NBA Power Rankings: Monthly MVP Rankings
Throughout the season I've been doing a monthly MVP ranking around the beginning of each month, and it's time for the most recent update.
Normally I'm a complete stat geek, as those of you who have read many of my articles can attest. The thing about the MVP though is that it's not a stat award. It's an award that goes to the player who is doing the most to help his team.
Most people think "helping your team" means your team has to be elite. It's not law or anything, but there's no denying it's the common concept. It has been more than 25 years since a player has won the MVP on team that has less than 50 wins.
Is it possible the "best" player in the NBA wasn't on a 50-win team since then?
Absolutely, but that's not the way the voters think, and that's what my rankings are taking into consideration. What are the voters thinking? After all, this is an award that is voted on, so the most important thing here is what the voters are thinking.
Right or wrong, fair or foul, that's the way it is, and that's why my rankings are based on the "hype." Here they are.
10. Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
1 of 10
Last Month: No. 7
I can feel the hate coming already.
"How can I say that?!"
"Hater!"
The plethora of comments that are going to inevitably follow are easy to predict. Let's say right now his placement on the list at all is a concession to that.
First, his value to the Knicks is very high. I have questions though as to whether the Knicks have benefited as much or more by Raymond Felton. That's not to say Felton is better, but that the difference between Felton and Chris Duhon is a much broader distinction than the difference between Stoudemire and Lee.
But the reason he's so far down on the list is the reason I previously mentioned, the 50-win barrier. When there are viable candidates from teams pushing the 60-win mark, voters simply are not going to give it to a player on a team that has 43 wins, which is what the Knicks are on pace to win.
If the Knicks get on pace to win 50 or more, he'll go up, but for now I can't do it. It's not a statement about STAT, it's a statement about the Knicks.
9. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
2 of 10
Last Month: No. 6
Manu Ginobili has the opposite problem of Stoudemire.
While Stoudemire's team isn't good enough, Ginobili's is too good. How often have you had the thought this year, "Where would the Spurs be without Manu Ginobili?"
That's about all you need to say. Ginobili is a fantastic player on a great team, but I'm not convinced he's the most valuable. I'm not sure if he went out for a couple of weeks the Spurs would be struggling in his absence.
This becomes even harder to argue when you ask the question about Ginobili in comparison to Tony Parker or Tim Duncan.
If you want to start a fight, walk into a room full of Spurs fans, and ask who is their MVP. You'll have a four and a half hour argument break out without getting any closer to a resolution.
8. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
3 of 10
Last Month: No. 3
The Jazz have been struggling as of late.
For the month of January they've gone 5-8, and that's why Deron Williams has dropped in the power rankings. It doesn't help that they snapped their 6-game losing streak when he was out of the lineup.
Voters are fickle beasts, and they like to seize on nonsensical things when they cast their votes. Williams' January splits aren't that much different than his season splits. He's been scoring 21 and serving 10 dishes per game, but somehow, the losing will be on him as he isn't "helping his team to win."
7. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
4 of 10
Last Month: No. 2
When he was gone for nine games, and the Mavs were losing, it made a good case for why Dirk Nowitzki should be the MVP. Win with him, lose without him. Easy case for value, right?
Not so fast.
Dallas lost his first two games back, and in the games since his return, they're 5-3. Sure he got whistled for an early technical in his first game back, but when your team is on a losing streak, and you're in your first game back, you don't get whistled for a T.
Also notable are Nowitzki's monthly splits on rebounding.
It was 9.0 in October, 8.1 in November, 6.3 in December and 4.9 in January. His rebounding is going steadily down. He's sitting on 23.1 points and 6.9 rebounds right now, and it's just not enough to win MVP, particularly if it's going down. That's why he has dropped in the rankings.
6. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
5 of 10
Last Month: No. 8
Kobe Bryant may very well be a victim of his own greatness.
He's the Albert Pujols of the NBA. Every year he just puts up around 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. You just expect year-in and year-out greatness from him, so when you see what he's doing, you take it for granted.
Bryant is leading the NBA in usage percentage this year. His PER is the highest it's been in the Pau Gasol era. He's actually having a very good year, even by Bryant standards, but his scoring isn't as high and there has been this whole "20 shot" nonsense that has been blown out of proportion.
In the end all of this means that Bryant isn't at the forefront of the MVP conversation, but he is moving up.
5. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
6 of 10
Last Month: No. 9
Last month Kevin Durant was further down, along with teammate Russell Westbrook, because the two were having trouble distinguishing who was the MVP of the team.
Durant is by himself now on the strength of some monster performances, including a 47-point, 18-rebound game last week.
Durant was a preseason favorite, and his contract signing, which was discreetly negotiated without much hype, gave him a lot of "unLeBronian" notoriety to make him a favorite with the voters. Forget that LeBron played out his second contract with Cleveland too, reality and rhetoric don't always have to go hand-in-hand.
4. LeBron James, Miami Heat
7 of 10
Last Month: No. 5
LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now, and yes, I know he hasn't won a ring.
I know all the arguments that come with it, but whatever. He's still the best player. Rings don't mean you're a better player, they just mean you've had the fortune of getting better teammates. I guess James is wrong for having done that too.
I'm not a LeBron-hater, that's not why he's not higher. The reason he's not higher is because the Heat are struggling, and it's not all due to recent injury problems. James only missed two of those games, right? No, it's not that.
They're 2-10 in games settled by less than five points, second worst in the NBA. They aren't winning close games, and that's where you expect your MVP candidates to step up and take over.
Instead, the Heat are giving Mario Chalmers the last shot!!!
Mario Chalmers!!!
Things like that stick in voters' minds.
3. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
8 of 10
Last Month: No. 4
It's hard to know where to place him. It's easy to say he should be higher, it's just hard to say who he should be higher than.
Dwight Howard has become as dominant an offensive force as he is a defensive force.
The reworking of the team has the Magic with a different set of questions after the trade though. Where is the defense going to come from? Hedo Turkoglu's defense leaves something to be desired. Some might think their residence at the fourth seed is temporary, but it's looking like it may not be.
The two players ahead of Howard are on teams with better records. That's why he ends up here.
2. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
9 of 10
Last Month: No. 10
Christ Paul gets a major move up because of his play and how he has helped his team over the last month.
How can you argue with a 10-game win streak? Paul brings it all: scoring, defense and rebounding. He's an elite player and an elite point guard.
While I think the whole "who's the best point guard in the NBA" conversation is way overblown—and there's actually more than one correct answer to the question—Paul is one of them.
Frankly, it would be "a-Paul-ing" to not have him in the top three on this list.
1. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
10 of 10
Last Month: No. 1
Yes, I'm a Bulls fan.
No, that's not the reason he's placed here.
If you think it's pure "homerism" you need to rethink your position. He's ranked at the top of both the ESPN and NBA rankings for a reason.
The Bulls right now have the third best record in the NBA, behind only Boston and San Antonio—both of which are hard to distinguish who the MVP of the team even is.
Meanwhile, Derrick Rose has had his starting five on the court for nine games all season.
He has had one of his two best teammates out for the rest, and in three of them, he has had neither. He has hit four game-winning shots. He's the first point guard in a decade to average 24 points and eight assists. He has gone head-to-head with Durant, Bryant and Dwayne Wade and walked away the victor.
During the last month the Bulls have beaten Boston, Miami, Dallas and Orlando.
And oh yeah, as if that weren't enough, Rose carried Chicago to a win against the Magic with two ulcers. If it were only one ulcer you might have an argument, but heck, if there's a tie breaker between Rose and Paul, you've got to give it to him based on the second ulcer.
