POINT GUARDS

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1Stephen CurryGSW4It is always great when the best shooter in the league has four games. 
2 
Chris Paul
LAC4With Blake Griffin still out with the quad injury, Paul continues to shoot more in addition to his crisp passing. 
3John WallWSH4The Wizards frontcourt is still bare, meaning the offensive burden falls more on Wall. 
4Russell WestbrookOKC3Westbrook has been helping tremendously in other categories outside of scoring and that helps on nights when Durant is on fire. 
5Kyle LowryTOR3Lowry not only continues to be the Raptors top scoring option, but he is also making a case of being a reliable No. 1 NBA option for a team. 
6Damian LillardPOR3Lillard continues to be the ONLY reliable scoring option in Portland.
7Rajon RondoSAC4We have been seeing a lot of consistency all around from Rondo this year and he has been able to stay healthy. 
8Reggie JacksonDET4Jackson will have a quiet game every so often, but continues to be a huge part of the Pistons offense. 
9Kemba WalkerCHA4Walker is the only offensive weapon that has stayed healthy and because of the lack of offensive weapons, he is forced to take a ton of shots. 
10Isaiah ThomasBOS4Thomas has been just as reliable on offense and defense. He knows when to drive the lane and responds well to the pick and roll. 
11Mike ConleyMEM3We have been seeing a lot more patience out of Conley. He has clearly been focused on passing more rather than forcing isolation. 
12Jeff TeagueATL4Teague has been able to be a good off-the-ball offensive weapon when Dennis Schroder is in and he has a consistent floater. 
13Derrick RoseCHI3Rose has been feeling better on the court and has certainly started driving the lane with more aggresiveness. Injuries are always a concern. 
14Ricky RubioMIN4Rubio needs to shoot less and focus more on passing rather than shooting. The fire has burnt out with his shot. 
15Deron WilliamsDAL4Williams has been able to involve himself in the Mavericks offense both on and off the ball. He is not afraid to drive the lane. 
16Jrue HolidayNO3It is still uncertain how much playing time Holiday will get per game, but he has been shooting a lot better since coming back. 
17George HillIND3Hill's driving ability and spot-up shooting is much needed on the Pacers and he has been great on defense. 
18Elfrid PaytonORL4Payton is another guard who needs to stop focusing on shooting. He has a quick entry pass and is also very reliable on defense. 
19Tony ParkerSAS3Parker still looks a bit slow from the hip injury, but he is still driving the lane and has not been as tentative. 
20Michael Carter-WilliamsMIL3Carter-Williams helps out a lot at the top of the paint to keep possesions alive for the Bucks and guards who rebound are special. 

SHOOTING GUARDS

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1James HardenHOU4Harden STILL controls the Rockets' entire offensive attack.
2 
Klay Thompson
GSW4Thompson has been able to stay involved in the offense by being an excellent spot-up shooter and bail-out option off the double. 
3Jimmy ButlerCHI3Butler has been able to split possesions with Derrick Rose to stay involved with the offense. 
4Dwyane WadeMIA4The reason Wade is this high in the rankings is because of the many health issues the Heat are facing right now. When healthy, Wade is a No. 1 scoring option. 
5Kyrie IrvingCLE4The Cavs plan on picking up the pace on offense and Irving will shine in that as he is excellent on transition and has solid court vision. 
6Victor OladipoORL4Oladipo always seems to find himself open at the top of the key and defenders have not been stepping up on him, leading to open mid-range jumpers. 
7Gordon HaywardUT3Hayward is still the most reliable scoring weapon and jump shooter on the Jazz and he has been asking for the ball more in the post. 
8Bradley BealWSH4Beal is back and will often be open if Wall draws the double or even triple-team in the lane. 
9C.J. McCollumPOR3McCollum has been rushing his shots and has been more of a liability than a help on offense. 
10Tyreke EvansNO3Evans has been utilizing both his strong drive ability and agility to get open. Evans is not as into passing the ball. 
11Brandon KnightPHX4INJURY CONCERN: (Groin); Knight is an excellent scoring option but we don't know how many games he will play in. 
12Goran DragicMIA4INJURY CONCERN: (Calf): Dragic has been in serious pain for a week now and is still willing to come back. Hard to tell how much he will play. 
13Nicolas BatumCHA4INJURY CONCERN: (Toe); This has been an injury that just has not gone away for Batum. Batum is needed on the court with the lack of consistent scoring weapons. 
14Avery BradleyBOS4Bradley is mostly known for his on-the-ball defense, but he has been a reliable shooting option this season. 
15Kentavious Caldwell-PopeDET4Caldwell-Pope has been effective driving in the lane and hitting step-back jumpers. He has been a good compliment to Reggie Jackson. 
16Kobe BryantLAL4Kobe continues to get as many shots as he wants when on the court. 
17Will BartonDEN4It is very strange, but the Nuggets' coaching staff seems to lose confidence in Barton quickly when he is not making an impact thus limiting his minutes. Strange!
18Monta EllisIND3Ellis continues to be an effective scorer when he is able to steal playing time. He is in a major timeshare. 
19J.J. RedickLAC4Redick is one of the most reliable shooters in the league, but it is hard to gauge how many shot opportunities he will get. He has picked up more with Blake Griffin out. 
20Joe JohnsonBKN3Because Johnson is the Nets' top scoring option, he sees a lot of double-team's and often needs to pass off. 

SMALL FORWARDS

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1LeBron JamesCLE4With the changes in the Cavs' offense that are being made, James will be driving the lane more than he already does. 
2 
Kevin Durant
OKC3Durant has consistently been a reliable scoring weapon and has not seemed to have many health setbacks since returning. 
3Paul GeorgeIND3George has definitely been one of the best two-way players in the NBA this season and is always able to get open. 
4Carmelo AnthonyNYK4Anthony has some knee and ankle issues, but he is not too concerned about them and will continue to have the offense run through him. 
5Kawhi LeonardSAS3Leonard has been playing more inside and has a solid one-handed jumper that he utilizes in the post in the middle of the paint. 
6DeMar DeRozanTOR3DeRozan has been shooting the ball very well as of late and he has not been driving into traffic in the lane in an attempt to draw contact. 
7Rudy GaySAC4INJURY CONCERN: (Heel); It is hard to gauge how much playing time Gay will get this week. He could be held out a game or two. 
8Danilo GallinariDEN4Gallinari continues to be the lone consistent scoring option inside AND outside for the Nuggets.
9Trevor ArizaHOU4Ariza has been shooting the ball better from downtown and has been the secondary offensive weapon to Harden over the last few games. 
10Khris MiddletonMIL3Middleton continues to be an excellent mid-range scorer, but needs to follow his shots more and improve those rebounding numbers. 
11Andrew WigginsMIN4Wiggins has been a scoring machine this year and despite the fact that he comes up short in other categories, he is still a very reliable option. 
12Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL3Antetokounmpo has been an excellent post defender and has inside moves that he should utilize more with his lankey frame. 
13Thaddeus YoungBKN3Young often finds himself getting trapped on the side of the basket and is skilled enough to power through, but he needs to play off the ball and set up in the post more to find more success. 
14Wesley MatthewsDAL4Matthews continues to be a reliable spot-up shooter and has been setting up in the post more to power his way and set up a play inside. 
15Jae CrowderBOS4Crowder has been another solid wing player in the post. He has a good entry pass to the low post and has a few moves from the high post that lead to open baby jumpers. 
16Kent BazemoreATL4Bazemore has been getting a ton of good looks at the elbow and has been a force for the Hawks on offense. He has supplied solid perimeter defense. 
17Marcus MorrisDET4Morris has absolutely carved out a roll on offense. When he gets the ball off the screen in the post he is dangerous and hard to stop when attacking the rim while facing it. 
18Harrison BarnesGSW4Barnes will continue to pick up more playing time and when the Warriors are trapped inside on the break, Barnes will be a good bail-out option hitting open jumpers. 
19Otto PorterWSH4INJURY CONCERN: (Hip) Porter is a tough defender and he has been a reliable mid-range player on offense. How much will his hip let him play pain free? Hard to tell. 
20Al-Farouq AminuPOR 3Aminu needs to continue to attack the rim when he draws the smaller defender. Aminu has been a bit tentative with the ball recently. 

POWER FORWARDS

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1Draymond GreenGSW4Green is one of the best moving big men in the league on both sides of the ball. 
2 
Anthony Davis
NO3Davis needs to continue to rely more on his inside game because it is very difficult to guard him with his incredible wingspan. 
3Kevin LoveCLE4Love is apparently going to play more at the elbow under Coach Lue's offense. This could lead to more inside production for love. 
4Pau GasolCHI3Gasol continues to dominate the post and is by far the Bulls most reliable offensive big man. 
5Paul MillsapATL4Millsap has been excellent at hitting baby jumpers this season. He has had a lot of success driving inside. 
6Greg MonroeMIL3Monroe continues to use his fancy footwork to create space in the post. He continues to be a consistent rebounder. 
7Chris BoshMIA4Bosh is the healthiest member of the Heat and he has not been playing as much in the paint. He needs to improve his rebounding numbers.
8LaMarcus AldridgeSAS3Aldridge has been great in the middle of the paint and has not clogged up the lane for other low-post teammates. 
9Kristaps PorzingisNYK4Porzingis has still been productive and driving the lane with force even with a hurt shoulder. 
10Dirk NowitzkiDAL4MINOR INJURY CONCERN: (Knee) Nowitzki has been ailing for about a week and his issues could have an impact on his jumper for the next week. 
11Tobias HarrisORL4Harris continues to be a reliable mid-range option for the Magic. He should call for the ball more in the post because he has a quick step in the paint. He has not seen as much success in isolation. 
12Serge IbakaOKC3Ibaka needs to stop shooting as much and work his way more inside. He is very difficult to guard, but needs to play more in the paint on offense. 
13Zach RandolphMEM3Randolph seems to be the main difference maker on defense and on the offensive glass for Memphis. 
14Tim DuncanSAS3MINOR INJURY CONCERN: (Knee) Duncan has been dealing with knee soreness, but will play sparingly throughout the week. 
15Jared SullingerBOS4Sullinger continues to be an excellent rebounder and post defender, but scoring never comes easy and he is rarely able to get good positioning in the post. 
16Nikola MiroticCHI3Mirotic will need to improve his post game and work the ball more inside. It is hard for him to get an open jumper. 
17Markieff MorrisPHX4Morris has not fully taken advantage of the opportunity to show contenders why he should be added to their team. Some games he plays more inside than others and it doesn't make sense. 
18Robert CovingtonPHI3Covington is not that flashy, but he has been a reliable bail-out shooting option from downtown and is good at moving the ball in the post. 
19Kenneth FariedDEN4INJURY CONCERN: (Groin): It is uncertain how this will impact Faried's week and he is needed on the court. 
20Blake GriffinLAC4INJURY CONCERN (Quad): We are not sure when Griffin will return to action, but expect him to make an impact once he does. 

CENTERS

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1DeMarcus CousinsSAC4I still give Cousins the edge over Drummond as top center because of his moves outside of the paint. 
2 
Andre Drummond
DET4Drummond is the most dominant low-block big man in the league and it is almost impossible to box him out.
3Al HorfordATL4Horford continues to utilize his space at the elbow and hit open jumpers. He is the Hawks' most reliable offensive weapon. 
4DeAndre JordanLAC4Jordan continues to be excellent on defense and consistently blocks shots and rebounds. 
5Nikola VucevicORL4Vucevic continues to show why he is the best big man in the post. He is good at backing down the defender, has good footwork and a quick one-handed baby jumper. 
6Karl-Anthony TownsMIN4Towns continues to impress from inside and outside. Towns shoots from the elbow with confidence. 
7Marc GasolMEM3It is hard to tell whether or not Gasol will be playing more outside, but he is also most effective in the post and works his way to the middle of the paint. 
8Brook LopezBKN3Lopez has had a few games in which he has been rebounding more, but continues to be a reliable outside shooting big man. 
9Hassan WhitesideMIA4INJURY CONCERN: (Hip): It has been bothering Whiteside and it wouldn't be shocking if he missed a game or two this week. 
10Dwight HowardHOU4INJURY CONCERN: (Ankle): Howard is having a tough time putting pressure on his ankle and could be sidelined for a couple of games. 
11Zaza PachuliaDAL4INJURY CONCERN: (Achilles) Pachulia has been banged up for the last few games, but the Mavs need him because he's their top low-post defender. 
12Marcin GortatWSH4Gortat continues to be the one consistently healthy big man on the Wizards and has the entire post to himself. 
13Jonas ValanciunasTOR3Valanciunas is very aggressive on defense, but a lot more raw on offense, he needs to be deep in the paint to provide offense. 
14Ryan AndersonNO3Anderson continues to take advantange of slower defenders at the top of the key and has a deadly long-range jumper. 
15Jahlil OkaforPHI3Okafor is the more reliable offensive weapon between him (especially in the post) and Nerlens Noel, but Noel has the rebounding edge.
16Myles TurnerIND3Turner has been turning heads and taking advantage of playing time he getting with Ian Mahinmi out. He is excellent inside. 
17Nerlens NoelPHI3Noel is the better rebounder and on-the-ball defender between him and Okafor, but he is not as reliable on offense. 
18Andrew BogutGSW4Bogut continues to make rebounding look easy as he never seems to have to jump. He has a solid post game as well.
19Mason PlumleePOR3Plumlee continues to pass off at the first instance of a double team and as the center, he must work the ball inside and try to draw contact. 
20Tristan ThompsonCLE4It is very hard to tell how much playing time Thompson will get going into specific games. He is in a timeshare with Timofey Mozgov.