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The second half of the 2018-19 season is underway and the debate for the most valuable player (MVP) gets intensified with players getting warmed up and putting up some good numbers to make a claim for this prestigious trophy.
It’s a bit early to predict exactly who’s is going to win it but having passed the halfway stage of the regular season and teams getting serious for the playoffs. So now is the time when MVP calibre performances start coming up.
The fact that the MVP award considers the regular season performance and not playoffs, it’s now pretty much clear about who’s in and who’s out of the current debate.
#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
He has never failed to amaze the audience with his talent and scoring ability in the paint. The 'Greek freak' is averaging 26.4 points per game(ppg) while shooting at 58 %.
He averages 12.5 rebound per game (rpg) and 6 assists per game (apg) and thanks to him Bucks lead the eastern conference with the record of (33-12). Also, they lead the NBA in rpg (49.1), are only behind GSW in ppg (117.6) and are 3rd in blocks per game (6.0 bpg).
Acknowledging these numbers he has been named Eastern Conference player of the week four times and player of the month twice (the only player to do so this season) and has been dominating the east with his all-around consistent performance.
Analysts believe him as the strongest candidate for the race but the 24-year-old thinks he still has a long way to go.
He has been the threat on both ends of the floor and as long as he remains healthy and keeps going like this there’s no doubt that he’s there at the top of the list for this season's MVP.
#2 Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
Kawhi is not far away from Giannis be it MVP race or eastern conference standings.
After missing almost the entire season of 2017-18 citing quadriceps injury and wanting a trade out of spurs for personal reasons, Kawhi has made a strong claim for himself coming off the controversial last season.
He wanted to be the face of the team and with Raptors he's pretty much there. He controls the game and scores while Kyle Lorry focuses mainly on providing assists.
His role will be important in the playoffs as Raptors did well in the regular season last year as well before being swept the King's Cavs.
The Klaw currently averages around 27.6 ppg, 7.9 apg, and 3.1 apg. Toronto is the second seed in the east and he has been the dominating force. Raptors have a win-loss record of (25-11) with Kawhi and (10-2) without him.
With his impressive numbers, he has been the Eastern Conference player of the week twice till now.
#3 James Harden (Houston Rockets)
Reigning MVP wants this honour once again and his numbers certainly back up his determination and perseverance.
The beard has been in the form of his life averaging 35.7 ppg and recently joined Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record back-to-back 55-point games, also taking his (30+) points game streak to 19, and in these 19 games, he’s averaged 42.5 ppg and 8.9 apg.
Harden now has 13 50-point games in his career, passing LeBron James for the most among active players.
He has been the key to Houston’s success in the absence of Chris Paul and with other notable players missing quite a few games. Rockets currently stand 5th in the western conference with the record of (26-19).
After the mixed start of the season Rockets have bounced back thanks to the beard with (15-5) record in last 20 games.
He has been named western conference player of the week twice alongside with one player of the month mention. Notably, Harden also leads the title race to best scorer.
#4 Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Two times MVP is not letting go the opportunity to make the hat-trick. Although he missed few games due to injury but has been in red hot form averaging 29.8 ppg, 5.2rpg and 5.4 apg in 34 games he has played.
He does all this while shooting at 49.1 %, nearly 46 % beyond the arc and 92.3 %from the free throw line. If he continues this form he might well reach (50-40-90) club once again.
He now stands third in most three-pointers made in NBA history while playing only half the number of games in comparison to the rest of the top five.
At the start of the season, he became the only player to hit 5+ threes in seven straight games and recently has hit eight three-pointers in three straight games.
Curry currently averages 33.4 ppg in January while shooting 47.7 % beyond the arc and with his contribution Warriors now stand at the top of the western conference.
Warriors definitely look like an unbeatable team with curry on the floor but they aren’t that good when he is not in the team which happened during the month of November when he missed eleven games.
During that time they were 12th in offensive efficiency and 23rd in defensive efficiency. This shows how valuable Curry is to that team despite having Durant, Klay or Draymond.
Also, the ball movement, team mentality everything changes and eventually the record which is (26-8) with curry and (5-6) without curry.
Curry has been named the player of the week twice and he is the reason why Warriors lead the NBA in ppg with (118.6) and apg (28.8), which is something very vital for team performance.
#5 Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
This seven-footer has changed the definition of position center by his way of scoring and creating chances.
Joker has proved to be the biggest asset for the Denver who currently stands second in the west with a record of (31-14).
He currently averages 19.7 ppg, 10.1rpg, 7.7 apg shooting at 50.6 %.
To everyone’s surprise, he currently has more points than Westbrook and Jimmy Butler, has more rebounds than Steve Adams, has more assists than Kyrie and Lillard, and has more steals than Oladipo. These aren’t any specific comparison but definitely show how good he has been all around.
Interestingly, Denver averages 112.2 points per 100 possessions when Jokic is on the floor and average just 104.5 points per 100 possessions when he is on the bench.
This means they are effectively a top-five offence when Joker’s in and bottom-five offence when he’s benched.
He has already recorded five triple-double this season that’s more than twice as many as all others centers in the league combined. Joker has also been the player of the week twice.
#6 LeBron James (LA Lakers)
You just cannot keep the four times MVP out of the debate. After losing three starting games Lakers have come back strong since then and the key to this is Lebron James.
Interestingly he's averaging most ppg since 2009-10 season at a career low playing time of 34.8minutes per game.
The King currently averages around 27.3 ppg, 8.3rpg, 7.1 apg and the Lakers are (20-14) with Lebron and have the record of (5-8) without him which includes the defeat against Knicks and Cavs who are 13th and 15th in the east respectively.
As of now they are (25-22) and stand 9th in the western conference.
Consistency is something synonymous to King James and he hasn’t failed to impress us anytime.
When players of his age planning to retire or are sitting out because teams don't want them, Lebron is the one signing a contract at 33 and joining (33-47) Lakers to accept a new challenge and bring some hopes to this side which has failed terribly after the departure of Kobe.
#7 Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
Pelicans’ very own Davis currently averages 29.3 ppg, 13.5rpg (fourth in the league), 4.4 apg and has been player of the week once.
One more factor is his shot blocking ability; he averages around 2.6 bpg (second best in NBA).
He has been in this conversation for some time now and the only reason he misses out is that his team isn’t performing that good.
After the departure of both Cousins and Rondo once again all the responsibility came on AD and their record without him is a testimony to it.
Pelicans have only won one game without him (1-4) and currently stand 12th with a record of (21-25) which is a serious issue considering the competitiveness and as the season progresses his role becomes more complicated because he has to take them to the playoffs in the fierce battle of the west.
Guess the Lakers players!
