Ja Morant crushes everything in its path, Embiid and Co. just have to watch out

A month and ten days, with about twenty matches to play. That’s what’s left in this 2021-22 NBA regular season. In other words, it’s the last straight line and in the race for the MVP trophy, it always counts a lot especially when the latter is super tight as is the case this year. Come on, over here the Top 10 house!

#10 – Jayson Tatum (Celtics)

Stats : 25.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 43.3% shooting (including 32.9% 3-pointers) and 85.0% free throws
With: 37 wins – 27 losses

Returned to the Top 10 of the MVP Ranking in mid-February after the Celtics’ big winning streak, Jayson Tatum retains his tenth place despite competition from players like Karl-Anthony Towns (who is doing quite well with the Wolves at the moment) and Jimmy Butler (still penalized by his number of missed games over the season but a real candidate for the Top 10). Under his leadership, Boston seems firmly established in the Top 6 of the Eastern Conference and the Greens could even go a little higher if Cleveland continues to alternate ups and downs. It may depend on the state of health of Jaylen Brown, injured in the ankle last night. In the event that JB has to miss several matches, JT will have to take control of the C’s even more, which could boost his record.

#9 – Devin Booker (Suns)

Stats : 25.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 44.8% shooting (including 36.8% from 3-point range) and 86.4% free throws
With: 49 wins – 12 losses

With Chris Paul injured, Devin Booker has a great opportunity to score points in the MVP race. Because inevitably, he will have more responsibilities in terms of playmaking and this is an opportunity for him to show that the Suns can continue to run very well despite the absence of the Point God. The first results since the CP3 injury? From a purely individual point of view, Booker offers heavy with averages of 28 points and 8 caviars in the three games without Paul, but the Suns struggle a bit since they fell twice against the Jazz and the Pelicans, each time at home (the only success was against Oklahoma City). Nothing dramatic of course, but if the back of Phoenix really wants to climb the hierarchy of candidates for the title of MVP, the Cactus will have to be a hit like in Mickey’s bubble in 2020.

#8 – Luka Doncic (Mavericks)

Stats : 27.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 44.7% shooting (including 33.1% from 3-point range) and 73.8% free throws
With: 37 wins – 25 losses

Luka Doncic admitted it on several occasions, he had a little too good a time during the summer and did not start the season in the best possible physical condition. Far from it. Today ? It’s all behind him. Ultimate proof, Luka The Don is starting to drop posters or even putbacks on Dwight Howard’s face, and that frankly we didn’t see it coming. Absolutely exceptional before the All-Star Break and now well launched in his season, Doncic logically continues to grab places in our MVP Ranking while the Mavericks grab victories. Dallas has won eight of its last ten games and still sits in fifth place in the Western Conference. Good news also for Luka, the rookie Spencer Dinwiddie – arrived at the deadline with Davis Bertans in the exchange of Kristaps Porzingis – offers him real support by bringing 19 points and 5 assists on average over the last three games.

Oh Oh Oh

¡Doncic! pic.twitter.com/SCP0uz1yXm

— NBA Spain (@NBAspain) March 2, 2022

#7 – Chris Paul (Suns)

Stats : 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.9 steals, 48.7% shooting (including 33.0% from 3-point range) and 84.3% free throws
With: 49 wins – 12 losses

Big setback for Chris Paul, injured thumb and absent for several weeks. This bobo will obviously put a damper on his candidacy when he was booming before the All-Star Game break, but at the same time, his absence could also show how valuable he is in his Phoenix team (even if we already know). We saw it in the case of Rudy Gobert not too long ago, the Jazz collapsed without him and many of them have finally realized his importance in the success of Utah. If ever the Suns were to struggle without Chris Paul during the last weeks of the season, the effect would be similar.

#6 – Stephen Curry (Warriors)

Stats : 25.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.4 steals, 42.8% shooting (including 37.5% from 3-point range) and 91.7% free throws
With: 43 wins – 19 losses

Stephen Curry had fun at All-Star Weekend where he left with the title of MVP of the All-Star Game in his pocket, but it’s a lot less fun today. And for good reason, this season, the Warriors have never been as tough as they are now. Six defeats in eight games, a Draymond Green who is terribly lacking, and a Steph who is still struggling to find his outside address, let’s say it’s not joy in the San Francisco Bay. It is therefore difficult for Curry to find the Top 5 of our Ranking under these conditions, Top 5 which he left for the very first time this season before the All-Star Break. So can’t wait for Draymond’s return, not only for the good of Golden State but also for that of Curry, who obviously has one of the best two-way game of the NBA with Green.

# 5 – Ja Morant (Grizzlies)

Stats : 27.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 49.8% shooting (including 34.4% from 3-point range) and 75.4% free throws
With: 43 wins – 20 losses

If Stephen Curry does not find the Top 5 despite the absence of Chris Paul, it is also because a phenomenon named Ja Morant explodes everything in his path (especially Jakob Poeltl) and we simply cannot ignore him in this MVP race. What Ja’s doing right now is just awesome: 162 points in the last four games, career bests falling night after night, highlights straight out of the NBA Jam, and wins that keep on coming. chain for Memphis. In short, all the boxes are checked to make him a very credible candidate at the end of the season, especially if the Grizzlies manage to catch up with the Warriors in second place in the West. From Gregg Popovich to Luka Doncic to legend Allen Iverson, everyone is under the spell of Ja Morant.

Sooner or Later!!! @JaMorant pic.twitter.com/KshIUz01B6

— Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) March 1, 2022

#4 – DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)

Stats : 28.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 51.6% in shooting (including 35.8% from 3-pointers) and 86.4% in free throws
With: 39 wins – 23 losses

Ten games in a row with at least 30 points scored, including eight at 35 with a minimum of 50% shooting success, all with a festival of mid-distance shots and endless money time exploits, that’s what that DeMar DeRozan offered during a month of February that we will not soon forget on the Chicago side. DMDR has come down from his cloud a bit in his last two outings against Memphis and Miami (two losses for the Bulls) but his exploits in recent weeks have allowed him to solidify his fourth place in the MVP rankings despite the arrival in force of Ja Morant. DeMar is therefore more than ever in the race today but to hope to stay there, it would not be bad for the Bulls to start winning against NBA heavyweights because for the moment, it’s very hard.

# 3 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)

Stats : 29.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.0 steals, 54.5% shooting (including 30.1% 3-pointers) and 72.9% shooting -francs
With: 37 wins – 25 losses

Charles Oakley gave us a good laugh a few days ago when he said Giannis would “come off the bench” in his time. A completely WTF statement to which another former, Mister Isiah Thomas, replied quite dryly: “Giannis would dunk on everyone because he’s stronger, bigger, faster. Oakley can say what he wants, he would have taken a lot every time. Ouch! That’s what is said, but how can you disagree with Zeke? Giannis shows once again this season that he is a real monster of nature and it is not about to change. The Freak already has two MVP titles in his trophy cabinet, he’ll be in the running for many years to come, just missing a few more hits this season for the Bucks to really be at the top of the pecking order. Finally, what is particularly freaking out at the moment and which makes him even more untouchable is his success in free throws: 44/53 (83%) over the last four games, for an average of 34 points with 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

#2 – Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)

Stats : 25.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 56.7% shooting (including 36.4% from 3-point range) and 80.6% free throws
With: 36 wins – 25 losses

The more we advance, the more the file of Nikola Jokic solidifies. Of course, the Joker has been huge since the first game of the season, but the Nuggets have really found their stride since they are now on six consecutive victories, and eight in their last ten games. Collective success is a bit of what Jokic lacked in this MVP race, but this argument weighs less and less today, especially when we know that Denver is still evolving without Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray. Precisely, speaking of these two, it feels good to come back before the end of the regular season, which could quite change the equation for the Playoffs. But while waiting for the big deadlines of the spring, the Joker will do everything to carry Denver as high as possible, which could well take him to a second consecutive MVP title.

This find was special, even for Jokic ???? pic.twitter.com/DvigwsHYu4

— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2022

#1 – Joel Embiid (Sixers)

Stats : 29.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 steals, 49.4% shooting (including 36.7% 3-pointers) and 81.5% throwing -francs
With: 37 wins – 23 losses

NBA top scorer, Joel Embiid could well become the first pivot since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to finish top scorer in the regular season. The question that arises, however, is whether the arrival of James Harden can have an impact on Jojo’s offensive stats and even on his candidacy for the title of MVP. But given the way the two find themselves despite only playing together for two games, we figure Embiid might actually be even more unstoppable alongside the Barbu. “I have never been so open in my entire career” Joel had notably declared after the first meeting with Ramesse: in pick & roll or pick & pop, the duo is already devastating and the Cameroonian pivot has averaged more than 35 points since the All-Star Break (with in particular… 40 shots- francs attempted in the two games, for 34 successes). Epic performances which also follow a monstrous game from Embiid on the floor of Giannis before the truce of the star game, enough to really make an impression. So for us, the MVP with twenty games remaining is Jojo and no one else.

Honorable Mentions: Jimmy Butler (Heat), Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves), LeBron James (Lakers), Zach LaVine (Bulls), Rudy Gobert (Jazz), Trae Young (Hawks)

Ja Morant on the rise, Joel Embiid still at the top with Nikola Jokic just behind, Giannis and DMDR in ambush… so many elements that make this race for the MVP exciting for the last weeks of the regular season. So, who will make an impression by April 10? And who will experience a slack at the worst time? It is now that it is played.