NBA Superlatives

It's March ladies and gentlemen. I'm not entirely sure where the year went (or the NBA season for that matter) but the NBA Playoffs start in 35 days. It's been a season full of amazing highlights, classic games and of course, being this time of year, heated debates about who deserves what award for their performances this season. Declaring your MVP pick has become as controversial as arguing your religion or explaining why you didn't vote for Obama in the last election. For some reason this season, these conversations are imbued with more passion than I have seen in the last few years. I haven't seen arguments or such different hot takes since people picking between no. 23 and no. 24 in 2009.

And honestly, I feel that speaks volumes about the performances that have been put on this year by several players each trying to build their case for their brand, their team and to compete for an NBA Championship. In the last few weeks I've listened to a few podcasts, read some articles and had some conversations about these awards and it's been intriguing to me just how different the opinions have been. Everyone is so invested in their picks and I love it. So I woke up today and decided to list my choices and also to shed some light on some deserving players whose achievements this season aren't immediately recognizable to the casual NBA fan. 

Most Improved Player

Honorable Mentions: Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside.

I didn't think this is close but damn injuries. If he doesn't win it it's because of the games he would have missed by the time he comes back from his injury, but Jimmy Butler came in this season and wrecked shop. I'm really sitting here eating a plate full of crow. 

I denounced Jimmy Butler as an offensive player back in October and felt it was disrespectful that Bulls fans affectionately referred to him as "Jimmy Buckets" like we didn't have the pleasure of watching legends like Ricky Davis on the court. Like we hadn't all watched the same guy play the last two seasons. He couldn't shoot. But this season *cough*(excuse me. *spits out feathers*) *cough* he has easily been the best player for the Chicago Bulls. If you'd told me last year that he was going to be an All-Star I'd have asked how many people really got injured that year and how did the Bulls avoid the bug. He became Coach Thibs new workhorse after the other ones broke down (cheap shot. Sorry, not sorry) and handled the role impressively and without any visible complaints. His stats speak for themselves honestly (per Basketball Reference):

He upped his FG% from 39.7% to 46.2%. He was more aggressive going to the basket which increased his free throw attempts. He's a better rebounder. His points per game increased from 13.1 to 20.2. His ball-handling got significantly better.  And he's still playing elite defense. Now I really like the idea of Draymond Green winning it too because he's been spectacular (I'll get to him next) but for Jimmy, in a season that was supposed to be hallmarked with the re-return of Derrick Rose? And the addition of Pau Gasol? And he's still been the best player on the team? Come on man. Get well soon Jimmy Buckets.

6th Man of the Year

Honorable Mentions: Rudy Gobert, Lou Williams.

It almost feels like you have to give this award to Jamal Crawford by default right? His stats have dipped a little but he's still important to the Clippers mainly because the rest of their bench is trash. Nonetheless he's still been fairly impressive and his contribution is still a big boost to his team. However, I'd like to shed some light on a guy named Marreese Speights. 

Mo is averaging a career high 11 points per game with a FG% of 49.7%. He's playing more minutes under Steve Kerr and is a big part of Golden State's success with their second unit. His mid-range game is good. He's a contributor on defense. And he's been asked to step in to save the day during the stretches that the Warriors were without Andrew Bogut. It's a tossup between him and Jamal.

Coach of the Year

Honorable Mentions: Frank Vogel, Jason Kidd

Nothing to see here. It's between Mike Budenholzer (who I wrote about in my preseason rankings) and Steve Kerr. Both their teams are playing at elite levels and their fingerprints are all over it. Kerr has not only been able to bring the absolute best out of the Warriors; they've found that high gear. They look focused. They have the best offense and defense in the NBA. And he's a pretty funny guy.

On the other hand, Coach Bud is a magician. He took that Hawks team that has reveled in mediocrity for so many seasons and has been the laughingstock of both winning and losing teams and turned them into legit contenders. They took the Pacers to 7 games last year with all those injuries and I believe that was all Mike's doing.The play-making opens up their shooters. The team defense eliminates their weaknesses individually. It's between those two coaches. Move along.

Rookie of the Year

Honorable Mentions: Nikola Mirotic, Elfrid Payton

Winner: Andrew Wiggins. Move along.

Defensive Player of the Year

Honorable Mentions: Tim Duncan, Rudy Gobert, Kawhi Leonard, DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol etc. 

There are a lot of names that can be thrown in here. I think this category is a lot more convoluted than the MVP race. I will listen to any case. Except the one presented for DeAndre Jordan. I mentioned him because I love the improvement to his game this year but to give him DPOY, especially when his team isn't that good defensively seems like a stretch. Even if he's capable of doing stuff like this.

He plays more minutes than any big in the NBA and they're still not a good defensive team. Yeah he's averaging 2.2 blocks per game this season (very impressive) but I don't think that makes him a good rim protector. Tom Haberstroh of ESPN illustrated it pretty well. Opposing players shoot 49% at the rim when DeAndre Jordan is near the basket. That ranks 31st out of 59 big men. Bottom-half of the league in rim protection. Nah. Not when Rudy is out there and guys are shooting 39% at the rim. DJ isn't even the average. 

I digress. There are actually a lot of DPOY candidates out there. My personal favorite would have been Kawhi Leonard, if he hadn't missed so many games. What he's able to do against opposing ball-handlers is stifling. Just plain suffocating. 

However, I said this name back in December and I'm glad it's starting to catch on finally. Draymond Green is out there and he's been awesome this season.

 My friends think I'm crazy with this pick, but I feel like people aren't really paying attention to what this kid is capable of or his contributions to a Warriors defense that has top two interchangeably even without Andrew Bogut for long stretches. For a team that has been knocked out of the playoffs the last few seasons with the narrative being "they lost too much on defense because Bogut couldn't stay healthy", it hasn't made much of a difference this year and I believe that is all due to Draymond's defensive versatility. This kid guards positions 1-5 at a high level.

 Don't get me wrong though, there is something to be said for team defense and his teammates contribute to his overall effectiveness but regardless he's a weapon. He's a good rim protector, he's got active, strong hands, he can block shots, but most importantly he can switch on to any position which is important in today's game. He's my pick in a strongly contested race.

Most Valuable Player

Honorable Mention: Anthony Davis

I'm copping out of this one. Nope. Not picking anybody. My mind has changed on it several times in the last month and to pick one now would be a disservice to both players in the lead of the race, the best player in the world, AND the freak of nature catching up to them. The MVP race is all about the narrative. It helps build your argument. 

Lebron James is having a phenomenal season. In related news, water is wet. I barely remember a time he didn't force his way into an MVP discussion with his disgusting (I mean that in a good way) stats. I read about "voter's fatigue" concerning Lebron and it's true. I think eventually people just get tired of seeing him around and want something different. He's averaging 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds a game. He's still the best player in the world. The Cavaliers have been on a roll since he came back from his "injury" and he's been playing at an amazing level since then. The only thing that pushes him out of the race for me was that time missed. As Jalen Rose says "there's a difference between being hurt and being injured". Lebron could have played those weeks. But he didn't. Yes it's important to have the bigger picture in mind and be ready/healthy for the playoffs (and he needed to organize the two trades that brought them Mozgov, Shumpert and JR Smith) but he missed 11 games during that time. James Harden and Stephen Curry have been there for their teams all season. Westbrook in his own way too. Either way. Lebron is having an amazing year, but I just feel that the other three are currently pushing him out of the conversation. 

The race has been tight from jump. James Harden and Stephen Curry leaving other players in the dust. Both players have been out of their minds this season. Harden is a force of nature that needs to be reckoned with on a basketball court. He's too fast and too strong. Able to finish at the basket at will or draw the foul. His footwork in traffic is amazing. He's a cold-blooded killer with amazing handles leaving opposing defenders on their knees or backsides while he drains jumpers in their face.

And his defense has improved greatly (granted this isn't saying much considering where it was last season but STILL!) However, Harden's strongest case is the help that he has around him, or lack thereof. There's no other star on the team. He's done this in large part without Dwight Howard. He was the NBA's leading scorer up until last week. And his team is in the 3rd seed of the Western Conference. IF YOU HAD TOLD ME THAT THE ROCKETS WOULD BE IN THE 3RD SEED WITHOUT DWIGHT HOWARD, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU TO STOP SMOKING CRACK! Yes that's how serious Harden's MVP case is. 

Then there's that kid. The Chef. Stephen Curry. One of the best shooters in NBA history. Off the dribble, in traffic, hand in his face and he's still drilling threes over your best defender from 8 feet behind the 3-point line. Curry gives opposing coaches headaches. Nightmares too with moves like this.

He's the best player on the best team in the NBA. That has to mean something right? 24 points and 8 assists doesn't really sound all that but it's the way he achieves it that makes him a problem for other teams. And it all happens in the 33 minutes per game that he's averaging this season. That's a lot for the amount of time he plays. However, he's dropping back a little. He's been fairly quiet in his last few games while Harden dropped a triple double.  But you have to acknowledge a guy that's still capable of things like this:

Speaking of triple doubles. Hello Russell Westbrook. I've been drinking the #LetWestbrookBeWestbrook Kool-Aid for the past 4 years now. I defended his game against the likes of Skip Bayless fans that thought he was terrible or that him and Durant couldn't work well together blah blah blah. Shut up. Russell is one of the most talented players in the world on offense and defense. At times I'm not even sure he's human. He's been called a rocket-ship, a monster, an alien etc. in the last few weeks and by now I'm sure you've heard why. 

A friend of mine, Paul Moses, @ScatterSports on Twitter, wrote about "What a Russell Westbrook MVP Season Would Look Like" (great read) and he did a great job of breaking down what he would need to do in order to win MVP. Then Russ got hurt. And life was sad for the Thunder for a little bit. And then he came back and exploded. See, what people are missing is that they think this Russ stretch started in the last 15 games or so. No. Russ was doing crazy things early on in the season. Then he poured gasoline all over himself and lit a match and went Super-Saiyan and is burning the NBA to the ground one game at a time. THIS DUDE BROKE HIS FACE! THERE WAS A DENT IN HIS FACE! AND HE CAME BACK A WEEK LATER AND OBLITERATED THE 76ERS.

In that game he dropped 49 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists... What? He averaged 31 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds for the month of February. What? He has a  Player Efficiency Rating of 29.91. Tom Haberstroh noted that of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, only 5 have ever done that. He's in elite company. Also don't forget he's doing it without the current reigning MVP, Kevin Durant.

But like I said. The MVP award is all about the narrative. Which one is strongest as we head into the last 5 weeks of the regular season? Is it the guy who gives us jaw-dropping highlights while being the best player on a historically-elite team? The guy who's carried his team on his back the whole season and pushed them far past expectations into the top-half of the Western Conference and being 2nd in scoring? Or the freak of nature who's just blowing everything up in his wake? I mean seriously. Dude reminds me of the old Godzilla movies. It's a tough race going forward and it's a lot closer than people think in my opinion and that includes Westbrook. 

Focus on the narrative.