The flavor here in Kia’s race to MVP comes this weekend. Does it all depend on what happens with the cut?
As in — two of the top five players on the MVP ladder are in Las Vegas for the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals.
Thus, the tournament will serve as an MVP checkpoint for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder cutting their price for the Cup Final Four. If those players win their games on Saturday and are face each other in Tuesday’s championship, the songs “M-V-P” will be loudArray. . . and for a smart reason.
So far, they’ve had a strong season, peppered with MVP-type performances in several games and consistent efforts in others. Gilgeous-Alexander had OKC near or in the West more sensible for a giant component of the season, while Otetentokounmpo sparked a flip for dollars after his slow start.
To borrow a common word in Sin City, the odds for both players to finish high in the Kia MVP chase look promising.
But now? Here, in the December abdominal? Or they look at the favorite.
Setting the stage this week: Antetokounmpo meets the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday for the right to play for the Cup title (4:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Gilgeous-Alexander will face the Houston Rockets the same day (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). All eyes will be on those two players because, with the Cup’s final days in session, the rest of the NBA will take the night off and watch.
The stat to know: Gilgeous-Alexander outscored Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving 39-33 in the Thunder’s 118-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks to win A To Vegas (thanks to Lu Dort and Cason Wallace for their defensive assistance in the Hazards of Dallas). duo).
What they are saying: “He’s a great scorer. Gets his teammates involved, just a lot of times it’s hard to stop him. I think at some point, you gotta send two, three players. It’s amazing to play against a guy like this. The battles. It’s fun. He’s an amazing player.” — Dončić on Gilgeous-Alexander.
His case: not only has he had a historic start to the season, but his last two games have been legendary. On consecutive nights, he had 104 points, 30 rebounds and 16 assists. Oh, and don’t forget that 74 minutes were played in total while you were flying from city to city: there are no overnight stays here.
And that’s what you need from your MVP, to show up physically and productively. There’s nothing I don’t like about “The Joker” right now. Pole position for this award belongs to him as we approach the final stretch until Christmas. This is not up for debate.
His case: Antetokounmpo is a case study in bucket efficiency and this season is shaping up as one of his best. He’s shooting 61.2% overall this season, which reflects how devastating he is when running downhill and charging the rim. The flip side — when he gets fouled his free throws are, shall we say, a bit trickier.
This and the recent increase in sales volume are defects. Otherwise, Antetokounmpo simply works at both ends.
His case: It was presented at the greatest adjustment (we used this word conscientiously before Christmas) of the season when it burned the Mavericks to obtain the OKC price ticket for Las Vegas. And for this it is for MVP candidates: are they up?
He has 30 points in eight of his last 10 games and while he lives for the mid-range and trips to the free-throw line, his five 3-pointers vs. the Mavericks were the most 3-pointers he’s made in a game this season.
His case: As deep as the Celtics are, Tatum is the team leader in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals. He has always been a tremendous rebounder for a small forward and his average is a career best.
He had a couple of scoring periods that are not very characteristic during the week, without success in 20 numbers twice in 3 games. But these occasional dives are expected a season and in no way reflect their constant high level production, so it is more sensible five on this list.
His case: Towns was incredibly impressive and especially clutch in the Knicks’ recent win in Toronto when he put the Raptors to sleep with a huge three-pointer.
All the emotion in Las Vegas will be lost despite a shy 20-20 against the Hawks through a rebound and a point. However, Towns, which has 44% depth, not only constitutes a strong argument for the headache of the stars, but also for a totally NBA position if it is maintained.
And five more (listed alphabetically): Jaylen Brown, Celtics; Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies; LeBron James, Lakers; Franz Wagner, Magic; Alperen Sengun, Rockets
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can email him here, his file here, and follow along with him in X.
The perspectives on this page necessarily reflect the perspectives of the NBA, its clubs or the discovery of Warner Bros.