1. LeBron James, Cavs	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		32	38.1	.502	.363	.777	1.4	0.8	6.9	7.8	28.8	30.1
	Statistically, he is better than everyone else in the league and now that the Cavaliers are rolling (9-1 past 10 games), it is going to be difficult to knock the king from the throne. (Last week: 2 | Team record: 24-8)

	2. Kobe Bryant, Lakers	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		30	38.3	.486	.292	.843	2.2	0.2	5.8	4.3	29.9	25.8
	He plays through injuries and hits big shots for the league's top team. Leading MVP candidate, right? My colleague Marc Stein said he's not the MVP on his own team. (Last week: 1 | Team record: 24-6)

	3. Dwight Howard, Magic	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		30	34.9	.621	.000	.601	1.1	2.5	13.4	1.5	17.4	23.5
	He is first in rebounding and shot-blocking and is second is field goal percentage. Wonder why he hasn't taken more than eight shots in any of Orlando's past four games? (Last week: 4 | Team record: 22-8)

	4. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		30	37.9	.485	.397	.878	1.1	1.3	8.1	2.6	25.5	24.4
	Despite suffering a shoulder injury against the Nuggets, he stayed in and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Dirk is also getting props for being more of a leader. (Last week: 5 | Team record: 22-9)

	5. C. Anthony, Nuggets	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		32	37.6	.470	.355	.861	1.2	0.3	6.4	3.3	30.0	25.2
	I guess the Nuggets miss Chauncey Billups (groin) ... a lot. Anthony is still getting his points, but Denver is struggling without Billups there to run the show. (Last week: 3 | Team record: 20-12)

	6. Steve Nash, Suns	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		32	33.5	.540	.440	.941	0.4	0.2	2.9	11.3	18.6	24.7
	The assist leader has 18 double-doubles in 32 games. Monday night the Suns defeated the Lakers for just their sixth win -- nine losses -- in December. (Last week: 6 | Team record: 20-12)

	7. Dwyane Wade, Heat	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		28	37.2	.440	.250	.766	1.7	1.3	5.1	6.1	26.8	26.2
	Miami has run off five wins in six games to get the leading vote-getter amongst East guards back on this list where he belongs. (The Heat's record was holding him back). (Last week: NR | Team record: 16-12)

	8. Tim Duncan, Spurs	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		26	32.1	.552	.000	.774	0.6	2.0	10.3	3.2	19.9	28.5
	Even after eight wins in 10 games, the Spurs still aren't included on the short list of Western contenders. Duncan's nightly outstanding play is similarly overlooked. (Last week: 8 | Team record: 17-11)

	9. Brandon Roy, Blazers	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		32	38.8	.460	.356	.789	0.9	0.1	4.7	5.0	22.8	21.0
	Portland leaned heavily on Roy before the injuries so you can imagine what his workload will be now. He is averaging 27.4 points, 4.8 assists and 5 boards in December. (Last week: NR | Team record: 20-13)

	10. Joe Johnson, Hawks	G	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	STL	BLK	RPG	AST	PTS	PER
		29	36.9	.460	.336	.851	1.1	0.0	5.3	5.1	21.4	20.6
	On a team that has a DPOY and MIP candidate in Josh Smith and a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Jamal Crawford, Johnson is Atlanta's most important piece. (Last week: 9 | Team record: 21-8)

Awards Watch past: Nov. 17 | 24 | Dec. 1 | 8 | 15 | 22

Landry

1. Carl Landry, Rockets: Nominations for toughest hombre in Texas are now closed with how he reacted and how he has performed since losing those teeth to Dirk Nowitzki.

2. Jared Dudley, Suns: Two years ago his job was to play the final 20 seconds of each first quarter to give a starter an extra bit of rest. Now he leads the league in 3-point accuracy.

3. Kevin Durant, Thunder: Only including him because I think he can get his scoring average up to 29-30 and his field goal percentage to 49-50. Of course, I write that after having just watched him casually drop 40 on the woeful Nets.

4. Marc Gasol, Grizzlies: Bears almost no resemblance to the chubby kid who showed up at Grizzlies camp two Septembers ago. A night-in, night-out solid performer.

5. Josh Smith, Hawks: Makes my top 5, beating out Yi Jianlian, because of the way he has refined his game and cut out all those garbage shots he used to fling up.

Howard

1. Dwight Howard, Magic: Easily the best post defender in the league, last season's DPOY looks like he is headed toward a repeat. He intimidates opponents who drive the lane and has grabbed 20 rebounds in three of Orlando's past four games. (Last week: 3)

2. Josh Smith, Hawks: In Atlanta's win against the Pacers, he had five blocks and four steals. (Last week: 1)

3. Ron Artest, Lakers: I'm sure the Lakers wished they had Ron-Ron (out with a concussion after falling down some stairs) when they gave up 118 points in a loss to the Suns on Monday. (Last week: 2)

4. Thabo Sefolosha, Thunder: He has been up to the challenge of guarding the opponent's top scoring threat all season. He excels at closing out on shooters and forcing turnovers. (Last week: 4)

5. Rajon Rondo, Celtics: He followed up a six-steal performance against the Pacers by grabbing a season-high 13 rebounds on Christmas against the Magic. (Last week: 5)

Crawford

1. Jamal Crawford, Hawks: He has reached double digits in 26 out of 29 games, is on pace to set a new career high for shooting percentage and has the Hawks challenging for East supremacy. (Last week: 3)

2. Carl Landry, Rockets: When looking over the list of the league's top fourth-quarter scorers -- Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Jason Terry, Brandon Roy, Carl Landry -- there is only one name that really surprises you. (Last week: 4)

3. J.R. Smith, Nuggets: Denver has dropped five of its past six games, but its one win came thanks to a 41-point outburst by Smith against Atlanta. (Last week: NR)

4. Al Harrington, Knicks: The league's highest-scoring reserve has been struggling from distance lately, making just five of his past 29 3-pointers. (Last week: 1)

5. Jason Terry, Mavericks: His scoring and shooting percentages are down from last season when he was named the league's top sixth man, but there are few players you would want with the ball more than Terry with the game on the line. (Last week: 2)