Biweekly Player Power Rankings: 3/19/13
There are only about 16-20 games left in the NBA season for most teams. Depending on how their team is doing, certain players will start to play harder in order to stick around for next season or put a final touch on a contract year. This is definitely something that I saw in these player power rankings. A lot of the top 10 has shifted and guys who have normally been highly rated are sitting in the middle of the pack. There are guys who’ve held over, but that’s because they are models of consistency. So, lets dig in:
1. LeBron James
Nothing much else needs to be said besides what was said before for the last few months. LeBron James is awesome. Get used to it.
2. John Wall
Wall makes the top 10 for the first time this season since his return in January and he lands in our number two spot. He was the Eastern Conference player of the week last week and scored 25 points against the Charlotte Bobcats last night. In his last five games, he’s averaging 24.2 points per game and 9.8 assists on 58% shooting. After a horrible February it seems that Wall is finally finding his stride and is trying to prove his worth for a potential max deal.
3. Lamarcus Aldridge
Aldridge was the Western Conference player of the week last week and rightfully so. He’s been on a tear himself trying to keep the Trailblazers in the thick of the playoff race. Aldridge is averaging 25.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds on 51% shooting in his last 5 games. He’s got an 8.9 plus/minus rating along with a 59% true shooting percentage.
4. Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan is playing like he’s always played: phenomenal. Duncan is averaging 21.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds over the last five games on 57% shooting from the field. Duncan has led the team to close victories over the rival Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Duncan is proving to be the ultimate model of consistency around the league.
5. James Harden
James Harden is everything the Rockets could’ve wanted in a superstar talent and more. Harden goes out and makes it look easy to draw fouls, drive and kick, and hit pinpoint pocket passes every game. The Rockets have been steady for much of the latter half of the season, and that’s because Harden is scoring 26.8 points over his last five games on only 14.6 shots per game. He’s shooting 52% from three in that stretch as well.
6. Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol does a lot of things that don’t really show up in your basic box score. He may be the best defensive center in the league this season with Dwight Howard having a down year, he’s one of the best passing bigs in the league, and he has a lot of intangibles to go along with that. He’s got a plus/minus of 16.5 over his last 10.
7. Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard has picked up his game in the month of March and he’s a large reason why the Lakers have the final playoff spot in the Western Conference right now. Howard has 19.4 points over his last five, 14.4 rebounds per game, and 2.8 blocks as well. He’s returning to the force that he was last season slowly but surely.
8. Deron Williams
Speaking of returning, Deron Williams cracks our list in the top 10. In the last two weeks, Williams has murdered the Wizards hitting nine three point shots in one half for an NBA record, scored 25.1 points per game along with 8.3 assists on 51% shooting. He’s done all of this while putting the Nets in a position to win the Atlantic division.
9. Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis still have it all. If not for John Wall’s tremendous effort, Ellis would’ve
10. Dwyane Wade
11. Chris Paul
12. Stephen Curry
13. Wilson Chandler
14. Blake Griffin
15. Kevin Durant
16. Russell Westbrook
17. Brandon Jennings
18. Isaiah Thomas
19. Amir Johnson
20. Martell Webster
21. Mike Conley
22. Nikola Vucevic
23. Ricky Rubio
24. Tobias Harris
25. J.J Reddick
*Editors note: This was posted on March 21st because of technical difficulties.
