Updated Season Report Card Grades for Every NBA Superstar

I'm no Nostradamus or even Miss Cleo, though such clairvoyance would certainly come in handy when fleshing out my bracket for March Madness.

But I must admit, I do feel somewhat culpable for the flood of misfortune to befall the NBA's superstars over the past seven days. Last week, I dubbed the 2012-13 season as the Year of the Injured Superstar, citing the likes of Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker and Kyrie Irving, among others, to support my "humble" designation.

Since then, Kobe Bryant's been victimized by Dahntay Jones (again), Carmelo Anthony has been shuffled in and out of the New York Knicks lineup while finally submitting to having his knee drained of fluid, and Andrew Bynum's been officially shelved for the year after giving in to the inevitable—namely, more surgery on both of his chronically catastrophic knees.

As such, this week's list looks more like the aftermath of a war of attrition than an honest-to-goodness evaluation of the NBA's Who's Who. Luckily, there's no shortage of players for whom a strong argument for inclusion can be made.

Nonetheless, it behooves all of us hoops heads to scribble out some "Get Well" cards and cobble together care packages for our favorite superstars, so many of whom are already laid up. And to keep our fingers crossed that those who are still walking (and playing) stay that way.

Dropouts

Kobe Bryant

Stats from the Week that Was: 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, .294 from the field, .267 from three, 3.3 free-throw attempts and 3.0 turnovers in 28.9 minutes (three games)

Truth be told, Kobe wasn't exactly having the most efficient week before Dahntay Jones Jalen Rose'd him. He'd hit just 15 of 47 shots from the field with eight total turnovers against the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks.

And, realistically, his numbers from his Willis Reed-style stint against the Indiana Pacers (no points on 0-of-4 from the field, one rebound, two assists and one turnovers in 12 minutes) probably shouldn't count. After all, Bryant was little more than a decoy—a superstar in name whose game was impaired by a severely sprained ankle that landed him squarely back on the bench after the first quarter.

In any case, don't expect to see the Black Mamba back on this list until he's healthy enough to play and, in turn, have his abilities "evaluated" by yours truly.

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A (No. 3)

Carmelo Anthony

Stats from the Week that Was: 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, .250 from the field, .000 from three, 4.0 free-throw attempts and 3.0 turnovers in 21.5 minutes (one game)

Like Kobe, Carmelo's week was limited to a single token appearance on account of pain in his knee. Anthony played just under 22 minutes in that game—a 23-point blowout at the hands of his old team, the Denver Nuggets, in his first trip back to the Pepsi Center since being traded to the New York Knicks in February 2011.

There's hope for 'Melo yet, though. He told Al Iannazzone of Newsday that his knee has felt much better since being drained of fluid that Anthony claims was the result of a "slight hamstring pull." The explanation may seem fishy, but I doubt the Knicks will refuse his return to the hardwood.

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): B (No. 9)

10. Dwight Howard

Stats from the Week that Was: 14.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.8 blocks, .440 from the field, .000 from three, 7.3 free-throw attempts and 2.8 turnovers in 37.5 minutes (four games)

At one point, Dwight Howard appeared to be on track for a "promotion." He played, perhaps, his best game in purple and gold when he racked up 39 points (on a record-tying 39 free-throw attempts) and 16 rebounds against the Magic in his first trip to Orlando as a visitor.

Then, Howard put up a pair of stinkers—both of which came in Lakers losses, both of which were in the second half of back-to-backs. The first came against an Atlanta Hawks squad that started Johan Petro and Kyle Korver in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia and Josh Smith, respectively. The second occurred opposite the Phoenix Suns, who were able to limit Howard to 6-of-18 from the field and just five free-throw attempts with Jermaine O'Neal, Luis Scola and Hamed Haddadi manning the middle.

On the season, Howard has averaged 14.4 points and 11.5 rebounds in 13 games without rest. That's not exactly surprising, considering he's been hurt all year and didn't have the opportunity to work himself into proper shape over the summer. Still, by Dwight's lofty standards, those numbers are undoubtedly disappointing, as is LA's 5-8 record in the second half of back-to-backs with D12 in the lineup.

Fortunately for the Lakers, there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs and they have but two left on the remainder of the regular-season schedule.

Current Grade: B- (83 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): B (No. 10)

9. Stephen Curry

Stats from the Week that Was: 24.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, .493 from the floor, .500 from three, 3.0 free-throw attempts and 3.8 turnovers in 39.0 minutes (four games)

Stephen Curry returns to the top 10 after a brief hiatus, though his stay may be a short one if some of his superstar peers heal in time for next week's edition.

Not that Curry's current inclusion can't stand on its own merits. He recently turned in a pair of 30-point games and posted his best performance since his explosion at MSG to lift his wobbly Warriors to a crucial victory over the rival Houston Rockets. Curry went off for 29 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block in 44:32 in what turned out to be a 108-78 plastering to keep Golden State in sixth place out West.

Such standout showings in important games are the hallmarks of superstardom, which Curry has certainly achieved this season (even if the league's All-Star selectors didn't exactly agree).

Current Grade: B (86 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): N/A (NR)

8. Tim Duncan

Stats from the Week that Was: 29.0 points, 15.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 blocks, .641 from the floor, 4.5 free-throw attempts and 3.5 turnovers in 35.2 minutes (two games)

As Grantland's Bill Simmons wrote of Tim Duncan in The Book of Basketball:

"

"...like Bird, Russell and Magic, he always saved his A-game for when his team desperately needed him..."

"...he made everyone else better and came through when it mattered. I don't know what's left."

"

This past week saw Timmy live up to those lofty standards and remind those, like Simmons (among others), who've anointed him as the greatest power forward of all time as to why exactly they did so. With Tony Parker still sidelined by an ankle injury, Duncan stepped up with a pair of monstrous double-doubles to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a pair of wins in close encounters.

Granted, the Dallas Mavericks and the Kyrie Irving-less Cleveland Cavaliers don't count as juggernauts. Nonetheless, the Spurs needed Timmy to dominate like his younger self and, in each case, he delivered.

Current Grade: B+ (88 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): N/A (NR)

7. Blake Griffin

Stats from the Week that Was: 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, .483 from the field, .000 from three, 6.0 free-throw attempts and 2.0 turnovers in 37.4 minutes (two games)

Last week was a light and surprisingly quiet one for Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers. They had but two games on the schedule, though both—at home against the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks—had the makings of marquee matchups.

Instead, the Clips got punked by the Grizz, with Griffin struggling to stop Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, and (predictably enough) made minced meat of the Melo-less Knicks, thanks in no small part to Blake's 12 rebounds and 12 points.

And, as always, Griffin defied gravity on more than one occasion. 

Current Grade: B+ (88 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): B+ (No. 7)

6. Russell Westbrook

Stats from the Week that Was: 25.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, .509 from the floor, .273 from three, 7.7 free-throw attempts and 3.3 turnovers in 34.0 minutes (three games)

This past week might've been the steadiest of the season for Russell Westbrook. He didn't cost the Thunder any games or shoot so often as to invite the criticism of those who think he's cramping Kevin Durant's style.

It helps that OKC ran through a trio of inferior opponents in that time, with only the Dallas Mavericks mounting much of a challenge. Nonetheless, Westbrook deserves at least some props for racking up more points than field-goal attempts and moving the ball from the backcourt.

And when the going got tough against Dallas, Russ got going with a game-high 35 points, 15 of which came in the third quarter.

Current Grade: B+ (89 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): B (No. 8)

5. James Harden

Stats from the Week that Was: 25.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.0 steals, .462 from the field, .500 from three, 10.7 free-throw attempts and 4.0 turnovers in 38.5 minutes (three games)

The Rockets certainly could've used a bit more scoring out of James Harden during their 30-point loss to the Warriors. Harden scored 21 of Houston's 78 points while shooting 6-of-16 from the field and getting to the free-throw line a relatively modest six times.

But the Beard hardly deserves the bulk of the blame for the Rockets' disappointing defeat. He stuffed the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals and probably would've wound up with a triple-double had his teammates combined to shoot better than 31.4 percent from the floor.

Then again, it's not as though Harden and Jeremy Lin weren't at all responsible for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combining for 55 points on the other end...so, there's that. 

Current Grade: A- (90 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A- (No. 6)

4. Dwyane Wade

Stats from the Week that Was: 20.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, .519 from the field, .000 from three, 6.0 free-throw attempts and 2.0 turnovers in 34.6 minutes (five games)

If this weren't already the Year of the Injured Superstar, Dwyane Wade might be trotting around as the poster child for the Year of the Comeback. After surviving through knee problems during the 2011-12 season, Wade is now thriving amid a clean bill of health. The Heat's 23-game winning streak has seen D-Wade play arguably his best ball of the Big Three era, with some, like fellow Chicagoan Michael Wilbon, proclaiming that the All-Star shooting guard is invoking images of his run to the NBA title in 2006.

Wade's counting stats may not be as impressive as they were back then, though there's plenty to be said for a 31-year-old wing shooting a career-high 52.3 percent from the field on the season—54.6 percent since the Heat last tasted defeat.

Wade may have ceded "ownership" of the team to LeBron James, but that hasn't exactly diminished the importance of the longtime Heat star's contributions to what's thus far been a stunning repeat campaign. 

Current Grade: A (96 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A (No. 5)

3. Chris Paul

Stats from the Week that Was: 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks, .542 from the field, .333 from three, 8.5 free-throw attempts and 3.0 turnovers in 37.8 minutes (two games)

What does it say about Chris Paul's MVP runner-up candidacy that he put together such a strong performance against the Memphis Grizzlies, yet wasn't able to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to victory therein? Paul racked up 24 points—on 7-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line—to go along with nine assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block, though it wasn't enough to keep the Clips from losing a crucial Western Conference showdown by double digits.

Not that CP3 was at all perfect against Memphis. He turned the ball over five times and managed an uncharacteristically paltry two points in the fourth quarter while being hounded by Mike Conley. The Clips will need more out of Paul in crunch time if they're to hold on to some semblance of home-court advantage in the West down the stretch run of the season. 

Current Grade: A (97 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A (No. 4)

2. Kevin Durant

Stats from the Week that Was: 26.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks, .532 from the field, .333 from three, 10.0 free-throw attempts and 6.7 turnovers in 34.7 minutes (three games)

Kevin Durant must've heard all those concerns about his post-All-Star slump. Either that, or his return to superb efficiency this past week just came naturally.

Either way, KD once again looked like a scoring assassin in leading OKC to a 3-0 showing in mid-March. He was particularly prolific in the Thunder's rivalry game against the Mavericks in Dallas, when he dropped 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to secure OKC's third 50-plus-win campaign in its past four.

The lone exception? Last year's 47-win tally during the 66-game, lockout-shortened season.

Current Grade: A+ (105 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A+ (No. 2)

1. LeBron James

Stats from the Week that Was: 25.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, .474 from the field, .222 from three, 9.2 free-throw attempts and 3.6 turnovers in 36.3 minutes (five games)

Usually, when a player puts together a line like the one Jeff Green tallied on March 18—43 points on 14-of-21 from the field and 10-of-13 from the line, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks—his team wins and he comes away as the unparalleled player of the game.

Unfortunately for Jeff Green, he happened to share the floor that evening with LeBron James, who also happens to be the most transcendent basketball player since Michael Jordan.

All James did was upstage Kevin Garnett's de facto replacement in nearly every way possible while leading the Miami Heat to a thrilling comeback victory over the Celtics in Boston. Statistically, LeBron accounted for 64 of Miami's 105 points by way of his 37 points and 12 assists, which he accompanied with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

And as far as highlights are concerned, none can top James' alley-oop posterization of longtime rival Jason Terry.

At this point, it'd take a miracle on par with that put forth by Green to turn this year's MVP race into anything other than a LeBron landslide.

Current Grade: A++ (110 Percent)

Last Week's Grade (and Ranking): A++ (No. 1)

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