NBA Midseason Selections
I wanted to do something on the NBA and I got an idea from Complete Sports. It wont be exactly the same obviously, but we'll share our award selections with you.
MVP: Gilbert Arenas- How clutch has Arenas been this season? He has two walk-off 3 pointers, set a franchise record with 60 points vs the Lakers, put up 54 vs Nash and C
o., and he also dropped 51 against the Jazz, who by the way are in first place.
So basically whenever it is crunch time, this guy steps up and takes over. Arenas is arguably one of the best players in the league. He is no doubt the MVP midway through the season, and being in first place of the Southeast division doesn't hurt either.
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy- I also agree with Complete Sports that Brandon Roy is Rookie of the year. Roy leads all rookies in scoring with 14.7 ppg, fifth in rebounding with 4.3 rpg, and he's third in assists with 3.0 apg and also in steals with 1.27 spg. It just seems like he doesn't make the mistakes that most rookie guards do. He can recognize anything on the court, when to pass, when to shoot, and he is very smart with mismatches. If Roy was healthy he would be the runaway Rookie of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year: Emeka Okafor- Okafor is one of the strongest players in the NBA. His game starts on the defensive side. Okafor can guard anyone in the league and does a great job of keeping players out of the paint and protecting the rim.Game Changing Performance of the Year: Gilbert Arenas vs the Lakers- Arenas scored 60 points vs the Lakers and the Wizards needed every one of them. He shot 17 of 32 from the field, had 8 rebounds, and even dished out 8 assists.
9 comments:
Good stuff, and I can't argue too much with the choices. I've already stated my case for DWade as MVP with Dirk as my #2, but Arenas has been very solid. Elsewhere we had different picks for Coach, MIP, and Defensive Player, but I really can't argue too much with your choices.
Yeah same with you too, you can make cases for quite a few different players.
Arenas and everyone else are just the vogue pick, but the fact of the matter is the Suns would be lost without Steve Nash who is averaging career highs this season in points AND assists (and he's won the last two as it is!)
I know that in the cynical sports world we don't like to see repeat winners (how do you explain everyone rooting vs. the Pats this season even though they actually were the underdogs of the playoffs that everyone usually loves?) however, Nash should be the MVP when it's all said in done. He's leading the best team in the NBA with career highs in nearly every category. Arenas and company are having TERRIFIC years, but Nash is the most valuable.
You have a good point there, but you could probably say the same for Arenas.
but the fact of the matter is the Suns would be lost without Steve Nash who is averaging career highs this season in points AND assists (and he's won the last two as it is!)"
And the Mavs would be lost without Dirk, the Heat would be AWFUL without Wade, the Wiz would be bad without Arenas, etc.
I don't have a problem with repeat winners... I do have a problem with a guy who doesn't deserve any MVPs winning 3 in a row. This has been his best year, and I think he is a better candidate this year than in previous years, but he still doesn't play defense, and he's not good enough offensively to make up for it when comparing him to other top candidates.
He's leading the best team in the NBA with career highs in nearly every category.
Actually, right now it's Dirk that's leading the best team in the NBA.
Record wise, yes the Mavs are the best. In my opinion? The Suns are the best team in the NBA. And of course all of the top teams would be worse off with out their studs, but no one on the Suns plays D and who runs the whole offense? Steve Nash does.
I have a problem with Arenas because he's a horrible leader. He can score, sure, but I think he hurts the team chemistry. Not important to play D? They aren't the Suns or the Warriors... they have to play D.
Wade is my 1b choice. He's incredible, no doubt, but Nash leads a better recorded team. I would say they both do the same amount for their respective teams (which is A LOOOT) but since Nash has a better team record right now, he's getting my nod. It may be weak, but I needed to distinguish them somehow.
And finally, Dirk is amazing and the Mavs are in first but you can't tell me that he plays more D than Nash. If you want to bring that into the picture, then Dirk is automatically disqualified because Nash is more important to the Suns than Dirk is to the Mavs in my opinion, and neither of them play any D to speak of.
Record wise, yes the Mavs are the best. In my opinion? The Suns are the best team in the NBA. And of course all of the top teams would be worse off with out their studs, but no one on the Suns plays D and who runs the whole offense? Steve Nash does.
Just a minor qualm with this in that this year's Suns are actually a pretty solid defensive team, the PPG is just high because of the pace they play. Amare is athletic enough to be solid in the paint, Shawn Marion is one of the best defensive players in the NBA (and extremely underrated), and Raja Bell is consistently very good on the wing. The Suns are actually a solid defensive team.
And Bryan I do agree with you about Arenas... at times he's one of the most explosive scorers in the game, but he's way too inconsistent and one-sided (aka only offense) to be my MVP choice. He probably wouldn't make my top 5, to be honest.
Agreed on both points. Arenas is a pure scorer, but that's it. He'll get a few steals but it's not like he plays DEFENSE. There is a difference as everyone knows.
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