Kyrie Irving & Al Horford in top-10 MVP rankings
As of this morning, basketball-reference has two Celtics, Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, in their top 10 rankings for MVP. Here is their list:
1.) James Harden
2.) Stephen Curry
3.) Anthony Davis
4.) Kevin Durant
5.) Kyrie Irving
6.) Lebron James
7.) Al Horford
8.) Andre Drummond
9.) Giannis Antetokounmpo
10.) Damien Lillard
Harden is ranked first with a 57.4% probability of getting the award. It would seem that the high probability will take a hit with the return of Chris Paul. Curry, ranked second, carries a 13.7% probability. His competition with team mate, Durant, may lower the probability for both down the line. At least on this list, updated this morning, Irving has moved into the top five, but with only a 3.5% probability of taking the award.
Davis at number three is understandable. He is having another great year. James is always in the discussion, and even though the Cavaliers are faltering early in the season, he is critical to the success they have had.
Horford at the sixth ranking is great to see. His presence in the lineup and his production have been vital in the team's current ten-and-two record. He is currently out of the lineup on concussion protocol, but hopefully he will return soon. Kyrie and Al are virtually indespensible to the Celtics, but their presence together in the top 10 may hurt their chances somewhat, similar to the Curry/Durant situation.
Kyrie Irving should be on top so far on the MVP race. If he keeps this up & his team keep winning, there should be no reason other reason why he doesn't win the #NBAMVP.
— Enki Lewie (@LewieEnki) November 10, 2017
The Pistons, second in the East with an eight-and-three record, are playing well, and so is Drummond. He is averaging 15.1PPG, 15.1 RPG, 1.1 BPG and 1.9 SPG. But he has improved his free thrown shooting and is now hitting them at a 63.8% clip. His career average is 38.8%.
Giannis is falling in the MVP rankings and is now at number nine. It was surprising to see him rated this low. He was rated first only one week ago on NBA's Kia MVP Ladder. He lacks an outside shot, but I feel there is no way he should be ranked next-to-last on this list. Lillard finishes the list at the number 10 ranking.
Prominently missing from the list are Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. The Thunder are having issues, but we may see Russell enter the fray by mid-season. Kawhi has been injured, but expect he will be on the list after his return to action.
Irving has at least a shot at getting into the top three in the MVP ratings by season's end. I believe we still have not seen his best yet. If Boston maintains its grip on best-in-The-East and Kyrie keeps up his stellar play, it could happen. Al just never seems to get the credit he deserves, but it would be great to keep seeing his name on this list, and even rise a few notches. He is having quite a season. Minus the injury, it would not have been surprising to be seeing Gordon Hayward on this list.
Good luck on the MVP voting, Kyrie, and we are hoping Al is back soon.
Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC
Photo credit: Nancy Lane/Boston Herald