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Friday, April 14, 2006

Awards

The NBA season is coming to a close and each of us is rooting for our teams: me for Memphis, Bit for Minnesota and Seattle (though both teams are out of the playoffs now), Gerald for Utah (this one too), Jason for Phoenix, Alvin for Philadelphia, Charlo for Ginebra, I mean um Dallas, Jopoy for the LA Rapers and Jep for the Bad Boys in Detroit (I really don't know which team Jep roots for, but seeing that he's black he probably would root for a team with black bad boys in it).

Anyway, with the season ending, the season awards are also in sight. I saw Marty Burn's article on the season awards (I haven't read it all yet, so as not to influence my own judgement - I just checked the awards to be given and some likely candidates for coach of the year, aside from the obvious choice of Flip Saunders).

Here are the awards:

Most Valueable Player: Steve Nash
Yeah, as much as he really reminds me of John Stockton (I don't know why. Is it the assissts? Or just the way he plays? I don't know.) , he really is his team's most valuable player. Some said that after Quentin "Q" Richardson and Joe "JJ" Johnson left, the Suns would also fall, since they wouldn't have any outside threats anymore. You better ask Jason about how the Suns play, but the bottomline of those rumors was that the Suns relied on Nash and their shooters too much, because by spreading the defense, they also open up the post, for Amare and Marion.

(They really love calling each other with letters, huh? So I guess they call Nash, S or N, or SN... never mind.)

Look at where the Suns are now. Even without JJ and Q, even without Amare, the Suns still found ways to score. And that's where Nash comes in. His brilliant play makes their jobs easier, because he almost always finds the open man. With that kind of play, the only thing you really have to worry about is making the shot. Actually, my first vote for this award would be either Elton Brand or Chauncey Billups, but Nash really showed how important he was to the team when he was injured. The Suns lost all (I think) of the games they played without Nash. Yeah, the Lakers will also most likely lose if Kobe didn't play (actually they did win some games without him) but that's because he is their leading scorer. Nash isn't.

Other candidates: Elton Brand, Chauncey Billups, Lebron James

Most Improved Player: Boris Diaw
Although most think that Boris Diaw's level of play right now is just because of his minutes doubling, I still think that he really is the league's Most Improved Player. Actually, this award is very hard to give, since I don't even know the basis of the award. Is it the stats? Or is it how the player plays? There are so many 'improved' players to choose from, like Mike James, Delonte West (he is considered a rookie but he played 39 games last season), Smush Parker, David West, etc., but Diaw is the best candidate. Not only did he improve his skills in almost all of the major categories (points, rebounds, assists, FG%, steals and blocks), but he also has raised his overall play to a higher level. He can now play in almost all of the positions (except shooting guard) and with this versatility, he really is a threat to most opponents. Plus, he is part of the 'Elite Three' of players who are averaging 6 assists and rebounds to go with a double digit scoring average. (The other two are Lebron James, and Jason Kidd - Dwyane Wade is supposed to be here he's 0.2 rebounds short last I checked.) I think Jason is puffing his chest out now since Boris Diaw also comes from the Suns.

(I'm just being realistic here. If I wasn't, I'd vote Pau Gasol for MIP since he also improved his game, but he got minus points for not 'improving' his looks. I mean, first he looked like some Spanish cassanova, and now, he looks like a terrorist.)

Other candidates: Delonte West, Smush Parker, Mike James, David West, Kevin Martin

Sixth Man: Mike Miller
Finally! A Grizzly! He gets my vote because of his stellar play this season. Although his field goal and free throw percentages are a bit lower this season, he makes up for it with his improved scoring and rebounds. What really made his case were the two stellar games he played this season: getting his (and his team's) first triple double and setting a career and franchise high for points (41 points - but this was broken by Pau Gasol 5 games later). He was the first Memphis reserve to ever get a triple double (not to mention the first Grizzly) and he was also the first to score that much. I mean all that from a reserve? If all of Memphis' reserves played like that, they'd have the deepest bench in the league.

Other candidates: Mo Williams, Speedy Claxton, Alonzo Mourning, Eddie House

Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul
This is a no-brainer. He leads the rookies in points, assists and steals and rebounds (I think he is at 2nd or 3rd in boards among rookies) making him a mini Jason Kidd. This kid CAN play. I'm sure the Hawks are shaking their heads right now for not choosing Paul in the draft. I mean, look at his stat line, 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. He is just beginning to develop his skills more and who knows what kind of monstrous stat line this kid will produce in the next several years. I think this guy will be part of the all-star cast by next year.

And speaking of kids, Jason Kidd's stat line during his rookie year was: 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, to go with 38.5% shooting and 69.8% in free throws (as opposed to Paul's 43.2 and 84.5 respectively).

Other candidates (this is only applicable if Chris Paul is kicked out of the NBA fbefore this season ends): Albert Caus..I mean Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva

Coach of the Year: Flip Saunders
The fight for this award is close. There are other coaches who turned their teams around this season, like Mike Fratello, Mike D'Antoni, Mike Dunleavy (what's with all the Mikes?) etc., but Flip gets it because of how he managed the Pistons this year. Not only is he leading the Pistons into a stellar year, but he's doing so by not changing their style of play. He made them better by incorporating his offense into their defense. I mean, the Piston's were a defensive team last year, and we all know that Flip Saunders' plays are all offense based, but look at what he did. Personally, I didn't think the Pistons would be a top-caliber team when they hired Saunders because of his previous job in Minnesota, so I was really surprised when the Pistons started winning early this season. What amazes me is how the Pistons managed to retain their suffocating defense and then explode with their offense. We saw this earlier this season, with Hamilton torching their opponents with hot scoring (37 and 26 points in their first two games) and even now, they are still trying to find more ways to score, like going to Big Ben and Rasheed.

Other candidates: The 3 Mikes

Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace
This was also hard to give, since sometimes we shouldn't look at the stats to choose who the best defensive player is. Sometimes shutting down opponents could be a basis, but I don't watch the games that much to actually pick someone with this criteria. People have been rooting for Bruce Bowen ever since the Spurs won a championship, but I don't know. I haven't watched him play that much to even compare him with other perimeter defenders like Tayshaun Prince or Greg Buckner or whoever. So my basis right now are their stats, so bear with me. Actually, if you just look at the stats right off the bat, Gerald Wallace wins immediately. He is the only player averaging at least 2 blocks and 2 steals per game right now, but due to his injuries (yeah, you know, he's just like Baron Davis and Marcus Camby - the injury magnets), it decreases his 'value'.

So why did I pick Big Ben? Well actually Shawn Marion is the closest to Gerald Wallace, averaging 2 steals and 1.7 blocks, but with 1.8 steals and 2.2 blocks, Big Ben really shows how much of a defensive player he is. Sure there was a time where Marion had a monstrous 8 steals, but there was also a time when Big Ben was averaging almost 3 blocks and steals per game (not to mention his monster game where he had 5 steals and 6 blocks - I mean, with that kind of stat line, no one should even want to go near him). AK47 and Alonzo Mourning can also be candidates, but they only contribute in 1 area: blocks. That's kind of easy to do especially with people their size. I mean look at the top 10 in steals: with the exception of Marion and Artest, all of them are guards. Wallace is a forward-center and that's saying it all. Even with his size, he is still that quick to steal from his opponents. Maybe it's just the fro. Or his Ultimate Warrior look (not to be confused with the 'Tru Warier').

Other candidates: Gerald Wallace, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko

And that's it folks. Have a Happy Easter and don't forget to paint your eggs. I mean for the Easter Egg Hunt. Yeah. Paint them for the Easter Bunny.

Comments

based on this, shawn marion is my MVPWWNWAMVPAETHRDIYIAYOAEBHIPUEMATS (Most Valuable Player Who Will Never Win A Most Valuable Player Award Even Though He Really Deserves It Year-In And Year-Out A Especially Because He Is Perennially Underrated Except Maybe After This Season).

and what about PAT BURKE?
 
If that's the case, KG is my MVPWMDIBOHHHPAHMHCHMT.

I actually don't remember what that means exactly after typing that. It was something really witty but really true.
 
oopsy. the "A" between Year-Out and Especially was supposed to be "And".

go, burke!

bit: does anyone who can come up with a close-enough meaning to your acronym win a no-prize? hehe.
 
oi, kings ako ngayong season. kahit na i dont expect them to go all the way, gusto ko makita kung hanggang saan nila kaya.
 
si jopy kampi pa rin kay ron artest hanggang ngayon. tsk
 
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