NBA Player Power Rankings: Draymond Green is Rising

NBA Player Power Rankings: Draymond Green Surging

Dec 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (left) reacts as Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (right) looks on in the first half of a NBA basketball game on Christmas at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 122-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Last Rank: No. 2

Position: Small Forward

Age: 31

Slash Line: .496/.285/.718

Season Averages: 35.8 MPG, 25.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 1.2 3PM

LeBron James is beginning to experience similar troubles to 2014-15 MVP Stephen Curry. He’s been absolutely brilliant, but a healthy Cleveland Cavaliers squad is cutting his nights short by blowing teams out.

James’ statistics may take a bit of a hit, but he’s gaining steam for an uphill run at MVP.

James closed the previous week out with 34 points in 34 minutes in a 93-87 road win over the Denver Nuggets. He then tallied 29 points in 29 minutes in a 104-79 dismantling of the Orlando Magic, and had 20 points and seven assists on 7-of-11 shooting in a 122-100 blowout of the Toronto Raptors.

A week after posting 34 points in 34 minutes against Denver, he tallied 34 points and 10 rebounds in a road win over the Washington Wizards.

James has been knocked for his horrendous inefficiency from outside of the paint, but is 9-of-18 from beyond the arc over the course of his past three appearances. Much as he’s improved his free throw shooting, he’s made a short-term effort to fix his faulty jumper.

If James can get his jump shot to fall with consistency, and Cleveland can stay healthy, The King could make the MVP race interesting.

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