One of the most exciting seasons is nearing its end, the awards are discussed about by everyone and their momma’s. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and the one I am pondering about the most is the MVP. Two months ago, it would be either Kobe, LeBron, or maybe KG. Now it’s Kobe or Chris Paul, no doubt about it. But of course there are many more awards to hand out, and many of them are causing some serious headaches. Bring out the aspirin, because if I had to say anything about it, these guys would’ve been my picks:
Most Valuable Player: I have to vote for Kobe. I just have to. I can’t give a logical, reasonable explanation so that some of you would agree with me by picking him over Chris Paul. I am fully aware of what CP3 has done with the Hornets. If you would ask me in the beginning of the season to list the top three point guards, I would’ve ranked them as Nash, Kidd, and Paul as the third-best. Paul is now the number one in my opinion, and leaves Nash and Kidd behind him. Yes, I am a Nets fan, and no, I’m not bitter about the Kidd trade. That is not the reason why I think Paul is the best. I’m just being honest, and a huge fan of his game. However, some can say that Kobe has more talent around him, that Bynum really improved a lot this year, Derek Fisher came back to help out at the point guard position, Pau Gasol brought his 20ppg to Los Angeles, may I also remind you about the following: Kobe is playing better D than ever, Bynum improved a lot, but got injured, Pau arrived and got injured, and while all of that happened Kobe is still putting up his usual numbers. He carries the offensively when he needs to by making the important shot or making the perfect pass. He has become a far better leader than he ever was, and he won’t stop doing all that he does until the final game of the season, whenever that may be. Sure, you can say a lot of these things about Paul too, but as of right now Kobe has a slight edge over the young point guard. If Paul would win it, I won’t lose any sleep over it either. They deserve it both, but there can only be one winner.
Coach of the Year: Byron Scott. Call me nuts, because a lot of people would like to see Doc Rivers win it, but Scott absolutely gets the most out of this roster, more than anyone could. They are not a whole lot different than they were last year. Only now they are one of the top teams out West, and given the day, they are in first place. I read about him that he understands that it is a players’ League. He lets Chris Paul lead on the floor, and Paul, along with West and Chandler, all have their best seasons so far. Pardon the cliché, but the sky is the limit for this team. I disagree with Charles Barkley, who said last Thursday that the Denver Nuggets would beat New Orleans if the two would meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Hornets finally have some productivity coming off the bench, with Pargo, Wells and rookie Julian Wright all producing. And let’s not forget about Peja Stojakovic, who seems healthy with the playoffs around the corner, and his deadly 3-point shooting gives this team another asset which opponents must deal with. The Hornets play on both ends off the court, and although Scott seems always calm on the sidelines, he is the mastermind that has this team performing at a top-level. I also would like to mention Mo Cheeks and Eddie Jordan. What they are doing is unbelievable. Much respect.
Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby. Yes, Camby again. What? Did I forget about Bruce Bowen? No he’s great. Shane Battier? Hey, good player too. But you can’t deny the fact that no single player is more important on the defensive end than Marcus Camby. First of all, I’m happy to see him healthy this season (knock on wood), and he probably is too, because he got a huge bonus because of that. Aside from that, he grabs 13.3 rebounds per game, blocks 3.7 shots, and grabs a steal every game. If any player was snubbed during All-Star Weekend, it was Camby. His shot-blocking presence is one of the reasons the Nuggets are contending for that playoff spot. He’s fast, still quite athletic and and makes life for Melo and AI a lot more easy.
Most Improved Player: Hedo Turkoglu of course. When a man averages a ca
reer high in about everything that is possible, when he is one of the most important players of his team, when he can do everything on the court, from D to O, shooting from every range, he must win this award. Dwight Howard wouldn’t have the season he is having if it wasn’t for Turk. Even with Rashard Lewis next to him, Turkoglu still finds ways to score, and forms a dangerous inside-out combination with Howard. He can also handle rock very well, and his team , although overlooked, is in third place in the East. Honorable mention goes out to LaMarcus Aldridge, just want to name him here.Sixth Man: Manu Ginobili. Easiest choice. Second most important player on the Spurs, one of the most dangerous players in the League. A joy to watch and to me a superstar in this League. Few agree.
All-NBA First Team:
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Dwight Howard
I’m only naming the First Team because there are too many possibilities to name for Second and Third. The two positions you might want to debate are the 4 and the 5. Amare Stoudemire is probably offensively the most gifted big man in the NBA. The things he does around the basket are mind-blowing. And he can shoot a jumper too. But KG is a better defender, and a true leader for the Celtics. I chose Howard over Yao because to me, Dwight is more impressive, more dominating than Yao is. But it’s a toss-up between the two of them, really.
Rookie of the Year: Al Horford. Yes, Kevin Durant scores a lot. But his team sucks, there are hardly any scorers on the Sonics anyway, and his shot selection isn’t always smart, which is completely understandable. Horford will be one of the most important Hawks within two years. A career filled with double-doubles lies ahead of him.
Additional Awards:
Best nickname: The Big Cactus, Shaquille O’Neal.
Feel-good story of the season: Mmmmm…. The Blazers early streak? The Celtics in general? The Rockets historic run? Grant Hill having a good season? Or Nene returning after battling cancer? I’m going with Nene. He returned sooner than I expected, and to have something like that happen to you as a young man, is more scary than I could ever imagine. You’re young, you don’t expect this to happen to you. But it did, and he didn’t have to return this season, everybody would understood his decision if he didn’t. But he did, and who knows, the Nuggets may have plenty of season left to get him some more minutes.
Trade of the Year: Pau Gasol to the Lakers. I understood that if Bynum hadn’t got injured, the Lakers might not have done this trade. Weird to think about that one, huh? The Grizzlies absolutely got nothing in return, but hey, who cares? The Lakers are competitive again. In all honesty, if we are talking about the most important trade of the season, it’s of course the Celtics adding KG and Ray Allen.
Most Disappointing Team: Quite a long list. Bulls, Nets, Bucks, of course the Knicks (certainly most embarrassing), but no team has been more disappointing than the Heat. Sure, injuries are a bitch, but there are so many things wrong with them right now, I don’t know where to start. So I won’t. yes, I find them more disappointing than the Knicks, for the simple fact I never believed in the Knicks to win anything this season to begin with. The Heat? I already thought they would be bad, because they didn’t do anything to make the team better, and they clearly needed help. This will be a long summer for Riley to think about all that went wrong. And he has to think about himself in that category too.
Scariest Moment of the Season: Dirk! He landed so awkwardly on that leg of his, I thought he would pull a Wyclef Jean: gone ‘til November. Yet he came back quick, trying to help the Mavs avoiding an early summer vacation.
Dumbass Marketing Campaign: Adding “Los” to team names is a joke. Sure, the NBA also has a latino fanbase, but this looked so stupid. Los Spurs? Come on. Next season the Raptors will play a game as “Le Raptors”, because of the French-speaking Canadians!
Coolest Cat in the League: Baron Davis! Who else? The dude is still rocking the beard with pride, and dares to make fun of himself too. Check out his roller-skating video on Youtube if you haven’t seen it already.
Funniest Moment: The Shaq-Dive. Actually, he made two dives, both with the Suns. First, he jumped over two rows of fans, the next game, when he went after another ball, he ran towards his own teammates and the entire bench cleared because of that. Hilarious, but I can only agree with the Suns by moving out of the way.
In-Game Dunker: Every day when I check the “Top 10 Plays” on NBA.com, LeBron is always in them, and rightfully so. A joy to watch, what can I say more?
Best TV show on Earth: Inside the NBA (had to mention Ernie, Chuck and Kenny!)
That’s about it. I understand you might not agree with some of my picks, but that’s okay. I want to hear from you, let me now in the comments section who you would vote as MVP, Coolest Cat, or anything else. I can’t believe the season is almost over, time goes by fast, although you might think differently about that if you actually read this whole blog. I you did, I applaud you, and if I had any to hand out, you would win an award for that.
15 comments:
Nice post! I almost agree with every category that you wrote about. Especially on Scott being the best coach this year. Heck, I think its a no-brainer... They do not have much talent yet they've managed to cling in to the top spot... Miami is a disappointment by far. The knicks are but like what you've said its expected... WTF did Riley really said those lines? I love that line!
Great one... I think you should have included humorous awards such as cancer of the year, underachiever, and etc... Anyway nice post
thanks for reading fellas.
Bawful: I know your blog, it's linked on yahoo, how in the world did you do that?
The most importan t award I forgot about is "Player getting screwed"
This one goes to Jason Richardson. You play 8 years for a bad team, finally lead them to their first playoff-birth since years, beat Dallas in the first round in a historic upset, and then.... you get traded to the Bobcats. I know I know, it's a business. Too bad he isn't on the Warriors anymore.
Gerard, great read, my man. I was actually thinking of doing something like this, but without the special awards. I had the most fun reading them! Re the feel good story of the year, I think it should be a 3-way tie between Nene's quick recovery, TJ Ford's courage to even play again and Gerald Wallace's luck.
I'm glad you think Horford should be ROY. I was just over at SLAM and they mostly had the same feelings there, too.
BTW, check out my blog, man. It's over on www.robbz18.blogspot.com. Just added you to my blogroll, I'll be checking this blog out regularly. Peace.
I can never remember who sang that song - thanks for the Gone Til' November reference. Nice site.
MVP: agree. this dude is a phenom.
Coach: agree. did Doc Rivers do anything besides be on a team that acquired a bunch of super stars?
most improved: disagree. CHRIS KAMEN BABY.
coolest cat: nenad kristic. just look at him.
and this post was really fun to read.
thank you all people for checking this out.
Rob, thanks for the add, you may expect the same. Check back in a couple of days and your blog will be linked here too. I checked it out earlier today, and I really liked your team reviews, nice!
Carolyn: yup, Wyclef Jean, when he used to make good music. and that was in 1997....
Jason: now I know you're a Clippers fan, and Kamen really can play, but I expected this earlier from him. He should've won the Most Disappointing Player last season, to be honest. He finally shows what he's capable of, and the Clips need him more than ever. Let's be honest, Maggette will be gone, but I hope that Brand stays. That being said, it will be a busy off-season. Where's the point guard?
I think Jose Calderon should definitely be mentioned for Most Improved Player. And I completely agree about the whole "Los" marketing idea; totally stupid.
Gerard, I agree with you on Chris Kaman... This year's Kaman should've been last year's Kaman, so no points for sucking then improving. In my opinion, Monta Ellis should again be the MIP. I mean, he's on the verge of being elite, man.. And his high FG% (for a sub-6' Guard, no less) is just incredible!
Thanks for reading them, man. I embarrased myself pretty badly over there with my Chicago pick, though. Haha.
Good stuff, can't disagree with the majority of your picks. I'm still edging towards Chris Paul as MVP and I think Rick Adelman deserves some consideration for COY. Horford has been impressive, but considering how Durant has had everything thown onto his shoulders at such a young age... I think he'll get ROY. Thanks for the shout-out to Aldridge and the Blazers for feel good moments! You can add the Sixers to that list as well.
i thought the whole point of Most Improved Player is the player who really improves. Regardless of how sucky you were the last year. Wouldn't being sucky last year help you more for Most Improved?
and Kamen has had disappointing season after disappointing season since they drafted him. He finally improved this year. He really stepped up w/o Brand there.
Kiwi: I must say that if Durant would win it, I would be cool with that too. For a young guy coming into a very instable situation, where the opposing defense only have to pay attention to him (and Wilcox, when he's healthy), ít's not easy. Durant will be a great, great player.
Jason: I understand what you're saying about Kaman, but can we really pick him over Turk, Aldridge or even Li'l Dun? (Mike Dunleavy?
http://farm3.static.flickr. com/2050/2316065115_f81dbec47e.jpg?v=0
i just had to put a link to this picture. it's too awesome. have you seen this yet?
J: link doesn't work?
(I'm expecting a Rick Roll here....)
anyway, post a new link, now I want to see it!
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