MVP watch

Fresh Prince

1.         Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder 32.1ppg, 7.5rpg, 5.6apg)

2.         LeBron James (Miami Heat, 26.6ppg, 6.9rpg, 6.5apg)

3.         Blake Griffin (LA Clippers, 24.0ppg, 9.6rpg)

In my mind the race for this years MVP is all but over. Kevin Durant has maintained his place atop the rankings and with less than 10 games to play, KD has earned the right to be named MVP for the first time in his career. 

Kevin Durant (OKC) – 32.1 ppg , 7.5 rpg , 5.6 apg

Durant has pretty much wrapped up the MVP award this season as he is on a another level compared to the rest the NBA including LeBron James. Not only is Durant continuing is dominant play as he now has 39 game streak of 25 plus point games (one less than the record held by Michael Jordan) but his Thunder are starting to get momentum, they are 8-2 in their last 10 and have just ended the Spurs franchise record 19 game winning streak. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson has even gone as far as saying that Durant is this season MVP.

LeBron James (MIA) – 26.6 ppg , 6.9 rpg , 6.5 apg

LeBron has his Heat winning some much needed games down the stretch as they try to pull in the number one seed in the East. LeBron has been inconsistent with his numbers as he’s having a few big games followed by some quite nights, nonetheless he has his team winning and that is the main point. All is going good for the Heat so far as they currently have the top seed and with Pacers struggling they look to be the favorites to wrap it up. LeBron will need to pull off something spectacular it looks like he won’t be getting his 5th MVP award just yet.

Standouts

FP - San Antonio Spurs

A loss to 2nd placed Oklahoma City Thunder ended a franchise topping 19 game win streak for the San Antonio Spurs. I’ve had the Spurs numerous times this season in the ‘standout’ category and although this streak has ended, they are leading the league with a 59-17 record. If there is one thing the Spurs have taught us this year (and every year in the past decade or so) is that so long as the Poppovich-Duncan-Parker-Ginobilli core is intact, the Spurs are a contender. 

Kevin Durant

Not much needs to be said about KD. He’s averaging 32.1 points per game making Carmelo’s 28.0 ppg and LeBron’s 26.6 ppg look pedestrian. In addition he’s shooting 51.0% from the field and 40.8% from the 3PT line and 87.3% from the free throw line making for one of the greatest scoring seasons in NBA history. To top it off, he is one game away from tying Michael Jordan’s record of 40 games scoring 25 or more per game.

Teams on the rise – (Last 10 games)

FP - San Antonio Spurs (9-1)

Oklahoma City Thunder (8-2)

LA Clippers (7-3)

New York Knicks (7-3)

Phoenix Suns (7-3)

NH - Oklahoma City Thunder (55-19) – 2nd in Western Conference

Some were saying this mid season then that chatter cooled off and now its heating back up - the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking like the team to beat as we are heading right into the playoffs. They just beaten the team that had a staggering 19 game win streak and did it convincingly as they won by 12. They are looking good and having the best player in league certainly helps while also having Russell Westbrook playing at a high level makes them a scary proposition heading in to the playoffs.

Teams on the slide (Last 10)

FP - Philadelphia 76ers (1-9)

Boston Celtics (1-9)

Utah Jazz (1-9)

Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards (5-5) and all in the playoffs

NH - Milwaukee Bucks (14-61) – 15th in Eastern Conference

This could go to a few teams but I thought I would go with the Bucks this week, as they are the worst team in the league. All the recent talk about the league’s worst team has been about the 76ers as they had the 26 game losing streak which they were luckily enough to break avoiding taking the league record. However the Bucks have for some reason been forgotten about, they are the worst team in the league and are somehow 2 games behind the Sixers who went on that losing streak. The Bucks have no hope this season and all they do now is hope that the get the number one pick and pick a player that will help them right away.

Performance of the week

FP - Nick Young

40 Points, 15-26 FG, 6-13 3PT, 4-5 FT in 33 mins

 Not many standout performances this week. A few triple doubles from Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, LeBron James and James Harden but none that specifically caught my eye. I thought I’d give this week’s performance of the week to Nick Young, who is quietly having a great year for the abysmal Lakers. The ‘volume’ scorer is certainly considered hot or cold and was in fine form against the Trailblazers although it is of note that his 40 points came in a 12 point loss.

Play of the week 

“WE OUT” – Steph Curry after his cold blooded game winner. (Note: the tough call on Monta Ellis, looked like a goaltend toome)

Westbrook’s nice reverse dunk against the Spurs

Rookie Watch

NH - At the top, there hasn’t been much change with Michael Carter-Williams leading the charge and Victor Oladipo a close second. They have both been performing well lately as MCW is averaging 16 points 8.5 rebounds and 6 assists while Oladipo is averaging 15 points and 5 assists and has scored 10 plus in 11 straight games.

The biggest headline in the rookie news has been the play of some of the less well-known players that have been making some noise especially Minnesota’s Gorgui Dieng and Sacramento’s Ray MaCallum. Dieng just won March’s Eastern Conference player on the month, having a few huge rebounding games highlighted by a very impressive 22 points and 21 rebound game as he has been filling in for the injured Nikola Pekovic. MaCallum has been hot himself as he fills in for Isaiah Thomas; he had a 22 point 10 assist game and then followed it up with a 27 point game in a win over the Lakers. Some say this Rookies class was a weak one and has been to an extent but some of these rookies are proving a point and are forcing their way into a rotation in their team. 

Storyline Watch/Random thoughts

FP - The Playoff Race

The race towards the playoffs really heats up now with a number of teams clinching playoff spots and others eliminated from playoff contention. As it stands the Heat, Pacer, Raptors, Bulls, Nets and Wizards are locked into the east playoffs with the Bobcats looking likely to clinch a playoff spot in the next few games. The Knicks are currently in 8th position with the Hawks and Cavaliers in realistic contention for that final spot.

The west is a different story with only the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers clinching playoff spots so far. The Rockets and Trailblazers are next a few games back but are a few games ahead of the logjam for the final spots. The Warriors, Mavs, Grizzlies and Suns are all separated by two games of less meaning the Suns who are currently 9th are only a couple of wins away from 6th position. I expect this battle to go down to the wire and should be exciting to follow. Show’s the importance of Stephen Curry’s game winner which came against the Mavs who are now 1.5 games behind them.

Games to watch (All NZT)

The games to watch now are the ones which will have playoff repercussions.  Whether it’s teams getting in and clinching playoff spots, or whether it’s determining the final order each game becomes increasingly important as we near the end of the regular season.

Suns @ Trailblazers on Saturday

Thunder @ Rockets on Saturday – Can KD’s streak continue

Cavaliers @ Hawks on Saturday – 9th and 10th in the East

Bobcats @ Cavaliers on Monday

Knicks @ Heat on Tuesday – Potential 1st round matchup

Thunder @ Clippers on Thursday