Year End Awards

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Roy Hibbert (Indiana)
2. Marc Gasol (Memphis)
3. Tony Allen (Memphis)

All-Defense
PG – Tony Allen (Memphis)
SG – Thabo Sefolosha (Oklahoma City)
SF – Paul George (Indiana)
PF – Marc Gasol (Memphis)
C – Roy Hibbert (Indiana)

Sixth Man of the Year
1. J.R. Smith (New York)
2. Jamal Crawford (Clippers)
3. Jarrett Jack (Golden State)

Executive of the Year
1. Daryl Morey (Houston)
2. Bob Myers (Golden State)
3. Chris Wallace (Memphis)

Coach of the Year
1. George Karl (Denver)
2. Mike Woodson (New York)
3. Mark Jackson (Golden State)

Rookie of the Year
1. Damian Lillard (Portland)
2. Anthony Davis (New Orleans)
3. Andre Drummond (Detroit)

All-Rookie
PG – Damian Lillard (Portland)
SG – Bradley Beal (Washington)
SF – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte)
PF – Anthony Davis (New Orleans)
C – Andre Drummond (Detroit)

Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James (Miami)
2. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
3. Chris Paul (Clippers)
4. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
5. Carmelo Anthony (New York)

All-NBA
PG – Chris Paul (Clippers)
SG – Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
SF – Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)
PF – LeBron James (Miami)
C – Tim Duncan (San Antonio)

Second Team
PG – Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City)
SG – James Harden (Houston)
SF – Carmelo Anthony (New York)
PF – Blake Griffin (Clippers)
C – Marc Gasol (Memphis)

Third Team
PG – Stephen Curry (Golden State)
SG – Dwyane Wade (Miami)
SF – Paul Pierce (Boston)
PF – Al Horford (Atlanta)
C – Brook Lopez (Brooklyn)

First Round

EAST

Boston at New York – For the Celtics to have any chance Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett’s left ankles must be close to 100%.  The Knicks will likely be without Amar’e Stoudemire (right knee) for the series and Pablo Prigioni (right ankle) is questionable for Game 1.  I see this one being very testy since Boston needs to ugly it up to have a chance but in the end I just don’t think the Celtics can score enough points consistently to hang with New York’s offense.  Knicks in 7.

Chicago at Brooklyn – With Joakim Noah (right foot) doubtful for the series, Taj Gibson (left knee) not himself and Derrick Rose (left ACL) still not quite ready this is going to be tough for the Bulls.  By comparison only Gerald Wallace (left knee) isn’t right for the Nets.  Chicago needs to make this ugly and hope their defense is enough but I don’t see the Bulls having enough to consistently stop Brook Lopez and the rejuvenated Deron Williams.  Brooklyn in 7.

Atlanta at Indiana – George Hill (groin) and Paul George (abdomen) are not 100% for the Pacers and Josh Smith (left knee) and Al Horford (left shoulder) aren’t right for the Hawks.  The key for Atlanta will be hitting their 3s against the NBA’s best defensive and rebounding team.  I doubt the games will be very exciting to watch but Indiana is just better at the slow down game than the Hawks are.  Pacers in 5.

Milwaukee at Miami – I don’t care what Brandon Jennings says the Bucks don’t have a chance here.  Heat in 4.

WEST

Golden State at Denver – The Nuggets will be without Danilo Gallinari (left ACL) and both Ty Lawson (right foot) and Kenneth Faried (left ankle) aren’t 100%.  Compared to that the Warriors are very healthy with only Andrew Bogut (left ankle) slowed.  These games should be very entertaining high scoring affairs and I give GS a punchers chance because of their superior health and league best 3-point shooting.  In the end I’ll take home court advantage and the coaching experience of George Karl over Mark Jackson.  Denver in 7.

Memphis at Clippers – The Grizzlies have been my dark horse pick to win the West all season but unfortunately for them they are running into their kryptonite.  Los Angeles has more health issues with Caron Butler (right knee) and Chauncey Billups (right groin) both slowed, while Memphis only has sixth man Jerryd Bayless (right knee) dinged, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Clippers have owned the Grizzlies the past two years.  This is going to be a tough series with a few shoving matches but in the end Chris Paul’s brilliance overcomes Tony Allen’s defense.  LA in 7.

Lakers at San Antonio – It seems like everyone is giving Los Angeles a chance because Manu Ginobili (right hamstring) and Tony Parker (left ankle) aren’t right and Stephen Jackson was shockingly released with just four games left in the season (they signed Tracy McGrady to replace him).  So it seems all is not rosy for the Spurs on several levels.  That said the Lakers are far from healthy themselves.  Steve Nash (right hip/hamstring/back) hopes to play in Game 1 but Kobe Bryant (left Achilles) and Jordan Hill (left hip) are out and Metta World Peace (left knee) is still slowed.  SA plays better defense and shoots the 3 better and that will be enough to carry them.  Spurs in 5.

Houston at Oklahoma City – Finally we have a series where both teams are healthy for the most part.  You can expect this tilt to feature lots of open court play and scoring but the Thunder are the better defensive, rebounding and 3-point shooting team.  OKC has been taking some flak for perceived chemistry issues lately and I expect them to play like they are on a mission.  Thunder in 5.

Tap Dancing

I had another strong year predicting the playoffs going 13 for 16 on my picks and having my 9^th place team make it in each conference.  I didn’t think it would be possible during a “normal” year but amazingly enough the 15 toughest schedules were once again in the Western Conference and the 15 easiest in the East with .007 separating the easiest in the West (Clippers .503) and toughest in the East (Philadelphia .496).  Go figure…

EAST

I had in…

7. Philadelphia 76ers – Andrew Bynum (both knees) didn’t play one second, Jason Richardson (left knee) was lost for the season after 33 games and the players started tuning out since resigned Coach Doug Collins.  Other than that things went great though.  Why Bynum waited until 3/19 to have his knees surgeries is anybody’s guess but new Owner Josh Harris has some big decisions to make this summer; mainly who replaces Collins and what he should offer Bynum.  I think keeping Doug on as “advisor” is a huge mistake given his track record when it comes to personnel decisions and I’d offer Drew three years and around $30 million with the third year being a team option.

I had out…

9. Milwaukee Bucks – Well they finished six games below .500 with a negative point differential (-1.5) and likely would not have made the playoffs if Bynum had played 30 games or more.  On the bright side they finally fired Coach Scott Skiles and decided to extend GM John Hammond’s contract through the ’15-16 season giving them a somewhat new direction.  Third year big man Larry Sanders led them in PER at 18.77 and is about the only player on the roster who exceeded expectations.

WEST

I had in…

7. Utah Jazz – Well they would have been the 7^th seed in the East for some perspective but they did have a negative point differential (-0.1) if only barely.  Mo Williams (right thumb) missing 36 games probably killed them but not near as much Coach Tyrone Corbin’s strange player rotations.  Starting Randy Foye (11.75 PER) in 72 games?  Playing Enes Kanter (17.65 PER, 4^th highest on the team) only 15.4 minutes a game?  Keeping Marvin Williams and his career low PER (10.91) in the rotation at all?  Director Kevin O’Connor deserves some blame too for not dealing one of the expiring contracts of Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap for some backcourt help at the trade deadline.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves – Kevin Love (right hand & left knee) missed 64 games, Chase Budinger (left knee) 59, Brandon Roy (right knee) 77, Ricky Rubio 25, Nikola Pekovic 20, Andrei Kirilenko 18 and Josh Howard (right ACL) was cut after appearing in only 11 games.  It just wasn’t their year and you have to wonder about President David Kahn’s future with the club since there’s not even one playoff appearance on his resume after four seasons in charge.

I had out…

9. Golden State Warriors – I thought they had a chance to be good if they were healthy, but Brandon Rush (left ACL) missed 80 games and Andrew Bogut (left ankle & back) 50.  Credit has to go to Coach Mark Jackson for fostering a no excuses atmosphere around his team and to their closing five of Jarrett Jack, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee and Carl Landry for pulling out so many close games.

11. Houston Rockets – After the James Harden acquisition I thought they would be more competitive and borderline dangerous but I didn’t really think GM Daryl Morey’s vision of a stat-based playing style would come to fruition so soon.  As ESPN’s Zach Lowe points out their offense is all 3s, free throws and shots at the rim which produces a very exciting and effective brand of basketball.  As good as they are now they could be MUCH better next season since they still have enough salary cap space to sign a maximum contract player.

Hex Games 2 & 3 Recap

In what is being called the “Thrilla in Vanilla” the U.S Men’s National Team (USMNT) held on to beat Costa Rica 1-0 in near white-out conditions in Commerce City, CO. In my opinion the match never should have been played, but once play started Referee Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) and Match Commissioner Victor Daniel (Grenada) were correct to finish it off since the conditions were the same for both sides. Of course Los Ticos protested the match but FIFA denied it saying that Costa Rican Captain Bryan Ruiz did not complain to the referee during the match in the presence of USMNT Captain Clint Dempsey. Los Ticos fans did manage to perform a nice protest in their next match against Jamaica though.

The USMNT was able to make Dempsey’s goal in the 16th minute off a deflected Jozy Altidore shot stand up but it wasn’t easy. What stood out most to me was Manager Jürgen Klinsmann keeping his lineup choices simple and being rewarded for his “conservative” approach. He made the right choices on the back line with Omar Gonzalez and Clarence Goodson in the middle flanked by Geoff Cameron on the right and DaMarcus Beasley on the left. Gonzalez and Goodson were solid and Beasley (Man of the Match) did yeoman’s work going forward and retreating back. However Cameron was awful and almost cost us the match numerous times.

Brad Guzan kept a clean sheet in goal and considering the conditions that was probably more than you could ask for. About the only complaint I have with Klinsmann’s lineup choices was starting Graham Zusi in the “Landon Donovan Spot” (I preferred Brek Shea). I even liked Jürgen’s substitutes bringing in Eddie Johnson for Zusi in the 76th minute, Maurice Edu for Jermaine Jones in the 83rd and Kyle Beckerman for Herculez Gomez in the 90+4. Considering the lead up to this match with “the article” and all the injuries this was an epic win for the USMNT. As Michael Bradley said we recaptured “The commitment, the determination, that heart, winning mentality; the willingness of every guy who steps on the field to run and to fight for every other guy on the field.” Well said.

Next up was El Tri in the dreaded Estadio Azteca where the USMNT was 0-13-1 in World Cup Qualifiers prior to this match. To make matters worse both Jones (ankle) and Goodson (hamstring) were unavailable forcing Klinsmann to start Edu and…gulp…Matt Besler. When I heard Goodson was out I figured we’d get steamrolled but a funny thing happened. We managed to barely hang in there early and suddenly the 94,000 (not 104,000 or 110,000 it should be noted) in attendance were eerily quiet. I mean the quietest I had ever heard for a USMNT match at Azteca.

Guzan managed to keep a clean sheet again due in large part to play of Gonzalez (Man of the Match) and, much to my surprise, Besler in front of him. Beasley struggled hard and Cameron is just shaky all around but between Gonzalez and Guzan our defense bent but never broke. On offense we had ONE official shot and it wasn’t even on goal. Now compare that to 19 shots (only 3 on goal though) and 58% possession for Mexico. Given those statistics a 0-0 draw was a miracle of sorts but fútbol can be a strange game at times...0-13-2 baby!

I do have one nit to pick with Jürgen though; taking Altidore out in the 55th minute for Johnson was questionable at best. If you’re going to take Jozy out you have to replace him with Terrance Boyd. Just have to. The other subs were reasonable with Brad Davis coming in for Gomez (whose free kicks were AWFUL to be kind) in the 71st and Shea coming in for Zusi in the 82nd. It’s also worth noting that Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has never scored against the USMNT and that this was the highest rated World Cup Qualifier ever on ESPN.

The next qualifier for the USMNT is at Jamaica on 6/7 and after that we play four of our last six qualifiers at home. Joining us by then, assuming Klinsmann and he can get over each other, should be one Landon Donovan. That’s right, Landon has returned to the Los Angeles Galaxy and said “I realize that I have a long way to go, both on the field and off the field, to work back into the national team, and that's my goal. I miss being a part of that. I want to represent my country again.”

If you would have offered me four points after three matches with a level goal differential I’d have taken it no questions asked given our schedule. With Donovan on the way back our lineup seems to be solidifying at just the right time too. We now have two options in goal with Guzan and Tim Howard and our four midfielders are set with Dempsey, Donovan, Jones and Bradley (hopefully Josh Gatt will be the first off the bench). With Fabian Johnson and Timmy Chandler set at left and right back respectively the only questions as I see them are who joins Jozy up top (I’m rooting for Boyd) and who out of Goodson, Cameron, Besler and possibly John Anthony Brooks plays alongside Gonzalez in the middle of the back line?

Good times for U.S. Soccer right now, good times.

FOURTH ROUND TABLE
TEAM          W  D L GD Pts
Panama           1   2  0   2    5
Costa Rica       1   1  1   1    4
United States 1   1  1   0    4
Honduras        1   1  1   -1   4
Mexico            0   3  0   0    3
Jamaica           0   2  1   -2   2
Top 3 qualify with 4th place facing New Zealand in a home-away series.