Friday NBA Roundup: LeBron James Making It Impossible to Ignore MVP Candidacy
In his first game after being named February’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month, LeBron James showed precisely why he’s a predominant figure in the nightmares of every Atlanta Hawks player, coach and fan.
The world’s best player tallied 38 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists during a 135-130 win, just two nights after he recorded a 28-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double amid a thrilling four-point loss against the Boston Celtics.
It was classic LeBron, and yet another performance that should nudge his name next to Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the MVP conversation.
After Friday night, James is now averaging 26.6 points (ninth-highest in the league), 10.1 assists (third-highest) and 8.6 rebounds (20th) over his last 15 games. Those numbers are impressive, but what makes them stand out is his efficiency.
During that stretch, James has made 58.7 percent of his shots (the highest mark of anyone who attempts at least 10 field-goals per game) and 50.8 percent of his three-point jumpers.
His value to the Cavaliers is undeniable: For the year, they’ve been outscored by 4.7 points per 100 possessions when he's been off the court, and their offense has been 10 points per 100 possessions better when he’s been in the game. James dominate games and makes just about everyone around him so much better than they should be.
Just look at this play from Friday's first half—a 24-minute span in which Cleveland scored an incredible 77 points with an even more incredible true shooting percentage of 79.9 percent:
James turns down an open three to drive, kick and pick up a secondary assist. Cleveland’s assist rate is never lower than when LeBron isn’t on the floor. He fosters unselfishness with all the help he routinely forces, whether it be on a drive, cut or post-up. The play above was just one of the NBA-record 25 threes the Cavaliers drilled during the game.
But James still finds himself on the outside looking in for his fifth MVP, a discussion that spent the past few months narrowing in on Westbrook and Harden.
Both are plenty deserving of the award, but none have dealt with the same turmoil James has.
Yes, he has a majestic wizard like Kyrie Irving as his point guard, but Cleveland has been down J.R. Smith and All-Star Kevin Love for a good portion of the season and has never fallen from first place.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model, Cleveland is projected to finish fourth in point differential with the third-highest chance at winning it all. That’s all LeBron. He averages 37.6 minutes per game (second in the league) and is the one constant on a team that’s constantly changing.
From the Kyle Korver trade, to the Derrick Williams signing, to the decision to add Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut as buy-out mercenaries, James not only integrates new faces into the fold without skipping a beat, but he also props guys up and helps them play at levels they’ve never seen before. Korver is shooting 50.4 percent from beyond the arc since he joined the Cavs, while Derrick Williams has never been more efficient.
The King is the queen on a chessboard, as Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue recently told ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
""He brings so much to our team. The way he can defend, rebound the basketball, get guys involved, get guys easy shots, can score the basketball, knowing when to pick and choose his spots, when to be aggressive offensively but also getting guys involved. He's just a winner. Anybody that goes to the Finals six straight times is a winner.
He just makes everyone better, myself included."
"
James may not win the MVP trophy this year. (Westbrook logged 48 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.) But no player has been more important to his respective team.
Dario Saric Making ROY Race Interesting
For a team that’s dealt with its fair share of heartbreaking injuries this season, it's only right that the Philadelphia 76ers roster the top two rookies in the league.
Dario Saric, in his first game since winning February’s Rookie of the Month award, continued his brilliant run during Philadelphia’s 105-102 win over the New York Knicks. He scored a team-high 21 points, shot 50 percent from the field, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and tallied four critical assists for good measure.
With fellow rookie, teammate and ROY candidate Joel Embiid out for the year with a torn meniscus, Saric’s case for Rookie of the Year grows stronger by the day. His three-point shot remains a work in progress (he went 1-of-5 from deep against the Knicks), but he’s advanced just about everywhere else, averaging 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists since January 24.
He's also the only Sixer who's played in every game this year, an accomplishment that sounds less impressive than it actually is.
This dude is going to be very good for a long time.
Toronto Gets a Much-Needed Win
Doomsday scenarios poured in when news first broke last week that wrist surgery would sideline Kyle Lowry for at least one month, per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski. A pre-All-Star break slide had the Toronto Raptors behind three Eastern Conference heavyweights in the standings, and a quick look at the schedule showed two critical games on the horizon against one of them: the Washington Wizards.
But after a convincing 114-106 victory over a healthy, thriving Wizards squad on Friday night, apparently there's no need for concern. Toronto now has a 2-1 season series lead over Washington, which gives it the playoff tiebreaker.
The Raptors have also won four of their last five games since Lowry went down, an astonishing accomplishment that keeps hope for earning a No. 2 or 3 seed alive. Failure to do so would all but ensure a second-round battle against the defending champion Cavaliers, aka certain death.
But Toronto's depth has shined for now. Norm Powell and Cory Joseph combined to score 36 points on 25 shots, while DeMar DeRozan did what he does: exploding for 32 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a key game few expected the Raptors to win.
They aren't out of the woods just yet. They still don't have Lowry for at least another three weeks and sit in fourth place (by winning percentage) if the season ended today. But Washington's upcoming schedule is brutal, with 11 more road games in March and crucial showdowns against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
If Toronto eventually holds on and positions itself on the right side of the bracket, it should view Friday night's win as arguably its biggest of the season.
What's Wrong With The Clippers?
With a horrendous 11-point road loss against the Milwaukee Bucks (during which they allowed 66 points in the first half), the Los Angeles Clippers have lost four of their past five games and posted the NBA's second-worst point differential during that span, per NBA.com.
Blake Griffin has been his borderline superhero self. Chris Paul is working his way back from a thumb injury by averaging a double-double. DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick are as reliable as they've ever been. So, what's the deal?
The Clippers' bench has totally disappeared. (Why does this sound familiar?)
It's a momentary cause for concern with a team that has so much riding on the line as it heads down the stretch into the playoffs. A few of its recent games have been against some top-shelf competition (San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, etc.), but losing to the Milwaukees of the world isn't ideal.
Nerlens Noel Has Arrived In Big D
The Nerlens Noel era has unofficially started with a surprising 104-100 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. During his first start in a Mavericks uniform, the 22-year-old big man had arguably the finest performance of his career, tying a career high with 17 rebounds, blocked two shots and scoring 15 points on 10 field-goal attempts.
Noel also finished plus-nine on the ledger, which was a game high in the plus/minus department.
With a reliable rim protector locked in as their starting anchor, the Mavericks might be tank proof. They have one eye on the future—the decision to waive Deron Williams and trade Andrew Bogut shows this team isn’t overly concerned with where it finishes this season—but continue to punch their way through a six-team battle royale for the No. 8 seed.
If Noel can outplay players of Marc Gasol's caliber on a regular basis, the Mavericks will probably grab that final spot.
Should the Spurs Be Gunnin' for That No. 1 Spot?
Heading into Friday night’s overtime showdown against the New Orleans Pelicans, FiveThirtyEight’s playoff forecast had the San Antonio Spurs with a 16 percent chance of earning a top seed and a 21 percent shot at winning it all.
That model doesn’t factor in a few critical variables, though: 1) the Golden State Warriors announced All-Star Kevin Durant is expected to miss at least four weeks with a sprained MCL, and 2) Pau Gasol made his return from a broken left hand four games ago, and, for the time being, Gregg Popovich will play him off the bench.
The Spurs are now 2.5 games back of the Warriors, a team that just lost two straight and won't have their best player for the foreseeable player.
It creates one of the most noteworthy subplots as we head down the stretch: Will San Antonio continue to value health and rest over all else, or will it go after the No. 1 seed and gain home-court advantage throughout the playoffs?
Friday's Final Scores
- Philadelphia 76ers 105, New York Knicks 102
- Toronto Raptors 114, Washington Wizards 106
- Orlando Magic 110, Miami Heat 99
- Cleveland Cavaliers 135, Atlanta Hawks 130
- Milwaukee Bucks 112, Los Angeles Clippers 101
- Dallas Mavericks 104, Memphis Grizzlies 100
- Utah Jazz 112, Brooklyn Nets 97
- Phoenix Suns 118, Oklahoma City Thunder 111
- San Antonio Spurs 101, New Orleans Pelicans 98
- Boston Celtics 115, Los Angeles Lakers 95
All stats and salary information via NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.
Michael Pina covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He hosts The Big Three Podcast, which you can subscribe to here.
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