Alright its the end of the season, playoffs are close, the divisions are all wrapped up, it is time for awards, predictions, results, and an occasional skeptical comment. I don’t mean to toot my own horn here, but I was 14 of 16 for my playoff teams that I predicted earlier this year. That isn’t bad. Of course, there are really only 5 or 6 teams in the NBA that are truly worthy of winning it all. Toronto and Utah are the two that proved me wrong, and Milwaukee and the Hornets are the two that let me down. I was four of six predicting the divisions (Miami, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix)…all-right those were softballs, I admit it. Utah and Toronto threw me a curve, but in my defense I said they were playoff caliber teams, especially Utah.Let’s get down to brass tacks. I would first like to address this whole notion that Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan. I’m making an assumption that a lot of readers here also read on ESPN.com and that you may have read Jemele Hill’s article about this topic. I’m willing to concede the fact that Kobe may be a more polished scorer than Michael Jordan. He has as many 50-point games, has an 81-point game to his credit, and averaged over 40 in the month of March. She has to concede that Michael was the better teammate, better defender, better passer, and better in the clutch. Here is my point though; I will ask a simple question. In game 7 of last years first round match-up with the Phoenix Suns, if Michael Jordan was the starting guard for the L.A. Lakers, would they have lost that game? Thank you.
Someone save Kevin Garnett.
I totally agree with Bill Simmons, ESPN’s the “Sports Guy”, the way the NBA draft lottery is handled totally has made teams like the Grizzlies, Celtics, Bucks, Sonics take the months of March and April off. It’s ridiculous, but you can’t particularly blame them.
I honestly feel bad for the Wizards. They led the division pretty much all year, Wade got hurt, and they were locked in at No.3, then the Bubonic Plague hits. No Arenas, and no Caron Butler for the playoffs and now the Toronto Raptors have a cakewalk to the Semis.
Let’s hand out some awards:
For coach of the year, I choose Sam Mitchell of the Toronto Raptors. They could actually give it to two guys this year. Jerry Sloan has never won the award, but both of these guys deserve it. I only say Sam Mitchell because I don’t think anyone had the Raptors in the playoffs, let alone winning the division. They have already won 18 more games than last year while Utah was a .500 team. I think when you look at this award, improvement is the most important thing, and they improved the most.
Smooth transition to most improved player, Leandro Barbosa. Actually, to me, he wins two awards along with the Sixth Man award. He averages 18.1 points per game off the bench, and you could make a case that he is the most dangerous offensive weapon on the Suns. That is saying a lot when you have Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and Shawn Marion. He is so quick, plays with a reckless abandon, and he can shoot. (Notable sixth men: Jerry Stackhouse, Antonio McDyess, and Manu Ginobili)
I would have to give Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers the Rookie of the Year. Pretty solid year from him 16.7/4/4. No one really jumped out at you from this year’s rookie class. Roy is a solid player, and the Blazers are building a pretty decent team that could contend next year.
Marcus Camby is the defensive player of the year. He averages almost 10 defensive rebounds per game, and averages 3.2 blocks per game. He might be one of the most underrated players in all the NBA.
In my own opinion one of the most overlooked awards is the All-NBA team. I basically think that this is the way you find out who the best player is at each position. I also believe that is the way it should be awarded. Who are the best point guard, center, and yes there is still a position called the small forward:
1st team: PG Steve Nash, SG Kobe Bryant, C Amare Stoudamire, SF LeBron James, and PF Dirk Nowitzki
2nd team: PG Gilbert Arenas, SG Tracy McGrady, C Yao Ming, SF Carmelo Anthony, PF Chris Bosh
3rd Team: PG Allen Iverson, SG Dwayne Wade, C Shaquille O’neal, SF Shawn Marion, PF Tim Duncan
MVP time. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a dark horse to the mix and that is Chris Bosh. He won’t win, and it is really only between 3 guys (Kobe, Nash, Nowitzki). Chris Bosh has had a great season though, averaging 22.7ppg and 10.7 rpg. His numbers match up good with the other three (Dirk-24.7/9.1, Steve 18.8/11.5 apg, Kobe 31.2/5.5/5.6). His team improved the most (the main reason Steve won in 2004-2005). Lastly, he may be the most valuable player to his team’s success. Nash has two great players to play with, Nowitzki is on the best `team’, and Kobe’s team could still not make the playoffs. If you are going to make the case that Kobe has less to work with, can it. Bosh plays with two rookies (Bargnani, Garbajosa), an injury prone point (Ford), a mediocre center (Nesterovic), and two-bench players accused of being starters (Anthony Parker and Mo Petersen). My thinking on this award is threefold: My gut tells me that this is Steve Nash’s award. This may be his most deserving year of any of his MVP caliber years. His team is more successful and he has played in more games, 72 versus Bosh’s 66. Steve out played Dirk in the overtime game, and then Phoenix blew Dallas out a couple of weeks ago. My head tells me that Dirk has played the most consistent, and has some better numbers. He is the best player on by far the best team. For some reason there is some real doubt that some people want put Nash in the company of Bird, Chamberlain, and Russell and give him his third MVP award. My heart says Bosh. I really think his injury is going to hurt his chances. He surely deserves some votes though. As a consolation, my gag sense says Kobe. He put on a great display of scoring, and he is quite valuable to his team. He is a candidate every year, just like LeBron. But face it, his team isn’t exactly guaranteed to win when he scores 50. He is a great player, and coming from someone who has not particularly liked him too much over the years, he has impressed me with his leadership and killer instinct. He’s still not better than Michael though. That’s blasphemous. I would put my money on Steve Nash.
This ran a little long, but I will give my predictions for the playoffs next week.
All statistics were gathered from ESPN.com and NBA.com.
Jemele Hill and Bill Simmons are columnists for ESPN’s Page 2. You can read their articles at ESPN page 2.