Our last MVP update was exactly one month ago. What's happened since then?
Around the NBA? A lot -- most notably, the NBA All-Star Game, the NBA trade deadline, and numerous injuries.
But, what changed in the MVP race? Not much.
Our top five remains the same: will need to prove it once again in the coming weeks and months, now that our numbers give the Pelicans just a 12.9% chance to make the playoffs. Another blow to Brow's candidacy is injuries. He has missed 10 games on the year and is now out for one to two weeks after re-injuring his shoulder Saturday against the Heat.
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Previous ranking: #2
Steph Curry may be the only player in our top five totally unencumbered by injuries. He hasn't been absent a superstar for points of time this season, nor has he missed numerous games due to his own injuries. As a result, Curry has been fantastic all year. His nERD of 19.1 is third in the entire league and is a mere 0.1 points behind Anthony Davis at this point. He's been the best, most efficient player on the best, most efficient team in the Association.
Steph is third in the league in PER (28.0) and eighth in the league in scoring, at 23.8 points per game. But some nights he suffers from blowouts -- so, by looking at his league-leading Win Shares per 48 minutes (.291), we see just how good Curry has been. His play has translated directly to his team's play. The Warriors are 44-10, first in the league with a nERD of 81.8, and are the most likely team to win the NBA Championship with odds at 33.4%.
1. James Harden, Houston Rockets
Previous ranking: #1
It's been hard for a lot of people to decide between Curry and Harden in this type of discussion. Admittedly, the Rockets are seven games back of the Warriors and more than 20 nERD points behind in our rankings. But James Harden holds down the number one spot because he is truly the most valuable player to his Houston Rockets team -- and he's efficient doing so. The Beard leads the league with a nERD of 20.9 and is the only player above the 20.0 mark.
With Dwight Howard out for an extended period of time, Harden has done everything for the Rockets. He's leading the league in scoring with 27.3 points per game and scores from everywhere on the court. He is first in the league in field goals, fifth in the league in three-point makes, and first in made free throws by a wide margin (143). And if that wasn't enough, in his quasi point guard capacity, Harden leads the Rockets with 6.8 assists per game. No wonder Harden leads the NBA in Win Shares (11.8) and VORP (5.7). He's truly irreplaceable for the Rockets.