, Game winning 3PT shot

Lebron James earns himself another performance of the week award for his near triple-double vs. the Golden State Warriors. Lebron was aggressive and led the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat to an impressive road win. The Heat led by 18 at one point before the Warriors clawed back to lead by two with 14.6 seconds to go following Stephen Curry’s ‘and-1’ bank shot. Lebron got the ball and drilled a step back three-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Heat.

Play of the week

Play of the week this week goes to Blake Griffin for these Chris Paul assisted back to back windmill dunks against the Philadelphia 76ers. Note – these happened within 30 seconds of each other

Undercover Brother

FP - Jared Sullinger

This week’s undercover brother is Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger. The second year pro is currently averaging 13.2ppg and 8.2rpg but as of late is performing above his season averages.  Over his past seven games, he has recorded six double-doubles, with his best performance a 31 point 16 rebound effort coming against the Kings. With playmaker Rajon Rondo back dishing out assists, it’s no surprise Sullinger is playing above average and as long as they can stay healthy this could be the new duo to watch in Boston. 

NH - DeMarcus Cousins

You would think this guy would be an All Star, averaging 22 points per game with 11 rebounds. Cousins nearly has better stats than my third place MVP Blake Griffin. What makes Cousins so good is he is not only good offensively like Kevin Love or Blake Griffin but he is also a good defensive player. Cousins is one of the best big men in the league at the moment.

Storyline Watch/Random thoughts

HA - Steph Curry (GS)

Curry has been great over the past 10 but it hasn't translated to any more victories, however he is arguably the player that’s most valuable to his team. If he wasn't playing for the Warriors they would have no shot at making the playoffs and would arguably be a team contending for the number 1 pick. It seems as if Curry needs to score 30 plus and dish 10 assists for Golden State to get a narrow win. For example there last game against the Heat he scored 29 with 7 assists and hit a potential game winner only to be out done by Lebron but it’s an example of how good he needs to be for them to win.

FP - All Star break is finally upon us (starting Saturday NZT) and once again ESPN and Sky has done a great job in getting the broadcasting rights so us kiwi’s can tune in to the All-Star festivities. Here are a few things to look out for during the weekend

Rising Stars Challenge

Steven Adams competing against a number of other talented first or second year players including All Stars Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis as well as rookie of the year candidates Michael Carter Williams and Victor Oladipo.

Prediction: Team Hill

Skills Challenge

This is always an interesting event that happens fairly quickly. It involves a number of different skills normally suiting point guards. It’s a good showcase of the little skills you don’t always see in an actual game, which illustrates just how talented these players are.

Prediction: Damian Lillard

3-point contest

The three-point contest is an interesting competition as it can be really eventful or quite dull depending on how close the scores are. It’s good to see how accurate these guys actually are from three point range with no defenders but the added pressure of a time limit and other scores often makes up for it.

Prediction: Stephen Curry

Dunk contest

As I mentioned last week I expect a rejuvenated dunk contest this year with several stars competing along with a new format. I’m interesting in seeing the freestyle round where each conference’s players have a 90 second time limit featuring an unlimited amount of dunks. I say that because I’m the type of guy who prefers classic dunks rather than the gimmick dunks that feature props. Either way each of the rounds should provide a little for every fan to enjoy.

Prediction: John Wall

All Star Game

All star games can be tedious but the NBA has been doing a good job to make this game more exciting. Fortunately Kevin Durant and LeBron James are on opposing teams and I hope these two go head to head at some stage. I expect the game to stay close up until the 4th quarter where the game will hopefully pick up. Prediction: West to win 

Games to watch (All NZT following all-star break)

Raptors @ Wizards on Wednesday

Heat @ Mavericks on Wednesday

Heat @ Thunder on Friday

Rockets @ Warriors on Friday