MVP Ballot
1.
Lebron James
If this
award isn’t unanimous then the voters have a serious issue. Lebron is without question the best player in
basketball and put together one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. He averaged 26.8 PPG, 8 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.7 SPG,
.9 BPG, while having an unfathomably good shooting line of .565/.406/.753. He had a PER of 31.6, and how about this when
he was on the court the Heat outscored opponents by 13.2 Points Per 100
Possessions, and when he was off the court they got outscored by -2.1. This is one of the greatest seasons of all
time and one of the best defensive players in the league and the best offensive
player, the ultimate MVP.
2.
Kevin Durant
Well in most
other seasons there is no question that Kevin Durant walks away with the
MVP. Durant is the league’s best scorer;
finishing 2nd in the league in scoring while holding a shooting line
that consists of a shooting line of .510/.416/.905 joining the exclusive
50/40/90 club. Along with his awesome
scoring ability he improved his all-around game as well grabbing 7.9 RPG,
dishing out 4.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.3 BPG.
He was the dominant cog behind the best offensive in basketball that
averaged 114.1 Points per 100 possessions when he was on the court and only
105.3 when he was off. Durant finished 2nd
in the league with a sensational PER of 28.3.
He was without question the 2nd best player in basketball
this season and should get #2 in the race easily.
3.
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol this
season when adjusting for how many minutes he played had the best season of any
big in basketball. He averaged 14.1 PPG,
7.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.7 BPG, and 1.0 SPG while playing 80 games and averaging 35
MPG, the 2nd most minutes of any big in basketball. These stats while very good, wouldn’t suggest
those of an MVP caliber player. However
these stats dramatically underrated Marc for a few reasons, his defense is nowhere
near fully accounted for and the Grizzlies extremely slow pace definitely
deflates his statistics. The difference
between when Marc Gasol is on or off the court for the Grizzlies, when he is on
they outscore opponents by 8.0 points per 100 possessions and when he is off
they get outscored by 2.9. He is the
center and leader of the 2nd best defense in basketball by Defensive
Rating and considering they play in the Western Conference, with stronger
offenses, they might even have the best defense in basketball. The offense runs through him too in the high
post as he in a way is practically point guard for the Grizzlies at this
point. The Grizzlies can win the title
this year and if they do it’s because of their dominant center.
4.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul
had the 4th best season of anyone in basketball based on his
straight efficiency and his impact on the Clippers offense. When Chris Paul was in the Clippers had by
far the best offensive rating in basketball of 116.5, which would be 4.1 points
higher than lead leaguing OKC, while without Paul they averaged 104.3 which
would have had them tied for 19th in the league with Indiana and
Cleveland, quite a jump. He averaged
16.9 PPG, 9.7 APG, with a league leading 2.4 SPG, and only 2.3 TPG, numbers
that are deflated by the slow pace he has the Clippers play at. Overall his candidacy sums up to number 4.
5.
Tim Duncan
Per Minute
this man has been the 3rd best player in basketball this
season. He averaged 17.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG,
2.7 APG and BPG. His PER of 24.4 ranked
6th in the league, but considering he was a far superior defensive
player to most of those ahead of him he was definitely more impressive. The Spurs finished with the 3rd
best defense in all of basketball largely led by him as the team was overall
7.7 points better with him on the court, and 4.2 points better
defensively.
Defensive Player of the Year
1.
Marc Gasol
Well most of
my defensive player of the year argument for Gasol was made above, but I’ll
rehash it with this. This team was the
most important component of the 2nd best defensive team in
basketball and the stats without question signify this. He is a dominant defensive player who has
really helped to carry the Grizzlies defense to where they are through his understanding
of team and individual defense.
2.
Joakim Noah
Noah is
another player with an extremely strong case for defensive player of the year. Despite a tough offseason that saw the Bulls
many of their best players, they have remained as one of the best defensive
teams in basketball. The defense is much
better when he is in the lineup and he rebounds at an elite level and is the
perfect center for a complex and fast Chicago defense. He has actually run the most miles of any
player in the NBA this year.
3.
Tim Duncan
Duncan’s
defensive player of the year case is extremely similar to his MVP. He is a dominant defensive force who deters
shots at the center of San Antonio’s elite attack. He is still an elite defensive rebounder and
probably the NBA’s most underrated shot blocker, especially considering his
blocks are the most likely to be returned to the Spurs. Overall great defensive player and extremely
strong candidate. s
6th Man of the Year
1.
JR Smith
At this
point it would likely be a surprise if JR Smith didn’t win 6th man
of the year, and no question he deserves it.
JR Smith has transformed his game into a solid 3 point shooter who gets
to the line, rebounds well for his position and is an underrated passer and
defensive player. He’s averaging 18.1
PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG. He is an
important component of the Knicks turnaround as a team and will be well
deserving of 6th man of the year.
2.
Jarrett Jack
Jack has had
an important role for the Golden State Warriors this season as he helped to get
the team to the playoffs. Jack scored
12.9 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 3.1 RPG. He
provides enough versatility to play either guard position, an important role
for a team that has Steph Curry a small guard that can be quite dangerous
playing off the ball. Jack played good
defense, gave the Warriors great versatility and produced offensively, great
season.
3.
Vince Carter
It seems surprising
to have him hear but Carter is a serious 6th man of the year
candidate. He’s averaging 13.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.4 APG while playing very
good defense and shooting 4.9 three’s per game while making .406. He’s been the most consistent Maverick all year
and has really helped the team stay afloat.
The team has needed him to play this well and of any of the major 6th
man candidates he has played the best defense.
Coach of the Year
1.
Gregg Popovich
Best coach
in basketball and probably almost permanently deserves this award. This year again though was a thing of
beauty. He led the Spurs to the 2 seed
in the West when injuries ravaged the team for almost the entire season. Leonard, Parker, Duncan and Ginobili all
missed some significant time and the Spurs were still able to win 58
games. After reinventing his offense at
the cost of the team’s defense he was able to return the Spurs defense back to its
former glory ranking 3rd in the league.
2.
Eric Spoelstra
The likely
winner of the award and he is a great choice.
The team had a 27 game winning streak, it takes a great coach to keep
the team focused enough for something like that to happen. The team reinvented itself as a small ball
centric unit and created an almost unstoppable team. He utilized Lebron to his fullest extent as
he reinvented himself as a new player for this brand new team.
3.
Rick Carlisle
This
candidate has a seemingly weaker case than some of the other potential
candidate but quite simply he got a 41 win season out of this year’s Maverick’s
team. Dirk Nowitzki by far the team’s
best player only played in 53 games and for a while was extremely limited when
he returned. Their 2nd best
player this season was probably Vince Carter, yes 36 year old Vince Carter who
has changed his game to become a 3 point specialist. The team really is just a bunch of mix and
matched pieces that don’t totally fit but Carlisle was able to make it work and
get the team to .500.
Rookie of the Year
1.
Damian Lillard
Lillard this
season has the strongest Rookie of the Year case. The NBA’s league leader in minutes played has
attempted to carry the Trailblazers to respectability. Lillard while struggling defensively averaged
19 PPG and 6.5 APG while taking over 6 threes a game and making 36.8%. He was the focus of every opponent’s game
plan and while he went through some going pains still played at an extremely
impressive level.
2.
Anthony Davis
This season
the presumptive rookie of the year was definitely the best rookie on a per-
minute basis. He averaged 13.8 PPG, 8.2
RPG, 1.8 BPG, and 1.2 SPG. He shot 51.6%
from the field and was a much more efficient option then Lillard. He was the stronger defensive player, who
though he struggled for much of the early season turned into a real weapon on
that end by the 2nd half of the season. Really the only flaw in his resume is that he
played in 18 less games then Lillard and played about 10 minutes per game
less.
3.
Bradley Beal
The
difference between 2nd and 3rd in this race is quite dramatic. Davis and Lillard were two legitimate
contributors for teams who would be strong rookie of the year candidates in
most seasons. The 3rd best
option Bradley Beal would not be. He
averaged 13.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG with a shooting line of .410/.386/.786. He while never showing the elite flashes that
Davis or Lillard did, really began coming into his own when Wall came back from
injury and was a true weapon who was extremely difficult to matchup with.
Most Improved Player
1.
LARRY SANDERS!
Considering I’m
a fan of Zach Lowe’s NBA writing, that is the only correct way to type out his
name. SANDERS! Transformed himself into
a dominant defensive big, a major deterrent to those entering the paint and a
menace to those who did. He transformed
a bad Bucks defense into a defensive force when he was in the lineup. Offensively while no weapon was able to put
up respectable enough production for a dominant defensive force. He made a major jump in PER by 5.4 points and
stopped fouling people at an insane rate which allowed him to actually play. He is the most improved player and was quite
exciting in the process.
2.
Greivis Vasquez
Vasquez has
converted himself into a solid starting point guard after some important
improvements to his game as he was thrust into the starting lineup. He averaged 13.9 PPG with 9 APG while having
a PER of 16.3, up from 14.2 last season.
He improved as a defensive player and while still below average in that
regard is definitely improved.
3.
Brook Lopez
Now for an
unorthodox choice for the ballot, Brook Lopez.
Really if you look at his game, Brook Lopez became a dominant offensive
force while changing from the worst defensive center in basketball to below
average at it. He began rebounding at a
semi-respectable rate again which greately improved his efficiency. His defense became more committed as
evidenced by his increased shot blocking.
Really just look at his PER, before the season his career high was 20.1
in a full season, this season he had 24.7!
Stay Hungry
My Friends
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