Tap Dancing & Year End Awards
By my standards this was a very poor season of predictions. In fact, I think it was my worst since I started this blog. While the two best teams in the Association are certainly from the East, every playoff team in the West won at least 50 games for only the second time in league history (’07-08). Not to mention that only the top four seeds in the East would even make the playoffs in the West, and the fourth seed (Boston) just barely.
EAST
I had in…
5. Washington Wizards – The easy way out to is to blame Gilbert Arenas’ actions and the season long distraction they caused. While that no doubt was a significant part of Washington’s suckitude, the reality is this team wasn’t that good even when healthy/intact. They didn’t seem to listen to coach Flip Saunders right from the start and their average of 18.98 assists per game (27th overall) suggests they didn’t really like playing together either.
6. Philadelphia 76ers – Coach Eddie Jordan never employed any type of defensive scheme, never settled on a sensible rotation and rarely if ever actually ran his beloved Princeton offense. With that out of the way this club is in need of a major shake up that has to start with unloading Andre Iguodala. Addition by subtraction, whatever, it needs to be done if for no other reason than to get rid of Iggy’s poor attitude and huge contract. The Sixers also will have three expiring contracts next season in Samuel Dalembert, Jason Kapono and Willie Green. That should be enough to bring in a much-needed infusion of new blood to go with the Philly core of Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Marreese Speights (possibly Jason Smith & Jodie Meeks too).
8. Toronto Raptors – Even though Chris Bosh (left ankle/right side of face) missed 12 games and Hedo Turkoglu (free agent) had his worst season since his rookie year what really did T-Dot in was their lack of defense. The Raps defense was the worst in the league on a points per possession basis allowing 110.2 points per 100 possessions. To me the blame for that falls squarely on coach Jay Triano. He had no defensive system to my eyes and failed miserably at motivating his troops to play hard on that end. After four full seasons on the job I think GM Bryan Colangelo is officially on the clock, especially if Bosh leaves town.
I had out…
10. Miami Heat – First things first. When I made my call on the Heat back in October Carlos Arroyo (free agent) wasn’t even on their roster. He ended up starting 35 games so that makes a difference. I also didn’t count on Jermaine O’Neal having his best season since ’06-07, but I probably should have since it was his contract year. Miami also went 10-2 in games JO missed, which was unexpected. Dwyane Wade continued to defy the injury odds by only missing five games. But the main reason I was wrong on Miami was that they improved their defense from tied for 12th in opponent’s field goal percentage last year to 2nd overall this season.
12. Charlotte Bobcats – Oh how coach Larry Brown must love to stick it to me by making the playoffs. Congrats buddy, you’ve succeeded in making the Cats a mediocre, boring to watch, capped out mess for years to come. The real credit needs to go to GM Rod Higgins though for acquiring Stephen Jackson for nothing of consequence on November 16th. That deal swung Charlotte’s season in the right direction and Higgins also managed to grab contributors Tyrus Thomas, Theo Ratliff and Larry Hughes off the scrap heap. Not sure that Thomas is really worth a first round pick, but he still helped them nonetheless.
13. Milwaukee Bucks – When evaluating the Bucks in October I actually thought they could be good if they stayed healthy. Thing is, they didn’t, and they still turned out better than even my most optimistic forecast. Michael Redd (left knee) missed 64 games and Andrew Bogut (right elbow/hand/wrist) missed 13. GM John Hammond deserves some of the credit for replacing Redd with John Salmons (trade) and Jerry Stackhouse (free agent) while not losing any core players. But it’s really coach Scott Skiles who earned the lion’s share of the kudos. The way he brought rookie PG Brandon Jennings along was really out of character for him, but it worked big time. Skiles also got the most out of guys like Bogut, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova and Luke Ridnour. Hence, they made the playoffs.
WEST
I had in…
7. New Orleans Hornets – Chris Paul (left knee) missed 37 games. Case closed.
8. Los Angeles Clippers – Prized rookie big man Blake Griffin (left knee) didn’t play at all, which probably led to coach/GM Mike Dunleavy Sr. finally getting the axe. I could break this down more, but really, at this point I should know much better than to pick the Clips in any type of 50-50 situation.
I had out…
9. Phoenix Suns – I’ve written this before but I had them in the eighth spot originally and decided to switch them down one at the last minute. The main reason was because I didn’t like their frontcourt depth at all. Well Robin Lopez, Channing Frye and Louis Amundson proved me wrong in a big way. I also didn’t think they could sustain any injuries. Well thanks to Goran Dragic’s improved play they didn’t miss Leandro Barbosa (right wrist) at all when he went down for 38 games. Other than Barbosa and Lopez (back) no one else missed any significant time, which is really par for the course these days with the Suns training staff. Lesson learned.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder – I thought they were still a year away but coach Scott Brooks got his club to buy into a defensive system and the Thunder went from 27th in defensive field goal percentage last year to 6th this season. Kevin Durant is obviously a superstar in the making and Russell Westbrook is well on his way to becoming a true #2 guy. The rest of the team is filled out with high character role players. You have to love the job GM Sam Presti has done here. It’s hard to find fault with a single move he’s made other than hiring P.J. Carlesimo to be his first coach. In three years Presti has blown up his entire roster and put together this young nucleus: Durant, Westbrook, Jeff Green Serge Ibaka, Nenad Krstic, Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden and Eric Maynor. Anyone who thinks you can’t turn things around quickly in the NBA needs to recognize.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Dwight Howard (Orlando)
2. Gerald Wallace (Charlotte)
3. Josh Smith (Atlanta)
All-Defense
PG – Rajon Rondo (Boston)
SG – Thabo Sefolosha (Oklahoma City)
SF – Gerald Wallace (Charlotte)
PF – Josh Smith (Atlanta)
C – Dwight Howard (Orlando)
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jamal Crawford (Atlanta)
2. Jason Terry (Dallas)
3. Anderson Varejao (Cleveland)
Executive of the Year
1. John Hammond (Milwaukee)
2. Donnie Nelson (Dallas)
3. Rod Higgins (Charlotte)
Coach of the Year
1. Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City)
2. Scott Skiles (Milwaukee)
3. Erik Spoelstra (Miami)
Rookie of the Year
1. Tyreke Evans (Sacramento)
2. Stephen Curry (Golden State)
3. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee)
All-Rookie Team
PG – Darren Collison (New Orleans)
SG – Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee)
SF – Stephen Curry (Golden State)
PF – Marcus Thornton (New Orleans)
C – Tyreke Evans (Sacramento)
Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James (Cleveland)
2. Dwight Howard (Orlando)
3. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
4. Dwyane Wade (Miami)
5. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
All-NBA
PG – Dwyane Wade (Miami)
SG – Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
SF – Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
PF – LeBron James (Cleveland)
C – Dwight Howard (Orlando)
Second Team
PG – Steve Nash (Phoenix)
SG – Deron Williams (Utah)
SF – Carmelo Anthony (Denver)
PF – Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)
C – Tim Duncan (San Antonio)
Third Team
PG – Rajon Rondo (Boston)
SG – Brandon Roy (Portland)
SF – Chris Bosh (Toronto)
PF – Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix)
C – Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee)
EAST
I had in…
5. Washington Wizards – The easy way out to is to blame Gilbert Arenas’ actions and the season long distraction they caused. While that no doubt was a significant part of Washington’s suckitude, the reality is this team wasn’t that good even when healthy/intact. They didn’t seem to listen to coach Flip Saunders right from the start and their average of 18.98 assists per game (27th overall) suggests they didn’t really like playing together either.
6. Philadelphia 76ers – Coach Eddie Jordan never employed any type of defensive scheme, never settled on a sensible rotation and rarely if ever actually ran his beloved Princeton offense. With that out of the way this club is in need of a major shake up that has to start with unloading Andre Iguodala. Addition by subtraction, whatever, it needs to be done if for no other reason than to get rid of Iggy’s poor attitude and huge contract. The Sixers also will have three expiring contracts next season in Samuel Dalembert, Jason Kapono and Willie Green. That should be enough to bring in a much-needed infusion of new blood to go with the Philly core of Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Marreese Speights (possibly Jason Smith & Jodie Meeks too).
8. Toronto Raptors – Even though Chris Bosh (left ankle/right side of face) missed 12 games and Hedo Turkoglu (free agent) had his worst season since his rookie year what really did T-Dot in was their lack of defense. The Raps defense was the worst in the league on a points per possession basis allowing 110.2 points per 100 possessions. To me the blame for that falls squarely on coach Jay Triano. He had no defensive system to my eyes and failed miserably at motivating his troops to play hard on that end. After four full seasons on the job I think GM Bryan Colangelo is officially on the clock, especially if Bosh leaves town.
I had out…
10. Miami Heat – First things first. When I made my call on the Heat back in October Carlos Arroyo (free agent) wasn’t even on their roster. He ended up starting 35 games so that makes a difference. I also didn’t count on Jermaine O’Neal having his best season since ’06-07, but I probably should have since it was his contract year. Miami also went 10-2 in games JO missed, which was unexpected. Dwyane Wade continued to defy the injury odds by only missing five games. But the main reason I was wrong on Miami was that they improved their defense from tied for 12th in opponent’s field goal percentage last year to 2nd overall this season.
12. Charlotte Bobcats – Oh how coach Larry Brown must love to stick it to me by making the playoffs. Congrats buddy, you’ve succeeded in making the Cats a mediocre, boring to watch, capped out mess for years to come. The real credit needs to go to GM Rod Higgins though for acquiring Stephen Jackson for nothing of consequence on November 16th. That deal swung Charlotte’s season in the right direction and Higgins also managed to grab contributors Tyrus Thomas, Theo Ratliff and Larry Hughes off the scrap heap. Not sure that Thomas is really worth a first round pick, but he still helped them nonetheless.
13. Milwaukee Bucks – When evaluating the Bucks in October I actually thought they could be good if they stayed healthy. Thing is, they didn’t, and they still turned out better than even my most optimistic forecast. Michael Redd (left knee) missed 64 games and Andrew Bogut (right elbow/hand/wrist) missed 13. GM John Hammond deserves some of the credit for replacing Redd with John Salmons (trade) and Jerry Stackhouse (free agent) while not losing any core players. But it’s really coach Scott Skiles who earned the lion’s share of the kudos. The way he brought rookie PG Brandon Jennings along was really out of character for him, but it worked big time. Skiles also got the most out of guys like Bogut, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova and Luke Ridnour. Hence, they made the playoffs.
WEST
I had in…
7. New Orleans Hornets – Chris Paul (left knee) missed 37 games. Case closed.
8. Los Angeles Clippers – Prized rookie big man Blake Griffin (left knee) didn’t play at all, which probably led to coach/GM Mike Dunleavy Sr. finally getting the axe. I could break this down more, but really, at this point I should know much better than to pick the Clips in any type of 50-50 situation.
I had out…
9. Phoenix Suns – I’ve written this before but I had them in the eighth spot originally and decided to switch them down one at the last minute. The main reason was because I didn’t like their frontcourt depth at all. Well Robin Lopez, Channing Frye and Louis Amundson proved me wrong in a big way. I also didn’t think they could sustain any injuries. Well thanks to Goran Dragic’s improved play they didn’t miss Leandro Barbosa (right wrist) at all when he went down for 38 games. Other than Barbosa and Lopez (back) no one else missed any significant time, which is really par for the course these days with the Suns training staff. Lesson learned.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder – I thought they were still a year away but coach Scott Brooks got his club to buy into a defensive system and the Thunder went from 27th in defensive field goal percentage last year to 6th this season. Kevin Durant is obviously a superstar in the making and Russell Westbrook is well on his way to becoming a true #2 guy. The rest of the team is filled out with high character role players. You have to love the job GM Sam Presti has done here. It’s hard to find fault with a single move he’s made other than hiring P.J. Carlesimo to be his first coach. In three years Presti has blown up his entire roster and put together this young nucleus: Durant, Westbrook, Jeff Green Serge Ibaka, Nenad Krstic, Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden and Eric Maynor. Anyone who thinks you can’t turn things around quickly in the NBA needs to recognize.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Dwight Howard (Orlando)
2. Gerald Wallace (Charlotte)
3. Josh Smith (Atlanta)
All-Defense
PG – Rajon Rondo (Boston)
SG – Thabo Sefolosha (Oklahoma City)
SF – Gerald Wallace (Charlotte)
PF – Josh Smith (Atlanta)
C – Dwight Howard (Orlando)
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jamal Crawford (Atlanta)
2. Jason Terry (Dallas)
3. Anderson Varejao (Cleveland)
Executive of the Year
1. John Hammond (Milwaukee)
2. Donnie Nelson (Dallas)
3. Rod Higgins (Charlotte)
Coach of the Year
1. Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City)
2. Scott Skiles (Milwaukee)
3. Erik Spoelstra (Miami)
Rookie of the Year
1. Tyreke Evans (Sacramento)
2. Stephen Curry (Golden State)
3. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee)
All-Rookie Team
PG – Darren Collison (New Orleans)
SG – Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee)
SF – Stephen Curry (Golden State)
PF – Marcus Thornton (New Orleans)
C – Tyreke Evans (Sacramento)
Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James (Cleveland)
2. Dwight Howard (Orlando)
3. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
4. Dwyane Wade (Miami)
5. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
All-NBA
PG – Dwyane Wade (Miami)
SG – Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
SF – Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
PF – LeBron James (Cleveland)
C – Dwight Howard (Orlando)
Second Team
PG – Steve Nash (Phoenix)
SG – Deron Williams (Utah)
SF – Carmelo Anthony (Denver)
PF – Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)
C – Tim Duncan (San Antonio)
Third Team
PG – Rajon Rondo (Boston)
SG – Brandon Roy (Portland)
SF – Chris Bosh (Toronto)
PF – Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix)
C – Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee)
posted by D$ at 1:28 PM
2 Comments:
It has been a while since I've checked into your site. Nice season write up.
I agree that tyreke evans is the rookie of the year. I put Brandon Jennings over Steph Curry in the runner up spot. I still think Jennings played a bigger roll getting his team to win, but Evans was more consistent all year.
I didn't see you comment on Jordan Hill as a rookie. He didn't play much with either the Knicks or Rockets, but I think he could play a role next year off the Rockets bench. He has the size and talent to take up space when Yao hits the bench at least better than Chuck Hayes.
Now the real question is who are you picking to come out of the playoffs with a ring? I think Shaq is gonna hurt Cleveland's chances although they say he is in shape. Sadly I think Dallas may have the best shot, but picking them means waiting for Dirk to not show up in clutch time.
Playoff preview will be out shortly...
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