by Scott
Since the teams have been cut down in half, I’ve decided that from now on, there will only be five candidates in the MVP Ladder. For one, it works well for me, because it means less people to choose from and two, it makes it more competitive, so there.
But another change I’ve made is that everyone has a clean slate. Just because Steph was MVP of the first round doesn’t mean that he’s at the top after the first game of the second round. Again, it makes more sense to me.
Having said all that, lets move on to the ladder.
MVP Ladder
1) Nate Robinson
Game one stats: 40 minutes, 27 points, 8-16 FG, 9 assists, 3 rebounds.
When you get 10 stitches at half-time and go on to score 24 points in the final two quarters to will your team to a big time victory on the road against the number one seeded Miami Heat, you not only get major man points, but you also get a top spot on the MVP ladder.
2) Kevin Durant
Game one stats: 44 minutes, 35 points, 13-26 FG, 15 rebounds, 6 assists.
There are very few players in this league who are just unstoppable, but you’re looking at one in Kevin Durant.
The Grizzlies may be the best defensive team remaining in the Playoffs and lets be honest, the Thunder are pretty much a one-man team now that Russell is out. But no matter what the Grizzlies threw at Durant, they couldn’t stop him from doing his thing in game one, and the Thunder now have a 1-0 series lead.
Oh, and his pull up jumper in transition (PUJIT) to win the game was nothin’ but silky smooth.
3) Stephen Curry
Game one stats: 58 minutes, 44 points, 18-35 FG, 11 assists, 4 rebounds.
Had the Warriors beaten the Spurs in game one, Stephen Curry would likely be back at the number one spot, but I take team victories into account when I make up this MVP Ladder.
I feel kind of bad about it, because Steph went absolutely nuts, but that’s just the nature of the game.
In other news, Steph is officially moving up into superstar status:
Asked Tony Parker if he’d ever seen a player quite like Steph Curry. “He’s like a Durant, just a little bit shorter.” So, no.
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) May 4, 2013
4) Tony Parker
Game one stats: 48 minutes, 28 points, 11-26 FG, 8 assists, 8 rebounds.
The Spurs were less-than-stellar for 45 minutes of game one, but out of nowhere, they went on a 14-0 run and went on to win beat the Warriors double overtime thanks to a game-winning three from Manu Ginobili.
But the person who sparked that incredible run: Tony Parker.
Who else, right?
5) Kevin Martin
Game one stats: 32 minutes, 25 points, 8-14 FG, 7 rebounds.
I tend to be quite apprehensive when using someones +/- as an indicator of how well they played, but in this case, it must be done.
The stats themselves give you a pretty good indication of how well Martin played in game one, but he also had a +14 to go along with it, which was a game-high. When Martin plays like that, it makes it pretty easy for Thunder fans to forget the bearded guy who came off their bench last season.
Was it James Harden? Yeah, that sounds about right.
