Team: Miami Heat
Position: SF/PF
Age: 28
2012-13 Per-Game Stats: 26.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 0.8 blocks, 1.7 steals, 30.93 PER
LeBron James' numbers are down lately, but the Miami Heat are still winning, and he's built himself enough of a cushion that the No. 1 spot remains his.
Over his past five games, the reigning MVP has averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 0.6 blocks and 1.4 steals on 44.7 percent shooting from the field, 21.4 percent shooting from downtown and 75.6 percent from the line. Please note that his 37-point outing against the Boston Celtics is not included in those numbers.
While those are great averages, they aren't quite LeBron numbers. We expect better from him, and we'll likely get it before the end of the 82-game campaign.
So, the original question posed dealt with whether or not James was untouchable.
At the moment, he appears to be close to it. Kobe Bryant held the No. 2 spot last week before injuries knocked him out and handed it to Dwyane Wade. Kevin Durant has been the only other player to claim the penultimate spot in the rankings throughout the 2012-13 campaign.
None of those guys are going to be able to match LeBron on a consistent basis, so it will take an injury or an unforeseeable stretch of uninspired play to force a change at the top. These are power rankings, so recent performances matter quite a bit, but they can't completely overshadow the body of work.
Even when LeBron isn't putting up MVP-caliber number per-game stats, he still affects the game in a largely positive way. His defense, for example, is always stellar, and he can switch to guard almost any position on the court.
That's something you can't easily find in a box score.
I hesitate to call LeBron completely untouchable, but he's not exactly touchable either.
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