There is only one month left in the regular season and the teams are positioning themselves for their playoff position. Things are also starting to get serious at the awards. Who is currently ahead in the MVP race?
by Ole Frerks
From time to time we all tend to make certain topics more complicated than they actually are.
We look for reasons why a certain belief may not be correct after all.
We think that only we can see an alternative that could be a better solution. Or something like that.
What does this all have to do with the MVP race? So…
Click here for the previous ranking!
Sunday, March 24th, from 8:00 p.m.: 76ers at Clippers live on P7 MAXX, Joyn, ran.de and in the ran app.
1st place: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets; last ranking: 2nd place)
26,1 Punkte, 64,9% True Shooting, 12,3 Rebounds, 9,0 Assists, 1,3 Steals (68 Spiele)
Welcome back to the top, Nikola Jokic! For some time it seemed as if the Serb and his team were letting it slide enough this season to leave room for other candidates. The space has become smaller, if it hasn’t already been completely obliterated – Jokic’s dominance since the All-Star break is almost vulgar and in the end leaves relatively few questions unanswered.
Since the break, the Joker has averaged 25.4 points, 13.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists, as well as 2.8 stocks (1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks). With 67.2% true shooting and a 10-1 record, including victories against the supposed closest challenger Boston (including sensational crunch time), the Warriors and last year’s opponents in the last two playoff rounds. With a net rating of +19.2, logical.
Jokic is the best player in the league (NBA live every weekend on ProSieben MAXX and ran.de) and makes Denver the team to beat when it comes to the postseason. The MVP is about the regular season, but again it’s pretty easy to make the case for him. In terms of win shares, box plus/minus, player efficiency rating and VORP, for example, he is at the top of the league everywhere, sometimes very clearly.
He is back in pole position, MVP award number three is within reach. Maybe there’s no need to make it more complicated than it is.
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Platz 2: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC Thunder; 1)
30,8 Punkte, 64,4% True Shooting, 5,6 Rebounds, 6,4 Assists, 2,1 Steals (68 Spiele)
Not that Shai has done anything wrong or even different since the last ranking. The Canadian is remarkably consistent, especially when it comes to scoring: three times this season he finished under 20 points, five times over 40, everything else was in the 20-39 range. Shai scored exactly his season average of 31 points eleven times alone.
He remains incredibly efficient, especially for a guard. Recently he also increased his three-point volume a bit. With 48 30-point games this season, he has already broken Kevin Durant’s Thunder record, with 18 more games to go. And of course he’s not just a scorer; Shai leads the league in steals.
The Thunder continue to dominate, are currently leading the Western Conference and should fight for home advantage with their rivals, the Denver Nuggets, until the end. The MVP doesn’t have to depend on the record as long as it stays close. If in doubt, most voters would definitely vote for the “proven” Jokic. However, Shai now looks like the best candidate in the rest of the field who could challenge Jokic for the award.
Platz 3: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; 3)
30,7 Punkte, 65,4% True Shooting, 11,2 Rebounds, 6,4 Assists, 1,2 Steals, 1 Block (65 Spiele)
The Bucks’ West Coast trip, including two 35-point defeats at Golden State and Sacramento, somewhat destroyed the narrative that Milwaukee’s defense was “fixed.” It’s better, but… not good. However, it’s not because of Giannis’ achievements. In his minutes, Milwaukee defends. His on/off swing of +14.5 is only surpassed by Jokic among the candidates mentioned here.
Giannis is still having the most efficient scoring season of his career and is dishing out more assists than ever before. He remains one of the league’s athletic exceptions and approaches every game with almost pathological ambition. He is one of the best finishers the league has ever seen and is scoring by far the most points in the zone this season (20.1 per game).
The 2024 Bucks are a team with a lot of work to do. Giannis covers up a lot of them and has carried his team to the second-best record in the East so far, although the losses to the Cavs, Philly and New York certainly helped, but that’s just how it goes. He continues to be one of the biggest impact players in the NBA.
Platz 4: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks; 4)
34,1 Punkte, 61,5% True Shooting, 9 Rebounds, 9,8 Assists, 1,5 Steals (61 Spiele)
Let’s hope that the thigh injury doesn’t force the Slovenian to take a longer break. Since the All-Star break, Doncic has been no less impressive than his Serbian best friend: 36.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 11.4 assists over ten games, with strong efficiency (64% true shooting), considering you can see the enormous level of difficulty of most of its degrees.
NBA: The best individual performances in a game
On January 2, 2023, Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points in his Cleveland Cavaliers’ 145-134 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls. His performance was one of the best in recent years. ran shows the best individual performances of individual players in NBA history to date. This is our top 10!© IMAGO/Icon Sportswire
Russell Westbrook
April 2, 2019 was a special day for Russell Westbrook. Just two days after rapper Nipsey Hussle was murdered, the then Oklahoma City Thunder professional managed to honor him in his own way. 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists he played in a 119:103 win against the LA Lakers. A performance for the history books!© Getty Images
David Robinson
Only four players in NBA history have accomplished what David Robinson did on February 17, 1994 against the Detroit Pistons. With a statline of 34 points, ten rebounds, ten assists and ten blocks He played a legendary “quadruple double” in a 115:96 victory for his San Antonio Spurs. © Getty Images
Kobe Bryant
When you hear the name Kobe Bryant, it doesn’t take long to think of his performance on January 22, 2006 against the Toronto Raptors.
81 points (!), six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block The “Black Mamba” played against the Los Angeles Lakers 122:104. Bryant’s 81 points remain the second most ever scored in a game by an NBA player.© imago/UPI Photo
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic was unstoppable in the 148:143 win against the Atlanta Hawks on January 27, 2024. The Slovenian practically couldn’t miss. At the end there was a statline of 73 points, ten rebounds and seven assists on 75.8 percent from the field. His 73 points were also a franchise record for the Dallas Mavericks. He almost posted the most absurd triple-double in NBA history.© IMAGO/ZUMA Wire
Wilt Chamberlain
On March 2, 1968, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in his Philadelphia Warriors’ 169:147 win against the New York Knicks – the record to this day. He played the entire 48 minutes. However, there is a but. The game was not broadcast on TV and therefore it cannot be verified whether he actually scored 100 points. But even if it were only 95 points, the achievement would be incredible.© IMAGO/Pond5 Images
Shaquille O’Neal
From the moment Shaquille O’Neal came into the NBA, he dominated on the boards. This was also the case on November 20, 1993, when he played with the Orlando Magic against the New Jersey Nets. In the end, “Diesel” destroyed the Nets at 87:85 24 points, 28 rebounds and 15 blocks.© IMAGO/PCN Photography
James Harden
In his MVP season, James Harden was unstoppable. On January 20, 2018, the Orlando Magic felt this. “The Beard” single-handedly dismantled the Florida team 114:107. He collected 60 points, ten rebounds and eleven assists. Nobody has ever achieved a 60-point triple-double before him. © Getty Images
Hakeem Olajuwon
As a center for the Houston Rockets, Hakeem Olajuwon was a force of nature. With the “Dream Shake” “The Dream” could out dance anyone. On March 10, 1987, he overwhelmed the Seattle SuperSonics 38 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, seven steals and twelve blocks. Whether on offense or defense, Olajuwon was everywhere. Nevertheless, the Texans lost the game 127:136. © Getty Images
Magic Johnson
In his first season in the NBA, Magic Johnson already became a champion. And how! In Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was out, which is why the point guard played as a center for the Los Angeles Lakers. He laid against the Philadelphia 76ers 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and helped the Californians to 123:107. This statline as a rookie is simply monstrous.© imago images / ZUMA Press
Nikola Jokic
In the Christmas Game 2022, Nikola Jokic single-handedly dismantled the Phoenix Suns. 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists were at the end of the statistics sheet of the center of the Denver Nuggets, who won after overtime with 128:125. Since then, there have often been such absurd performances by “Joker”. However, this was probably the best one so far!© Getty Images
The problem was like it had been all season: the team wasn’t really keeping up, only five of the first ten games since the break were won and the defense looked pathetic at times. Doncic is improved on that end of the court, but still not entirely unaffected by this problem. At least the Mavs have now won three games in a row and regained some distance to places nine and ten.
Leaving the play-in ranks will be difficult, however. And that means it will remain difficult for Doncic to seriously compete for the award, even though his box score production outshines almost everything else. His net rating on the court is +4, the other candidates all rank between 7.2 and 11.9. It shouldn’t be more than third place this season.
Platz 5: Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics; 5)
27,1 Punkte, 60,6% True Shooting, 8,2 Rebounds, 4,9 Assists, 1 Steal (66 Spiele)
Last week wasn’t ideal for Tatum with the collapse against Cleveland including the missed game-winner and the weak performance against Denver. However, the competition for fifth place couldn’t take advantage of this wobble.
The Clippers have been in crisis for weeks now (and Kawhi Leonard has his back), and Donovan Mitchell, like Joel Embiid, is no longer eligible for awards. Anthony Edwards is statistically behind Tatum in all respects, Kevin Durant is more efficient and has similar advanced stats, but his team has won 13 fewer games and is in the play-in.
That’s the funny thing about this Celtics season: Despite the wobbles, only Denver has had a better record since the All-Star break, and the Celtics have by far the best net rating in this section (+12). Tatum receives more help than others and (rightly) has no chance of winning the award, but is currently still the logical candidate for fifth place on the ballot.
2024-03-24 10:33:00
#people #watch #world #burn
