9. Isaiah Thomas, guard, Boston Celtics
Closer. Simply put, Thomas has been the nearest thing to a closer on the hardwood this season. Here’s a dude that’s averaging 10.7 points while shooting at a near 50 percent clip in the fourth quarter on the season. His plus-minus in that final stanza of action also stands at nearly a point. If that’s not worthy of MVP consideration, we’re not entirely too sure what is.
We should also mention that Boston currently boasts the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and is just 2.5 games behind Cleveland for the No. 1 seed.
In terms of his all-around performance this season, Thomas is averaging 29.9 points and 6.4 assists while shooting at a 47 percent clip from the field . Those are elite-level numbers right there. And they should put Thomas in the MVP conversation as the second half of the NBA season gets going.