First I'll do the All-NBA Teams:
All-Rookie Team
Mike Conley
Kevin Durant
Al Thornton
Luis Scola
Al Horford
Honorable Mention: Thaddeus Young
This is pretty easy actually...Although if I were going straight with the best 5 rookies I'd go with Young over Conley (b/c Conley didn't play at all early) but since there wasn't really a guard on the team I went with Conley......who has been playing quite well lately and for whom I am massively biased toward....Durant speaks for himself averaging 20-plus and going ballistic more than a few times lately...Thornton has sort of toiled in obscurity in LA with the Clips but has averaged a very respectable 12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg this year and has been a stabilizing factor for the Clippers (I guess all that "most ready" talk from last year's draft was true and I mean, he just turned 24 in December).......Scola is the one guy who plays for a legitimate playoff team (sorry Al Horford) but also gets the "why is he considered a rookie again?" type of looks.....but any time you average a little over 10 and 6 while only playing 24 minutes a night as a rookie (even if he's 27 years old) you get included and oh yea, he's easily the best defender on the list and brings a mean streak.....Horford again sort of speaks for himself and really has been the only guy outside of Durant getting any real rookie hype....His averages of 10.1 ppg and 9.7 rpg are near double-double status and he's only averaging 31 minutes a game as Woodson has said repeatedly how much they don't want him to hit that rookie wall.....
Thought about doing the all-defensive team...but I'll tackle some guys when I do the Defensive POY...Moving on.....Okay, just to clarify....everyone does all-nba teams differently....just ride with me here....
1st team All-NBA
Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett
Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Chris Paul
That was easy to me...Duncan seems to be getting alot of mentions as 1st-team center....if they can do it, I can and if he qualifies, he's the automatic choice...the other 4 are absolute slam dunks...
2nd team
Dwight Howard
Amare Stoudemire
Dirk Nowitzki
Manu Ginobili (wow)
Deron Williams
Okay this was a little more challenging....Howard is the slam-dunk choice at Center and is my obvious 1st-teamer if Duncan isn't eligible at C.....The forwards are picking from a plethora but I went with Amare who has absolutely been ridiculous since the Shaq trade (averaging around 30 and 10)....As much as I ride Dirk, he's picked up alot down the stretch and his 23.6 and 8.6 is enough to get him here SLIGHTLY over Carlos Boozer....At first glance, Manu seems out of place here...but he isn't I assure you...His 6th man status (and his only 31 minutes a game) take his numbers a little down (around 19.5 and 5 rpg) but anyone who watches the league regularly can't find you many (if any) 2-guards that had better seasons.....Deron Williams over Steve Nash....controversial? Yes, definitely....the right choice? Yes, definitely....the numbers are very similar (Williams 18.8 ppg, 10.5 apg, 51/40/80 percentages, Nash 16.9 ppg, 11.1 apg, 50/47/91 percentages) and based on that alone....the slightest of edges to Nash....but on the floor I give it to Deron Williams....just watch him smother Chris Paul on defense one night....Steve Nash gives you the ability to draw a charge....and that's it on the other end...Deron Williams is a top 5 defensive PG and thus, gets the nod.....
3rd Team
Al Jefferson
Carlos Boozer
David West
Allen Iverson
Steve Nash
This was the hardest one to me...Al Jefferson plays almost exclusively at Center in Minny and with averages like 21 and 11...not leaving him off with the lack of centers.....Boozer and West get the slighest of nods over Paul Pierce and Antawn Jamison...21 and 10 for Boozer and 21 and 9 for West while leading their front lines to top seeds in the West is enough for me....David West is a player...start talking about him....Just some love for Antawn Jamison (my toughest omission); He's never been a guy I loved but he's having a monster year and filled in admirably (at times by himself) without Butler and Arenas....21 and 10 can't be ignored....Iverson in a close one over Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady....AI just keeps ticking...26 ppg and 7 apg is crazy for his size at his age...no sign of noticable decline yet either.....Talked about Nash above...no explanation needed...but good efforts from Baron Davis and the other top PGs
To the awards!!
ROY: Kevin Durant
Okay I have to do it....I had been riding the Al Horford for ROY train into late February/Early March and then Durant turned it on....since mid-March he has gone over 30 4 times and ended the year with a ridiculous 42 point, 13 rebound explosion in a win over Golden State....can't be ignored....Showing all the signs of his breakout next year...
COY: Maurice Cheeks
This has been a hotly contested battle this year...many deserving candidates...I'll go with Cheeks who has taken a Philly team that NO ONE liked going into the season and taken them to a respectable year, with some stand-out moments.....He's doing a world-class job there right now without a legit go-to-guy or really any depth to speak of up front....Byron Scott and Rick Adelman deserve mention....
6th man: Manu Ginobili
Okay so we may as well rename this the Ginobili award...it's obvious...so I'll talk about the other deserving guys....Josh Childress does special things in Atlanta and gets zero love because his numbers aren't glowing off the page...Kyle Korver has been HUGE in Utah providing the spot shooter they've always needed....Barbosa has still been good, just down a chunk from last year....Louis Williams blew up this year in Philly into a legit scoring guard....there were some guys...but let's be real...
Most Improved: Hedo Turkoglu
Wow this award is hard to give...too many different criteria...I'll go with Hedo...He took a huge jump up this late in his career to be a legit 20 a night scorer and passed Rashard Lewis as that team's 2nd option behind Dwight Howard....To steal from Marc Stein, he also is top 5 in the LEAGUE in 4th quarter scoring (which startled me initially) and that'll work.....Honorable Mentions: Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Paul (for Hollinger)
Defensive POY: Kevin Garnett
Me and Ryan go round and round about this (read him at indiesports.blogspot.com) because there aren't enough, if any, quantifiable defensive stats to use....Yes, Marcus Camby is averaging 0.8 more blocks than anyone...Yes, Josh Smith is top 3 in blocks and top 10 in steals....but are those guys really better defenders than KG? I don't think so...but hey, you can challenge me....KG's intensity and help defensive principles make him a terror down low in the NBA, and that coupled with the overall team resurgence (which he leads and architects) makes me lean that way....Room for error here though....
MVP: Chris Paul
Okay, now the fun one....There are 3 legitimate candidates for me....sorry, Lebron, your team is terrible.....Paul, Kobe, and KG all do different things for their teams...all possess different qualities of an MVP....so let's break it down....First the runners-up.....Kobe is doing it all in LA....leading his team to the best record in the craziest conference I've ever seen....His scoring is down to a meager 29 a game (chuckle) but his rebounds are up and he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the L....He's the unquestioned best all-court player in the league (Lebron is closing the gap but he's still there) and that speaks for itself.....Don't give me the Lifetime achievement stuff...every time that happens (like Barkley or Malone in the early-mid 90s) we go back and laugh that they didn't give the MVP to MJ every year...stop it....Garnett plays by far the least minutes of the 3 at 33....but only because they've had the East sewn up for months....his averages of 19 and 10 are not crazy....but the effect and VALUE he's had on his squad can't be measured.....take him off that team....are they winning 40 games with just Pierce and Ray Allen in their current state? I don't think they are...that means they are around 30 games better with KG...hmmm word? I've already spoke about the defensive impact and all....let it sink in.......And to the winner...CP3 is having the best statistical year for a point guard since at least Magic Johnson if not Oscar Robertson....averaging 21 ppg, 12 apg, almost 3 spg (leads the league) and shooting 48/37/85 in percentages as a 6-footer is incredible...That speaks for itself and then you factor in team impact...he's led a team with no legitimate off-guard or swingman and taken them to the West 2 seed THIS YEAR!! He's made Tyson Chandler and David West immeasurably better and oh yea...he's the best defensive point guard in the league right now....All those factors are good enough for me.....Somebody get Billy Knight on the line....,
Until next time....Full First Round Preview to come!
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