I apoligize for being inactive recently. My grandmother has been seriously ill in the hospital, and I've spent most of the past week at her bedside, praying for her to get better. I won't go into details, but she has been the single biggest influence in my life, and has raised me like I was her son. Thankfully, she's recovering well, and hopefully soon she'll return home and resume her normal routine.
Now, back to sports. It's officially April, and now I feel it's time to present some awards. Here are my picks (along with runner-ups in most cases) of the major NBA awards:
MVP: Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Say what you will about his attitude, Bryant has been a key reason the Lakers are back as a relevent team again. While Gasol and Bynum have been hurt, he has kept his team in the thick of a brutal Western race. And, frankly, it's about time he got an MVP.
Runner-up: Chris Paul, Hornets: There will be arguements for Kevin Garnett and LeBron, but Paul is the engine for the surprising Hornets, as he leads the league in assists and has New Orleans primed for a major playoff run. Thus, he's my runner-up.
Coach of the Year: Maurice Cheeks, Sixers: I'm not knocking Byron Scoot or Doc Rivers, or even Phil Jackson; they've all done remarkable jobs this season. But each has major talent to work with. Cheeks has Andre Igudola... and a bunch of youngsters and bench fodder. Yet he has the Sixers in the playoffs with a winning record in the Least, er, East, marking their first trip to the postseason since 2005.
Runner-up: Byron Scott, Hornets: Scott gets runner-up because no one expected the Hornets to be near the top of the West. Scott has done a magnificent job of molding this young team into a contender the same way he did the Nets; by letting a special PG lead the way.
Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Nuggets: He leads the league in blocks per game (by a wide margin) and is second in rebounds. And, by the way, he does it on the run-and-gun Nuggets, who play defense only if the moon is in the correct phase.
6th Man Award: Leandro Barbosa, Suns: Because, simply, no one else stood out enough to win the award. I actually wouldn't mind if someone could give me another candidate (and before you Manu people chime in, he plays starter minutes, so that skewers his stats).
Rookie of the Year: Luis Scola, Rockets: Whoa, no Durant? Well, Scola has been instrumental in the Rockets' surge since January. While he would become the first ROY to win the award averaging fewer than 10 PPG, the Rockets have lost only 4 or 5 games since he became a starter.
Runner-up: Kevin Durant, Sonics: Durant finishes second because his team stinks, and he has needed a lot of shots to get his points (on a bad team, which skewers any productive players on such teams). I call it the John Starks effect. Durant has a bright future, but he shouldn't win ROY by default.
All-NBA 1st Team:
G Chris Paul, Hornets
G Kobe Bryant, Lakers
F LeBron James, Cavaliers
F Kevin Garnett, Celtics
C Dwight Howard, Magic
Executive of the Year: Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: Kupchak gets the award because he made the unsung moves to make the Lakers a contender again. And any exec who can trade Kwame Brown's corpse for Pau Gasol should be EOY.
Runner-up: Danny Ainge, Celtics: Like Kupchak, Ainge made the moves to make Boston relevent again after 21 years of dormancy. Ainge took a chance, and it paid off, big.
Now, as far as the playoffs go, here are my favorites in each conference, ranked 1-8 based on my preference, not on current seeding. They are:
West
1. Lakers (provided Gasol and Bynum are healthy, they're the deepest team)
2. Spurs (to be the best, you must beat the best. Until they lose, they're the best)
3. Hornets (inexperience an issue, but Paul and Scott will guide them nicely)
4. Suns (Shaq was brought in to win a title, after all. Right?)
5. Jazz (need to show they can win away from home consistently)
6. Rockets (no Yao will hurt them against elite bigs in playoffs)
7. Warriors (lightning won't strike twice)
8. Nuggets (no defense except Camby = no playoff series wins)
East
1. Celtics (Garnett, Pierce and Allen are hungry for a ring)
2. Pistons (if they overcome conplacency, the biggest threat to Boston)
3. Cavaliers (LeBron can win series himself)
4. Magic (Howard is emerging as maybe best C in game)
5. Sixers (a sleeper to pull an upset 1st round win)
6. Wizards (can't stay healthy... or play defense well)
7. Raptors (a poor man's Wizards)
8. Whoever is 8th (Hawks, Pacers, Bulls, etc.; it doesn't matter; they'll get swept)
There you are. Disagree? Just drop me a line. Gotta go; Kwame Brown's corpse is being moved out of the morgue!
I agree w/most everything you have. I think Lebron will be runner-up though. And I have Horford or Durant as ROY. I think the Hornets will be # 2 seed and the Spurs # 3 and I also think that the Hawks will be the # 8 seed. I think the Lakers & Celtics will be in the Finals w/the Lakers winning. Don't sleep on the Warriors, though. They'll make a run. All in all....good predictions!!
Looks like you hit it on the head, although I think what Scola is doing on a winning team should count more than what Durant is doing on a losing team. I believe it is a toss up between Cheeks and Scott. Cheeks team has cooled off some and Scotts team is still in first
There are three divisions in each conference. The winner of each of those divisions is guaranteed a top 4 seed. Which is dumb but that's the way it is. So Utah is all but guaranteed a top 4 seed since they are 3.5 games ahead of Denver in the Northwest.
I agree for the most part with your predictions. This is where I disagree:
Coach of the Year: Byron Scott (New Orleans has been around the top of the West the entire season, while Philly only came along in the second half; plus, if Chris Paul doesn't win MVP you gotta give at least one award to a Hornet)
Defensive POY: Josh Smith, Atl (Smith is top ten in steals and blocks and is all over the court; he is a much better on-ball defender than Camby, who gets most of his blocks by helping from the weak side)
Sixth Man Award: Ben Gordon, Chi (the Bulls' leading scorer and he comes from the bench; Barbosa has had a down year statistically)
you forgot...
Most Improved Player: Rudy G-a-y, Mem (His scoring average nearly doubled from last year, the most by any player in the league; he has been a delight for fantasy players)
Right on pretty much everything.
I would give mention to Al Thornton for the rookie vote. (Scola is 27 years old and has played professionally for years)The Spurs dropped the ball on that one,they should have kept him.
Best wishes to your grandmother for a full recovery.
I Like all of your picks except ROY. Scola doesn't have the pressure with being the highest player drafted playing this season; doesn't have to play on a rebuilding squad; doesn't have the pressure of being expected to bring his team back to relevance and isn't REQUIRED to hoist 20+ shots per game. Durant has been playing in a fishbowl all season long and he's still developed into a legitimate 20 ppg scorer. More often than not Scola, (like Thornton, Horford and anyone else), is a forgotten man by the opposing team's defense, while Durant (like Kobe, LeBron) is a marked man every time his team steps on the floor. Also, Most Improved would've gone to Bynum hands down if he didn't injured. Now I think it goes to David West.
You claim that Manu plays too many "starter" minutes to qualify, but he averages only 1.8 min more per game than Barbosa, who you give the award to. Manu outplays him in every respect with less than 2 minutes more a game. Starter minutes? Are you kidding me?
Let's look at Manu And Barbosa.
Manu
min 31.4 pts 20.1 reb 6.1 asst 4.6 FG% 51.4
Barbosa
min 29.6 pts 15.9 reb 2.7 asst 2.7 FG% 46.0
And J-Dizzle, let's take a look at Ben Gordon's numbers just to be fair.
min.33.1 pts. 19,1 reb. 3.1 asst. 3.1 Fg% 43.0
Nope, I don't think so. More minutes, less production. And Manu is also the Spur's top scorer while coming off the bench.
But aside from the stats, who would you want to come in and take over a game when it is on the line?
Manu tears down the other team's defense and disrupts their offense. He brings an energy and passion to the game that is unequaled.
If Manu does not get sixth man, it is a rip off. He has come off the bench more games than is required by rule to qualify, and the only reason he ever started anyway was because of Tony's injury. and one of the qualities of a sixth man is the ability to step in and start when a starter goes down.
And since he has gone back to coming off the bench as the sixth man, the Spurs have won 8 in a row.
I like your blogs, but I disagree with almost everything in this one.
Kobe and the Lakers struggled while Gasol was out. They've had runs this year, but the Lakers played their best basketball when they got Gasol, and when Bynum was playing. The Lakers didn't have that great a record without either of those two playing for them. Kobe still isn't much of a team player.
The award has to go to Chris Paul who is by far the major reason on the court that the Hornets are where they are this season. Not to mention the fact that Paul is definitely turning into one of the best passers the game has seen in quite some time (not taking anything away from Nash). Paul deserves the MVP.
If not him, then Garnett who is playing a Bill Russell type role in Boston this season. No one in the league can guard all five positions as effectively as Garnett can. His scoring hasn't been needed as much as it was when he was with the T'wolves, but he scores when he needs to and he scores efficiently. He's the best player on the best team in the league. If not Paul, Garnett deserves it.
The Coach of the Year award should go to Doc Rivers. He has taken a team from one of the worst records in the history of the team to one of the best records in the history of the team in one season. He has been given the task of getting three major stars in this league to play together as a team, and has a team that everyone had written off as a bunch of losers playing disciplined and focussed team basketball. Doc deserves it, and if not, then
Byron Scott. Cheeks would come in third in my book.
I am David Downs, and I'm a sports nut who loves basketball and football and am open to good discussion about any sports subject. I am a Detroit sports fan, but I not a homer. Expect frequent vents on subjects that irritate me, and also expect the utmost respect for anybody's opinion, even if they disagree with me. Because, after all, that's what these blogs are all about, aren't they?
