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NBA Player Power Rankings: MVP Candidates Continue To Clash

By Maxwell Ogden

January 18, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 121-100. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 18, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 121-100. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 10, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) dribbles up the court during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) dribbles up the court during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

20. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

Position: Point Guard
Age: 24 (3/23/1992)
Experience: 6th Season
2016-17 Slash Line: .462/.401/.892
2016-17 Season Averages: 34.7 MPG, 23.7 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.3 3PM

Kyrie Irving has hit a bit of a cold stretch, but he’s still played at a Top 20 level during the 2016-17 NBA regular season. He’s not necessarily the player to blame for Cleveland’s shortcomings, but the Cavaliers have lost three of their past four games.

What keeps Irving on this list is the fact that his recent shortcomings display just how important he is to Cleveland’s success.

The ultimate perspective is that Irving is averaging 24.6 points and 6.0 assists on a slash line of .488/.452/.902 during Cleveland’s wins. During its losses, however, he’s averaging 20.8 points and 4.3 assists on a slash line of .384/.244/.880.

Those numbers clearly display that the Cavaliers are winning when Irving plays well and losing when he fails to.

One could argue that Kevin Love should be at No. 20 over Irving, but it’s impossible to deny how important a closer is. When a game winning or tying shot needs to be hit, there’s no question in Cleveland about who’s taking the final shot.

Both Irving and Love have hit cold stretches in recent weeks, but the former’s emergence as a facilitator and closer are defining strengths.