Russell Westbrook makes two MVP candidates on the Thunder. (Getty Images)


The Baseline Awards hand out rewards for exceptional and not so exceptional events and players of the past week. Award rankings are at the end and please watch your step as you exit the ride. 


Eastern Conference Player of the Week: Carmelo Anthony

Is it sustainable? That's the whole question that faces Anthony. But for the past week, he's continued his torrent against the league. Even in a loss to Miami he brought the thunder to their doorstep, scoring 42 points with 9 rebounds and five assists.

30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals over the past four games and the Knicks remain one of the toughest teams to beat in the league right now. But can Anthony continue at this pace? He's doing everything for the Knicks. It should be noted, however, that in the past four games, LeBron James actually has a higher usage percentage.

Anthony wanted a shot to run the team his way. He's gotten it, and succeeded.

Western Conference Player of the Week: Russell Westbrook

32 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block per 36 minutes for Westbrook in his last four games.

The question of whether Westbrook is a benefit or hindrance to Kevin Durant and the Thunder will continue to pester throughout the playoffs, and it shouldn't. He's an elite player in this league and his production helps the Thunder win. In the past week, Durant shot 46.8 percent from the field. Westbrook shot 46.2. That's how close it is.

Westbrook is no liability, he's a legit star.

Dominator Award: Andrew Bynum

30 rebounds against the No.2 seed in the West and anchoring the load for a 4-1 streak without Kobe Bryant? Yeah, that'll do. The Big Bad Brat has demolished everything in his path this week. Even against the Spurs in which he didn't score well from the field, he poured in 16-30 and didn't seem to be breaking much of a sweat in doing so.

If Bynum plays to his absolute potential in the playoffs, the Lakers may be unstoppable.

The Horde Award for team you should fear: Indiana Pacers

Peaking at the right time is a remarkably tricky thing to do. It's pivotal for untested teams to peak at the right time heading into the playoffs, because they don't have that self-knowledge to rely on. The Pacers are peaking at the right time. 4-0 in the past week, outscoring opponents by an average of 8 points per 100 possessions, they've really hit their stride. The offense is in a bit of a burst and that's huge. That's the Pacers' big weakness. They ranked 7th in the league over the past week in offense.

It's just a matter of carrying that momentum over another, you know, six weeks.

Cub Scout Troope Award for team you should not fear: Houston Rockets

1-3 this week and worse still, the fifth worst team in points per 100 possessions forced vs. allowed. The Rockets have been trying to integrate Kyle Lowry back into the offense, but they're clearly struggling right now. With the Suns and Jazz both right at their heels, the Rockets have to recover right now to save their postseason.

Titanic award for tanking of the week: Golden State Warriors

Shut down David Lee this week as they continue to do everything imaginable to move up. They've been dreadful while still giving the fans at least a somewhat competitive product for a while during games. Quality job of removing quality as the game goes on by the Dubs.

The "Life is Pain" Award for Disappointment: Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose doesn't want to get hit in the face. That's reasonable, right? That's a reasonable approach. But Rose has to know that this is part of the process. It's not just age that causes players to adjust. It's injury from the beating they take. It's why players like Michael Jordan develop more of their jumper, same for Kobe Bryant. It's OK to hammer your way through if you have the body to sustain it. Rose doesn't. He's suffered at least four significant, though not serious injuries in the past year.

Rose doesn't deserve to be targeted by opponents, but hard fouls are part of the game and as long as he remains the most dangerous weapon the Bulls have and an expert at getting to the rim, he's going to continue to get hammered.

If thinks complaining about it to the officials is going to make it stop in the playoffs, he's wrong. There's always someone willing to risk the ejection for the team. This is the NBA. There's no ducking it for superstars.

Awards watch:

Just the MVP rankings this week as we prepare for the final edition of the Baseline Awards next week. Check back then.

MVP:

1. LeBron James: Here's what James needs to do to lock up his third MVP. Have a big game on Thursday against Chicago. That's it. He does that, and it's over. He can shut it down for every game prior and every game after. Kevin Durant will take up a huge number of his votes, but he should still win. But have another no-show in the fourth quarter against Chicago and Durant will likely steal it. Two weeks remaining.

2. Kevin Durant: There is no question he'll take second, and he'll have a high number of first-place votes. He needs for the Thunder to win the best record in the West and to have one more signature game before the end of the year to steal it from LeBron. Going to be a tight race.

3. Russell Westbrook: People think LeBron James should be docked points in the MVP race for having such great talent around him. What about Durant who has Westbrook? And how about the fact that a player of this caliber is expected to defer at all times when he's as dominant a scoring player at times as Durant?

4. Kevin Love: The NBA's Atlas. World on his shoulders, and with the injuries you see just how bad this team is that it can't win despite Love's contributions. A concussion to end his season is equally disappointing, but doesn't take away what he did all season.

5. Kobe Bryant: And he can coach, too!