Yesterday I did a points system to determine who was the best player in the NBA, but that was unfair since it is harder for the smalls the rebound and harder for the bigs to shoot.  I'm putting in shooting just to give Dirk a chance.  The points go by how they compare to other bigs.

               Inside Game   -   Post Game   -   Rebounding   -   Blocking   -   Shooting

Tim Duncan:              10  -  10  -  9  -  7  -  5

Kevin Garnett:             9  -  10  -  9  -  6  -  6

Chris Bosh:                  10  -  9  -  8  -  7  -  5

Yao Ming:                      10  -  9  -  7  -  6  -  6

Dwight Howard:            10  -  10  -  10  -  7  -  3

Shaquille O'Neal:           8  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  3

Dirk Nowitzki:                6  -  6  -  6  -  4  -  10

Carlos Boozer:              8  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  6

Andrew Bynum:             9  -  9  -  8  -  7  -  4

Greg Oden:                   7  -  7  -  8  -  7  -  4

Jermaine O'Neal:         8  -  8  -  7  -  7  -  5

LaMarcus Aldridge:        9  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  5

Pau Gasol:                        9  -  7  -  7  -  6  -  5

Grand Totals:

1) Tim Duncan - 41 points

2) Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard - 40 points

3) Chris Bosh - 39 points

4) Yao Ming - 38 points

5) Andrew Bynum - 37 points

6) Jermaine O'Neal - 35 points

7) Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carlos Boozer - 34 points

8) Greg Oden - 33 points

9) Dirk Nowitzki - 32 points

10) Shaquille O'Neal - 31 points

Its a little unfair for Dirk since he plays more like a small forward.

I read a blog that ranked the NBA teams using a points system and now I am going to that, but instead I will be using a points system to find who is the best player in the NBA.

 Inside Game (IG)    Shooting (S)   Passing (P)    Defense (D)    Clutch (C)     Rebounding (R)

Kobe Bryant-

           10 - 8 - 7 - 8 - 10 - 6

Lebron James-

           10 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 7

Paul Pierce-

           8 - 7 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 5

Chris Paul-

          10 - 6 - 10 - 6 - 6 - 5

Tim Duncan-

          10 - 3 - 5 - 10 - 8 - 10

Kevin Garnett-

           10 - 4 - 10 - 5 - 10

Dwyane Wade-

           10 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 6

Carmelo Anthony-

           10 - 7 - 4 - 5 - 10 - 6

Allen Iverson-

           10 - 7 - 7 - 5 - 10 - 4

Dwight Howard-

           10 - 1 - 3 - 10 - 6 - 10

Grand Totals:

1) Kobe Bryant - 49 points

2) Tim Duncan - 46 points

3) Lebron James - 45 points

4) Dwyane Wade - 44 points

5) Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett - 43 points

6) Carmelo Anthony - 42 points

7) Dwight Howard - 40 points

8) Paul Pierce - 36 points

This 07-08 season ended on the 17th of June with the Celtics beating the Lakers in 6 games to get their first NBA championship in over 20 years.  I will make my predictions for who will make the playoffs, win the championship, , who will be traded or sign with another team and who will win the awards.

PLAYOFFS:

EAST

First Round

1 - Boston Celtics

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

4 - Chicago Bulls

5 - Miami Heat

6 - Cleveland Cavaliers

7 - New Jersey Nets

8 - Charlotte Bobcats

Second Round

1 - Boston Celtics

5 - Miami Heat

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

Conference Finals

1 - Boston Celtics

3 - Orlando Magic

WEST

First Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

4 - San Antonio Spurs

5 - Portland Trailblazers

6 - Houston Rockets

7 - Dallas Mavericks

8 - Phoenix Suns

Second Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

5 -  Portland Trailblazers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

Conference Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

NBA Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

1 - Boston Celtics

Winner - Los Angeles Lakers in 6 Games

Finals MVP - Kobe Bryant

WORST TEAM IN LEAGUE - Minnesota Timberwolves

AWARDS

MVP - Lebron James, Cavaliers

Defensive Player of the Year - Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose / Michael Beasley, Bulls/ Heat

Coach of the Year - Doc Rivers, Celtics

Executative of the Year - Mitch Kupchak, Lakers

Most Improved Player - Andrew Bynum, Lakers

All-NBA First Team - Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard

All-NBA First Defensive Team - Kobe Bryant, Shane Battier, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard

PEOPLE WHO WILL BE TRADED OR WILL SIGN WITH A DIFFERENT TEAM OR WILL RETIRE

Ron Artest

Rasheed Wallace

Baron Davis

Lamar Odom

Ronny Turiaf

Robert Horry

Brent Barry

Gilbert Arenas

Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson

Those are my predictions for the 2008-2009 Season.

I saw that sign on TV last night when I was watching the game.  I don't think that Paul Pierce should have been the Finals MVP.  Pierce had the first 9 season's of his career with his own team, and they did nothing except for the conference finals 1 time when he had another all-star on the team.  He was the leader of a team that had the same talent as last year's Lakers team, but they only won 24 games in the L'eastern Conference (worst record in NBA) and the Lakers won 42 games and made the playoffs in the Western Conference.  Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are the reason the Celtics team this year was good.  Kevin Garnett should have been Finals MVP without a doubt.  Paul Pierce might have been the leaging scorer and captain, but KG was the defensive anchor (defense won them the championship) and emotional leader.  I hate the Celtics more than any other sports-related thing.  Paul Pierce I hate the most and next is a tie of Ray Allen, Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Brian Scalabrine, Sam Cassell, and James Posey.  I think Garnett and Ray deserved the championship, but I think the rest of the team didn't.  Paul Pierce has always been a big ballhog who has led his team nowhere.  Sam Cassell made his team pay him money to that he could go to a better team and get a free ring.  Kevin Garnett was never shut down in the Finals like Pierce was.  Without Garnett the Celtics might not have made it to the Conference Finals and definetely not the Finals.  Without Pierce though, they could have still made it to the Conference Finals and if really lucky, the Finals.  I don't know if the Celtics will have another chance to make it back to the Finals since they are an old team, so I think that added to their willpower to get a championship which was too strong for just Kobe's willpower.  The rest of the Lakers didn't seem that motivated to win, while the Celtics best 3 players were going crazy for a championship.  The Lakers will be around for a long time unless they make some major trades to assure a championship next year.  The Lakers just gave up in game 6 after they got down by 16.  The Celtics came back from 24 down because they wanted to win a championship more than anything, while the Lakers rolled over and died.  Kobe tried to make his team win, but his teammates were too soft and they weren't making shots so he had to try and keep them in the game.  Even if he could score, his teammates couldn't play good enough defense.  The people who are saying that Kobe is no Michael Jordan are right and wrong.  Kobe is a different player so that is why he is no MJ, but he is like MJ because he fought hard to win.  The problem for Kobe was that his team was soft and not defensively strong while Jordan had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman along with other strong role players.  Kobe is just like Jordan in the way that they both were high scoring 2-guards who were just winning scoring titles and losing in the first round of the playoffs, until they got some help and learned to pass the ball more.  Michael Jordan had a better supporting cast and wasn't facing as good of defenses that there are today.  Michael Jordan is no Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan.

This is my Playoff Edition of The MVP Race

1.  Kobe Bryant
He is leading the NBA in playoff ppg this postseason with about 35 per game along with averages of about 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game.

2.  Chris Paul
He lead his team to a game 7 in the second round, before they lost and was leading the postseason players in assists per game.

3.  Kevin Garnett
He has been the most consistent Celtics this postseason and has led his team to the conference finals.

4.  Paul Pierce
He led his team past the Cavs in game 7 and has been pretty consisten this offseason.

5.  Lebron James
He led his team to the second round even though they might have lost because of his ball dominating in game 7 against the Celtics.

6.  Tim Duncan
He has been the best player on the Spurs this postseason including a 40-point performance against the Suns.

7.  Rip Hamilton
Rip is leading the Pistons in scoring and when he does good, the team does good.

8.  Deron Williams
He only had 1 or 2 bad games this season and has been the best player on the Jazz this postseason and was the only one doing good against the Lakers.

9.  Dwight Howard
He had two 20-20 games in the first round which led to an easy 5 game series against the Raptors.

10.  Joe Johnson
J.J. is the reason that the Hawks went 7 games against the Celtics.  The Celtics and Ray Allen (who was he primary defender) couldn't stop him and that is why they lost 3 times in Atlanta.

My next post will only include the people on the teams that made it to the conference finals.

Also on www.thebasketballoracle.com

This is a post about the what ifs in the NBA.

First I will start with Kobe Bryant never being traded from the Hornets after he was drafted.  He would have been a Charlotte Hornet the first couple of years in the NBA and would have gotten more playing time than on the Lakers.  He would have higher averages for that season and might have developed different.  He might not have won any championships but he could have also signed with another team as a free agent or Shaq could have signed with the Hornets.  I don't think Kobe would have any championship rings if that would have happened and neither would Shaq.  The Hornets also wouldn't have gotten Chris Paul because they probably would have been better with Kobe on the team.

Second I will talk about if the Lakers never would have traded Caron Butler for Kwame Brown.  Caron probably wouldn't have made the all-star game in the west because there were other stars that play the same position as him that are better.  Kobe wouldn't have demanded a trade because he would have Lamar Odom and Caron Butler.  They wouldn't have gotten Pau Gasol but they might have still gotten Andrew Bynum.  I don't think it would have been good because if they didn't get Andew Bynum then they would be without Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum but they would have Caron Butler.  Personally, I would rather have Bynum and Gasol.

Third I will talk about what might have happened if the Celtics never traded for Kevin Garnett.  They would have a deeper team and 20/10 guy in Al Jefferson.  I don't think that Al Jefferson would be averaging those same numbers if he was on a Celtics team with Pierce and Allen.  The Celtics would probably be in 2nd in the East behind the Pistons and not as much of favorites to win it all but they would have a brighter future with Al Jefferson and the rest of the young people they traded away.

And last I will talk about probably the biggest one: What if Kobe was Traded?  If he was traded to the Pistons in a reported deal then the Lakers would probably have Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince with some draft picks to add to their team with Odom and Bynum.  They woudn't be as good because they might not have gotten Gasol and wouldn't have the best in the game today to lead their team but their scoring would be more spread around.  If Kobe would have been traded to the Bulls the Lakers would probably have Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace, Thabo Sefolosha or someone like that and some draft picks.  They wouldn't be as much of contenders with an aging Ben Wallace who hasn't been doing good this season and a streaky shooter in Ben Gordon.  The Bulls would definitely be better and would probably be the 3rd seed in the East.

For All Lakers Fans it's a good thing Kobe wasn't traded.

There are a couple legitimate contenders for the MVP this year, but none of them are the complete favorite to win.  Cavaliers fans think it should be Lebron, Lakers fans think it should be Kobe, Hornets fans think it should be Paul, and Celtics fans think it should be Garnett. 

Now the Argument.

Lebron James: He has the best stats out of all of them but his team is the worst.  He is averaging 30.3 ppg (1st in NBA), 7.9 rpg, 7.2 apg, 1.9 spg, and 1.1 bpg while shooting .484% from the field, .315 from three, and .715 from the line.  He is the only current all-star on the Cavaliers.  He has two decent centers on his team in Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Illgauskas even though Ben Wallace has declined in recent years.  They traded away Larry Hughes who was a good perimeter defender and scorer if he got the ball more to create shots himself.  The only real argument the Cavs fans have for Lebron to be the MVP is his stats and their 0-6 record without him, but they still don't have a record that would make the playoffs in the west with him.

Kevin Garnett: He has been the centerpiece of the Celtics' defense and has brought them to the next level.  Garnett's stats are lower than in recent years but that is because he is playing with two other all-stars.  He is the best person on the Celtics even though Pierce is the leading scorer.  The Celtics have the record for biggest turnaround in NBA history and they give all the credit to Kevin Garnett.  I don't see why everyone forgets about Ray Allen.  The Celtics have a good record without him in the lineup so that hurts his MVP chances a little bit.  The Celtics have the best record in the league.

Kobe Bryant: Kobe has learned to trust his teammates this season more than recent seasons.  Kobe is the second leading scorer in the NBA at 28.5 ppg.  He is averaging 5.4 apg which is tied for the 4th most in his career.  He is also averaging 6.4 rpg.  Kobe is the best player in the league and has been for a couple of years.  Many people believe that he was robbed of the MVP the past couple of years.  He has made Andrew Bynum into a dominant center and has quickly gotten Pau Gasol used to the Lakers style of play.  Kobe hasn't missed a game this season so we don't know how good his team would do without him.  There have been injuries to the Lakers two best bigmen (Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum) but he has stilled led them to only a 1/2 back for 1st seed in the west.

Chris Paul: Paul is leading the league in assists at 11.6 per game and steals at 2.7 per game.  He is 19th in the league in scoring at 21.1 ppg.  He has led his team along with fellow all-star David West, leading offensive rebounder Tyson Chandler, and 3-point specialist Peja Stojakovic to 1st in the west with 2 games remaining.  Him and Deron Williams have taken away the title of best 'pure' point guard away from Steve Nash and Jason Kidd (Allen Iverson is not a pure point guard).

It is a close MVP Race but I think that the winner should be...

KOBE BRYANT