We have a new top 10 in the playoff MVP race and two players tied for first after an amazing second round.
You've heard it said the postseason is all about matchups. In the playoffs, there's no relief from one game to the next if one team has an uphill fight with another because of matchups and talent. As for Portland, San Antonio and Atlanta in the second round, they just could not find ways to overcome the challenges their opponents brought to each game.
In each case, the winning teams featured some of the world's best players playing some of their best basketball of the season.
Which brings us to the top 10 in my postseason MVP rankings, led by a pair of teammates that just led an upset in the Western Conference semifinals.
T-1. Russell Westbrook
Thunder
PG
2016 playoff stats:
25.5 PPG | 10.8 APG
T-1. Kevin Durant
Thunder
SF
2016 playoff stats:
27.4 PPG | 6.5 RPG
The Thunder's routing of the 67-win Spurs is the singular achievement of the postseason thus far, impressive enough to gain the full attention of the league's 73-win team, to be sure.
The main complaint about Westbrook is that he should create for others more. So his 15 assists in a huge Game 4 win signaled a higher level of play. It wasn't his first time playing at that level, but in this case he was doing it in the postseason against the best defense in the league. He managed the game better and seemed far more in control of himself and his team.
Still, he's clearly not just a game manager. Westbrook's unrelenting desire to destroy opponents reminds me of how Shaquille O'Neal played as a young man -- he was the biggest, strongest and fastest big man on the court, and he wanted to prove it possession after possession.
Because of this, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich initially had his best defender, Kawhi Leonard, on Westbrook, which gave Durant more chances to control the action. As the Thunder gained confidence, their own defensive efforts stiffened, and the Spurs shooters became deflated.
Outside of Steph Curry's heroics, the defining quarter of the postseason is Durant's fourth quarter in Game 4, when he brought the Thunder back in the game and the series with a sensational, unguardable 17-point flurry.
The wide pin-down that Durant comes off to shoot his short curl jumper is pretty unstoppable, and the Thunder use it whenever they just have to get a good look. But what helped Durant so much in this series was his aggressive and athletic rim attacks. This was the MVP Durant. He combines skill and craft with athleticism on that tall and long frame.
Durant poured in 78 points on 49 shots in the Thunder's past two home wins, all against one of the best defenses in NBA history. And now, to beat the Warriors, every Thunder player has to genuinely believe they can, a process far more possible when they saw Durant do what he did to the Spurs.
3. LeBron James
Cavaliers
SF
2016 playoff stats:
23.5 PPG | 8.8 RPG
To improve their chances to win the title, we knew the Cavs would need rest in the first half of the long postseason. That the Cavs are 8-0 in the playoffs as they practice and relax at home is being attributed largely to their incredible shooting display. But seeing James compete at such a high level while trusting his teammates the way he did had as much to do with Cleveland's success.
King James likes to command everything on the court as only he can, yet we all saw his willingness to take on a lesser scoring role. James didn't lead his team in shots attempted in either road win in Atlanta. Dwyane Wade made similar sacrifices in Miami for James, and those results resembled what we are seeing in Cleveland now.
James' trust in his team reminds me of the team psychologist who was as proud of the coach for trusting his kicker to make a game-winning 65-yard field goal as he was of the player for making it.
4. Draymond Green
Warriors
PF
2016 playoff stats:
17.7 PPG | 10.4 RPG
Golden State star Klay Thompson stepped up and made big shot after big shot with his MVP teammate out with a knee injury. Kudos to Klay.
Green, though, was the do-it-all guy his team needed so desperately to survive the Blazers even when Curry was back. As usual, Green's Game 4 was lost in our amazement over Curry. But how does 21 points (on nine shots), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 7 blocks grab you?
This team combines the confidence of Curry's skill with the fight of Green for a rare type of energy. Countless times we've seen this team, just when it seems things might slide away from them, get sharper and tougher.
In the past two postseasons, Memphis, Cleveland and Portland all posed serious threats to Golden State. But Green's will to compete, his efforts to protect the rim, his rebounds in traffic and his courage to make a play with the ball as a scorer or passer carry the Warriors forward as much as Curry's greatness.
5. Stephen Curry
Warriors
PG
2016 playoff stats:
24.8 PPG | 6.5 APG
You'd think seeing Curry make one ridiculous shot after another would stop being shocking. But he still has that effect.
His incredibly difficult 3s and drives in Games 4 and 5 might have saved the series for Golden State. It was astounding stuff. Absent that, the Blazers might have been up 3-2 heading back to Portland.
If Curry keeps this up and the Warriors repeat, the question of whether he has been the best offensive player in league history for these two years might be answered in the affirmative.
6. Kawhi Leonard
Spurs
SF
2016 playoff stats:
22.5 PPG | 2.6 SPG
Leonard's hot motor and ultra-competitive fight have pushed him to a very special place. Yes, against OKC, that means he occasionally forced his offensive game -- remember that he doesn't have long-term experience as a primary scorer.
But Leonard is San Antonio's best player on both ends of the court now, and this disappointing result will only inspire him to work harder at his craft.
7. Kevin Love
Cavaliers
PF
2016 playoff stats:
18.9 PPG | 12.5 RPG
Love was one of the five or six best players in the league his last season in Minnesota, a fact that got lost because of a terrible bench and too many close losses.
He plays a different role in Cleveland and is finally getting some of the "love" he didn't before. He's the poster boy for what a stretch-4 can do for an offense, taking and making so many 3s that defenses have to make the terrible choice of clogging the lanes to stifle James and Kyrie Irving or take away Love's 3-ball and give up valuable space in the middle.
So far this postseason, the defenses are just lost, and Love's offensive game and his defensive rebounding dominance are as important to the Cavs' success as anything else. He and Green are the top two shooter-rebounders in the postseason, and Love has hits more 3s and pulled down more boards per game than Green.
8. Steven Adams
Thunder
C
2016 playoff stats:
10.2 PPG | 9.9 RPG
In a series featuring bigs like Tim Duncan, Serge Ibaka and LaMarcus Aldridge, few people expected Adams to dominate the middle. But that's exactly what he did, by putting down crushing dunks off cuts and completely outhustling the Spurs' big men.
His efforts wore down the older, slower Spurs players, a big reason they struggled to finish games and looked exhausted by Game 6. If this was Duncan's last season, we need to look only at how hard it was for him to battle Adams to understand why he's saying farewell.
9. Dwyane Wade
Heat
SG
2016 playoff stats:
21.8 PPG | 52.6 3P%
If Wade's will to win does not seem as overpowering as, say, Westbrook's, it's partly because Wade knows how to measure his emotions and energy. Make no mistake, though, Wade is as fiery as any NBA superstar and he is proving it yet again.
Wade is attacking these games as if he really thinks the Heat can win this series and the next one. He is doing everything he can for his team on both ends. And it goes without notice, but his improved reliability with the ball was a huge part of the Heat's season-saving Game 6 win, as they had only seven turnovers as a team.
10. Kyle Lowry
Raptors
PG
2016 playoff stats:
17.4 PPG | 6.5 APG
We all remember Lowry staying after a bitter Toronto loss earlier in this series and getting some shots up, perhaps just to clear his mind. We have heard about his elbow injury as well. So it hasn't been an easy series for the Toronto All-Star.
But now he has put together three big offensive games in the past four while also improving his control of the game (an issue earlier in the series).
Toronto appeared to have no shot of winning this matchup without a stronger performance from their best player, and they are getting exactly that. He is still not shooting as well as before, but he is staying aggressive, another "must" for the Raptors. That brings us to Game 7 -- and his biggest opportunity yet.