The NBA
season is basically midway through I’ll give my MVP Ballot and All NBA 1st,
2nd and 3rd teams
MVP
1.
Lebron James
This is
going to be an interesting MVP race right up until the end of the season; it’s
going to be very close between two elite players. However this season even though he probably
won’t end up winning the award, Lebron James has been the slightly better
player. Why because Lebron James has
somehow found even more ways to improve his game. Lebron’s PER is 30.2 right now, an insanely
high number that would rank 17th all-time for a single season. He has an incredible shooting line of
.550/.400/.734, becoming a more efficient creation than he already was. He has increased his rebounding and passing
averaging 8.1 rebounds and 7 assists per game.
His defense while probably not as great as last season is still elite as
he adjusts to playing power forward most of the time, instead of his natural
position of small forward. It’s getting
closer but this man is still the best player in basketball and thus far has
been MVP.
2.
Kevin Durant
Considering
how good Lebron is it is amazing that there is even a legitimate debate going
on about who is MVP. However Kevin
Durant has played so well that it is a discussion worth having. Durant is the best pure scorer in all of
basketball, as he leads the league in scoring averaging 29.5 PPG, while having
an absolutely ridiculous shooting line of .519/.417/.910. He has increased his assists, and steals
while decreasing his turnovers while generally playing better defense. He has played power forward more this season,
putting him in harder defensive matchups which he has worked hard to improve
at. If he ends up winning MVP this year
it really won’t even be that much of an outrage considering how well he has
played. He currently has a PER of 29.3,
remarkably close to Lebron and in most seasons MVP worthy.
3.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul
is very good at basketball. That
statement doesn’t do Chris Paul any justice but hey it’s a good place to
start. Really the NBA MVP contenders are
put in 3 categories. The contenders(
Lebron and Durant), Chris Paul, and trying to get on the ballot. Chris Paul is squarely 3rd on the
ballot because he definitely hasn’t been as good as Lebron or Durant this
season but clearly nobody besides those two have been better. He has a PER of 26.1, 3rd in the
league, scores at a very efficient rate, is the best table setter in the league
and is probably the best defensive point guard.
He isn’t able to put up the gaudy stats that the top 2 candidates have
but man is this guy good.
4.
Tim Duncan
I know what
you are thinking, there is no way Duncan is actually on this guy’s MVP ballot,
and if he is he is only on there because he is his favorite player. Well I’m here to tell you something that is
not true. Tim Duncan is a legit MVP
candidate this season and has been an absolutely dominate force this year. He has a PER of 24.5 good for 6th
in the league, and his highest mark since his last championship season in
2007. In increased minutes played he has
increased his scoring, field goal %, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks and
free throw percentage. This is all while
being arguably the best defensive big man in the NBA, ranking 3rd in
blocks, 5th in defensive rebound percentage and the highest defensive
rating in the NBA. He is an elite post
defender and an elite rim protector, while also being an offensive force. If he played more minutes he would have a legitimate
against Lebron and Durant in the MVP argument as no player arguably impacts his
team on a per minute basis more.
5.
Tyson Chandler
Tyson
Chandler is the definition of efficiency offensively. This season he has taken 263 shots, and has
made 177 of them, 67.3%. He in an
improved free throw shooter who now makes 68.1% of them, while taking 4.7 per
game. He is a great rebounder who
averages over almost 11 a game and averages almost 2 blocked shots. The man is a great defensive center who
currently has the Knicks ranked 15th in the league which is pretty
incredible considering he is the only above average defensive player who has
played most of the season. He has by far
the best offensive rating of any player in basketball and just helps the team
tremendously whenever he is on the court.
The man is a true MVP candidate and deserves consideration.
Most
Surprising Team Golden State Warriors
There are a
lot of potential candidates for the NBA’s surprise team this season. The Knicks are one of the best teams in the East,
the Clippers have the look of a title contender, but to me the most surprising
team has been the Golden State Warriors.
Mark Jackson has to be the favorite for Coach of the Year at this point
as he currently has the Warriors 5th in the West with a record of
26-16. They not surprisingly can score
considering they are led by Steph Curry and David Lee, they rank 12th
in the NBA. The surpise however is that
this team has been above average defensively this season without the presence
of Andrew Bogut. The Warriors have a
bunch of players who throughout their career have been below average
defensively and yet are putting together the 12th best defense in
the NBA. Jackson has the Warriors playing
hard and smart defensively as this team hopes to be dangerous come playoff
time.
Most
Disappointing Team Los Angeles Lakers
Could it be
any other team? Really only the Celtics
have been anywhere close to as big a disappointment as the Lakers but they had
lower expectations, a better record, and as of now are a playoff team. The Lakers this season have just been
abysmal. Kobe Bryant is the only Laker
playing above expectations and he has since cooled down after his unbelievable
start. D’Antoni is proving to be a
horrible fit as coach who has no idea how to utilize his talent. Pau Gasol has disappeared playing 20 feet
from the rim, and for some reason Earl Clark is playing ahead of him. Dwight Howard while still putting up great
numbers hasn’t been his normal self on defense and it is really costing the
team. Overall this Lakers team is a
dysfunctional mess without an obvious direction to go, it has a strange mix of
talent and a coach whose system doesn’t play to their strengths. This 2nd half of the year might
not turn out to be much better.
Most
Surprising Player Andre Drummond
I am pleasantly
shocked by how good Drummond has been this season. This is a player who was looked at as a major
risk come draft time, a player with tremendous upside potential, but lacked any
refined offensive skills or a motor.
Personally I was expected Hasheem Thabeet 2.0. What he has been though is a player who has
shown flashes of dominance and been consistently productive, if raw. He averages 7.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG and .9
SPG in only 20.1 MPG. He is shooting
60.9% percent from the field and has a PER of 22.9 which is good for 11th
in the entire NBA. I wasn’t a believer
in Drummond before the year began but man has he been good this season and if
he is able to improve his game from here on out he definitely has star
potential.
Most
Disappointing Player Josh Smith
After a breakthrough
season last year I was expecting Josh Smith to be the leader of an
overachieving Hawks team. He has all the
potential in the world and seemed to be truly realizing it last season. This season however he has regressed. He continues to take those dreaded jump shots
that he is so horrible at; he is shooting 27.6% on them for the season. His
rebounding is down, as are his free throw attempts and % on the season. His PER of 17.3 is 3.8 points lower than that
of last season. For a player that had
the potential to really elevate his game this season and be a true game changer
he has been a major disappointment.
Best Team Oklahoma City
I want to
name to say it’s the Spurs but as much as it pains me I can’t. So far this season the Thunder have just been
the best team in basketball, better than the Spurs, Clippers or Heat. They have
the best record in the NBA, the best expected record, and are first in John
Hollinger’s Power Rankings. They have
the best offense in basketball, and the 8th best defense in
basketball. This team has looked
dominant many times throughout the season and looks like the team to beat in
the West. The Spurs are right behind
them, but OKC’s star power definitely gives them an advantage come playoff
time. It’s going to be a great finish to
the season but halfway through OKC has been the team to beat.
Worst Team Charlotte Bobcats
Well this
team is better than last year’s. The
Bobcats have changed from worst team in basketball history to well worst team
in basketball. This team has the worst record
in the league, the worst expected record, and is the worst in John Hollinger’s
Power Rankings. They have the 26th
ranked offense and the 29th ranked defense, again improvements over
last year but not by much. This team has
been far from great this season but the improved play of Kemba Walker and the emergence
of rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist give the team some hope for the future.
Stay Hungry
My Friends
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