Daily Babble: Swishing and Dishing Out the Awards
by Steve Weinman on Jan 23, 2008 11:00 PM EST
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PrintIt's time to look stupid. Plain and simple.
If there is one thing you should know about those of us at the CelticsBlog NBA section, it is that we relish any possible opportunity to make ourselves (read: me; Jeff seems to actually know what he is doing) look like fools. If there isn't a column up here every few weeks where you, the faithful reader, can wait about four months and then say, "Wow, Steve looks really dumb for that," we (okay, you're right, I) haven't done our job here.
So with another crazy season of NBA basketball reaching its halfway point and plenty of change to come between now and April, the time is ripe to dole out some doomed-from-the-start mid-season awards. Rest assured, we're more than looking forward to the barrage of mockery sure to come our way come springtime, but if you can't stand to wait out the suspense, feel free to tell us (me) why we're full of it already! Away we go...
Most Valuable Player: Chris Paul, New Orleans. This is by no means an easy selection. I can't remember the last time we had a season with so many legitimately worthy candidates. The Cavs have suddenly won 9 of 10, and LeBron James is having another lights-out season, averaging 29.7 points, 7.6 boards and 7.4 assists per game. Kobe Bryant is doing his thing for a Lakers team playing excellent basketball. Dwight Howard has begun what could be more than a decade of a reign of terror in the paint. Steve Nash is pushing the Suns' high-octane offense to great heights once more and shooting above 50 percent while dishing out more than 12 assists per game. Fans on this site certainly need not be informed of the doings of one Kevin Garnett up in Beantown. It is safe to say that ESPN's Bill Simmons won't be writing another column like he did last year, in which he anointed the fans the MVPs because he felt no player was worthy. The choices are ample this time around.
But none quite match what CP3 has done this season. Finally fully healthy, Paul has led a young Hornets team full of largely unheralded characters to a 29-12 start, good for the best in the Western Conference at the present moment. The man is averaging 21.1 points, 10.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.68 steals per game to go with 48.9 percent shooting, and he is making everybody around him better. Peja Stojakovic is shooting 44.4 percent from behind the arc, easily a career high. Tyson Chandler's 12.4 points per game is a career high as well, and the man is shooting above 60.7 percent from the field. Those two examples are certainly at least in part consequences of the job Paul has done down in N'Awlins, along with many more Hornet successes that Paul has had a hand in this season. The pundits knew the Hornets would improve this season, but few if any knew just how good they would be. By and large, CP3 is clearly the biggest reason for that, and thus far, he may be the single biggest difference-maker in basketball. Runners-up: All others mentioned above; it's going to be a great MVP race
All of Steve's daily posts can be found in the CelticsBlog: NBA blog. Check him out!
Player Who Probably Won't Get Serious MVP Consideration But Still Means a Whole Heck of a Lot to His Team: Stephen Jackson, Golden State. Without him in the lineup, the Warriors started 1-6. Since then, the Dubs are 24-12 and have reestablished themselves as a force to be reckoned with out West. Jax is having the best scoring season of his career (20.3 points per game) grabbing his share of boards (4.6) and dropping some dimes to boot as well (4.2). But beyond that, while Baron Davis is the catalyst, Jax appears to be the heart and soul of this Warriors team. He has put out extra effort defensively and when properly under control, he provides an energy that simply can't be quantified. Whether he can continue to be a model citizen remains to be seen, but thus far, there is not much one can take away his performance. Runner-up*: Caron Butler, Washington
*- Jamaal Tinsley would make the runner-up list if he could manage to keep his behavior just a tad less erratic.
Least Valuable Player: Kirk Hinrich, Chicago. Among other Bulls, when and why did this guy completely lose his mojo?
Runners-up: Zach Randolph, New York; Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana; Ben Wallace, Chicago
Rookie of the Year: Al Horford, Atlanta. No, Kevin Durant hasn't disappointed so far, and this isn't meant to be any sort of disrespect to him. Durant has put up a solid 19.3 points per game, hit a couple of buzzer-beaters and continued to impress with his athleticism. But Durant has been given carte blanche to put the ball up on a terrible team, and he is taking more than 17 shots per game and shooting just 40 percent on the season, particularly after some struggles as of late. On the other hand, Horford has stepped in to make a big difference already for an Atlanta team that is playing competitive basketball on a regular basis for the first team in close to a decade. Horford takes high percentage shots and as such makes a lot of them (47.6 percent from the field) and after not getting a ton of playing time early in the season has upped his season averages to 8.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.14 blocks per game. He plays very heady basketball at two positions and has made a palpable difference for his squad, particularly on the defensive end. By no means is this to say that Horford is the best bet in the long-term or that the Sonics need have any regrets, but he was the more polished player coming out of college and thus far he remains so, and as such Horford gets the slight edge here for now. Runners-up: Kevin Durant, Seattle; Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee
Coach of the Year: Nate McMillan, Portland. The Blazers are the brightest surprise in the league, playing ball at a .595 clip and sitting just a half-game out of first place in the Northwest Division, all without the services of one Greg Oden. McMillan has done a great job nurturing his legion of youngsters, making a mid-season adjustment from rigid taskmaster to laid-back, time-to-let-'em-play supporter, and he has adapted to perfection. Runners-up: Eddie Jordan, Washington; Don Nelson, Golden State; Reggie Theus, Sacramento. Jury still out: Doc Rivers, Boston
Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Denver. This guy is out-of-his-mind good. The 14.3 rebounds and 3.92 blocks don't even come close to telling the whole story. He remains the single biggest reason why the run-and-gun Nugs sit in the top seven in defensive efficiency. Runners-up: Tyson Chandler, New Orleans; Kevin Garnett, Boston
Most Improved Player: Dwight Howard, Orlando. Seriously, how cool is it that a top-five MVP candidate is also a top-one Most Improved candidate? That steep progression of Howard's that gets mentioned all the time in this space? It has only continued. A year ago, he averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. This year, he is at 22.1 points, 15.0 boards and 2.6 blocks per game. For all the hubbub surrounding the Rashard Lewis acquisition, the coaching change and the improvements of certain others on this team, D-Ho jumping another level is by far the biggest reason the Magic appear to be cruising in the Southeast. Runners-up: Andrew Bynum, LA Lakers; Rudy Gay, Memphis; Jamal Crawford, New York; Chris Kaman, LA Clippers
Most Exciting Player to Watch: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers. He is legitimately that good. He has the most complete skill set of anybody who plays his position (perhaps anybody in the game), and he comes to play hard and compete every single night. With the exception of whatever happened in the second half of Game 7 against the Suns in 2006, Bryant never does anything close to mailing a game in. He puts on a show with regularity, and it doesn't hurt that the man seems very concerned with winning this season. He is the best individual talent in the game. Period. Runners-up: Jason Kidd, New Jersey; LeBron James, Cleveland
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I agree with every choice made, even Paul as the MVP. In today’s league, the point guards are the straw that stirs the drink and Paul and Nash are the two best with Tony Parker a close third. The Celtics almost dealt Pierce for the chance to take Paul during his draft year, and I’d still make that deal in a heartbeat. You can replace Pierce much more easily than find another like Paul, and Rondo is not that guy by any stretch of the imagination.
I do figure KG as a co-MVP candidate at this point. Kobe and Nash are tied for third. LeBron gets fifth but loses points for the many gifts he gets from the league’s refs.
by lemonadesky on Jan 24, 2008 7:33 AM EST reply actions
i can’t argue with you about paul, but kg is the best at his position-paul isn’t. also the c’s turnaround is much more significant than new orleans’ and kg’s defensive prowess shows up far more in team statistics than paul’s offensive abilities and defense wins games.kg=mvp. as great as lebron is, he is being protected by the refs. watch a cavs game and see what he gets away with and how many sneezes get called on the other team. camby is a monster- he is finally winning against the injury jinx. it’s too bad no one else on denver plays d.
I like your approach. The MVP title has become an award for the best player on the best team. To me that sort of does the title a disservice as it is a title for an individual, not a team. I think its much more fun to discuss an individuals impact, as it is very hard to define.
Best player on the best team is KG. A few weeks ago I’d argue that Pierce was having the most impact on the best team, but he’s since slouched and needs to rebound before I pine for him again.
That being said, your choice of CP is reasonable. But my choice is Kobe. His fans, coach, and teammates all look to him on every possession, without fail. I don’t particularly like him as a player, but there can be no denying the Lakers are lost without him, and I believe more so than any other team with any other player.
by kgiessler on Jan 24, 2008 8:45 AM EST reply actions
Best player on the best team is KG. A few weeks ago I’d argue that Pierce was having the most impact on the best team, but he’s since slouched and needs to rebound before I pine for him again.
In my opinion, KG has not only been the best player on the best team, but he’s also had the greatest impact. As Brick said above, KG has solidified the entire defense, while also adding a dimension to the offense that we haven’t had from a player 6’9" since Larry Bird. The improvement in our record alone should speak to KG’s impact; we went from a team that was under .500 even with PP and Big Al in the lineup, to one that is on pace for 60 wins.
There are many deserving MVP candidates this year: Lebron, Kobe (ugh), Paul, Howard. All have had great seasons. However, in terms of the player who has actually been most valuable, I think that’s gotta be KG.
“The improvement in our record alone should speak to KG’s impact”
So let me explain why I don’t like using team record as an indication of MVP / individual impact.
If we are going to compare this year’s Celtics team to last year’s Celtics team as an assessment of the impact that KG has on his team, it is equally logical to compare last year’s Wolves team to this year’s Wolves team as an assessment of the impact that Big Al has on his team.
So would that mean Big Al has a significant negative impact on his team?
I don’t believe that’s the case, and thats why I feel the team’s record is not a good way of assessing an individuals impact on their team.
by kgiessler on Jan 24, 2008 10:29 AM EST reply actions
So would that mean Big Al has a significant negative impact on his team?
Well, he has a significantly negative impact as compared to KG. I understand that just looking at the record is overly simplistic, but the improved record coupled with the visible evidence of KG’s impact is enough to make him the MVP to me.
So would that mean Big Al has a significant negative impact on his team? [/quote]
Agree with Roy Hobbs on his reaction to this quote. It’s not that Big Al isn’t playing great, it’s just that there is so much more to the game than scoring and rebounding, and KG is head and shoulders above Big Al at the little things (and several of the big things – defense, passing, screens, motivating teammates). I’ve said for a long time that KG helps an otherwise terrible team more than anyone, because he does so many things so well that he just masks a lot of deficiencies.
Also, to address the above quote, consider the following quote from Brit Robson of The Rake (best TWolves blogger out there in my opinion, and one of the best overall):
[quote]
“More than any game thus far this season, [Al] Jefferson played offense with a killer instinct. The raw numbers are pretty revealing: 39 points, 14 free throws, 8 offensive rebounds. [Amare] Stoudemire was helpless. Or, better put, the Suns started giving him a lot of help, with as many as two or three others collapsing on Jefferson when he received the rock, and it really didn’t matter. If for some reason Jefferson didn’t succeed at first, he got the ball back and tried again. The dude finished with 29 FGA (making 15) and 14 FTA (making 9) and it didn’t feel like he was hogging the ball. That’s when you know you are having fun. A brief pause here, while I drop a fly in the punchbowl. Jefferson’s utter lack of defense was nearly as monumental as his voracious offense. Stoudemire was 14 of 16 from the field and one of his two misses was a meaningless trey chucked with three seconds left in the game. He scored 33 points in the 29:40 that Jefferson was guarding him, which is why Jefferson finished the game with a team-worst minus -4. That doesn’t change the fact that Jefferson was the dominant force in a Wolves’ victory, because he most indisputably was. But it does neatly encapsulate the spectacularly half-assed season Jefferson is putting together.”
Lots of people downplay KG’s impact on the C’s because of Ray Allen. That’s absolutely a legitimate argument, but let’s not kid ourselves. On the whole, Ray Ray is having one of his worst seasons in his career and frankly I don’t think he is deserving of an All Star nod on his play alone. And Posey/HouseBBD have been great for us…. but do they replace Big Al, Gomes, GG, Telfair, and a lost #5 pick by that great of a margin? It’s hard to argue that a great deal of the Celtics improvement is because of Kevin Garnett, while an even greater deal of the Timberwolves collapse is due to the absence of Kevin Garnett.
To me, that’s a pretty textbook example of what being an MVP is.
Big Ticket,
Funny that you mention Robson’s appraisal of Big Al. I don’t read The Rake a whole lot, but when I do, I’ve found that I have been incredibly impressed with the work Robson puts out there. I like his stuff a lot, and coincidentally, I paraphrased him in a very similar manner on our Big Al thread today; don’t know if you’ve taken a look at that by any chance.
Wholly agreed with your thoughts and Britt’s on Big Al at this point.
-sw
lemonadesky,
Excellent point. I have always been a big believer that the two most important positions in the game (and the two greatest commodities) are center and point guard, as I think you’ll see as you continue to read my writing in the days and months to come. Definitely understand where you’re coming from, although I’m not sure how many C’s fans would support that move at the present time.
Thanks for writing in.
-sw
nazzbo,
You are certainly not alone (especially on this board) with your sentiments about LeBron. As great as he is, it the reaction on this board of late seems to indicate that there is a feeling that the experience of watching him is cheapened by the referees. That said, Bron assuredly isn’t the first nor will he be the last to receive such treatment, but I hear where you’re coming from. The officiating in the Spurs-Cavs game last Thursday night was utterly putrid. No qualms with your complaint on my part.
-sw
kgiessler,
I hear you on the point about Kobe, and without a doubt, he is having another excellent season. That said, I think a big part of where CP3 gets the edge in my book versus Kobe is the issue of “difference-making” within the context of team success, for lack of a better phrase. As valuable as Kobe is, I think he has largely played at a very close level to what he did a season ago, and while he is still clearly playing the lead role in Los Angeles, it is the development of Andrew Bynum that has played the largest role in the team jumping forward in the standings. On the other hand, the Hornets’ ascent is most directly due to CP3 both being healthy and taking his game to a completely different level, particularly without having any player with quite so much as upside as Bynum around him.
I don’t mean to paint Bynum’s progress as some sort of mark on Kobe; it certainly isn’t. But I think that Paul’s play is just a bit more integral to his team’s success, thus giving him the lead thus far in my eyes. That said, with Bynum out for nearly two months, if Kobe takes the Lakers on his back and keeps this team playing at the level they have thus far, we’ll have to reconvene on the issue. Which we will do in April regardless :)
Thanks for writing in.
-sw
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