NBA MVP Power Rankings Week 2: Luka magic takes the stage

Surprise, surprise. The Boston Celtics look like the best team in the NBA. So far, the Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday additions appear to be working well for Joe Mazzulla's new-look squad. It's early, but with Milwaukee stuck in a difficult period of adjustment, James Harden officially out of the East, and no other team emerging particularly strongly out of the gates ... Boston has to feel pretty good right now.

Of course, the 'best player on the best team' award belongs to Jayson Tatum. The MVP race hasn't awarded such a player for a while, but winning always factors into the conversation and Tatum has been next in line for a couple of years now. He continues to dominate in all the accustomed ways. There isn't a more polished three-level wing scorer in the Eastern Conference, maybe even the entire association.

Tatum is averaging 29.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on .563/.406/.800 splits. If he wants to keep pace here, the assist numbers — and his general facilitation for teammates, on top of his individual scoring prowess — will bear monitoring. Tatum has long been a gifted scorer, but if he can take the all-around creation leap, it will do wonders for his standing in the awards race.

Of course, Tatum's case is built on more than offense. He's a tremendous wing defender situated in the ideal position. Boston's entire core rotation group can defend at a high level. He's situated between two of the best guard defenders in the NBA and a top-shelf rim protector in Porzingis. That frees up Tatum to take risks, but more often than not, it means he's handling difficult, physical wing and forward matchups while also carrying the primary burden on offense, Voters will always respect that.

He's not going above and beyond the usual J.T. standard, but Tatum is a top-5 or so NBA player. He doesn't need to exceed expectations to compete for MVP, especially if the Celtics keep stacking wins.