My ballots
Posted April 17th, 2006 by bwindhorst
Boston — I was in Washington on Tax Day and I’m now in Boston on Patriot Day. Talk about experiencing the best and worst of America.
Anyhow, I have submitted my votes for the NBA Awards to the league office. Anyone who is afraid to make public who they voted for shouldn’t be voting. The league decides who gets to vote on what, so I don’t vote for everything. So here they are:
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Ben Wallace, Detroit
2. Bruce Bowen, San Antonio
3. Marcus Camby, Denver
Comment: Wallace and Bowen were 1-2 on my ballot last year.
Most Improved Player
1. Boris Diaw, Phoenix
2. David West, NOK
3. Chris Bosh, Toronto
Comment: Many people think West should win, but I watched Diaw played five different positions this season. I remember him looking scared and unathletic in Atlanta.
Rookie of the Year
1. Chris Paul, NOK
2. Raymond Felton, Charlotte
3. Channing Frye, New York
Comment: This is somewhat of a no-brainer, but I don’t think many will vote Felton second. He actually impressed me more than Paul in the times I watched both live.
All-NBA Team
First team
F–Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
F–LeBron James, Cleveland
C–Shaquille O’Neal, Miami
G–Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
G–Steve Nash, Phoenix
Second team
F–Elton Brand, LA Clippers
F–Tim Duncan, San Antonio
C–Yao Ming, Houston
G–Dwyane Wade, Miami
G–Chauncey Billups, Detroit
Third team
F–Shawn Marion, Phoenix
F–Carmelo Anthony, Denver
C–Ben Wallace, Detroit
G–Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
G–Vince Carter, New Jersey
Comment: There were some tough calls here. My first team was relatively easy, though I know some will put Yao on first team. I wrestled with where to put Duncan, because his numbers are really down this season. I also thought long and hard about Carmelo Anthony, who I put in ahead of Kevin Garnett. Can you believe I have a ballot with no Garnett or Tracy McGrady, two All-Star Game starters? Well, it took time but I determined Carmelo was more deserving. Also, putting Iverson and Carter on the third team ahead of Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas was tough. I’m sure those two will make a lot of ballots.
Oh, and, finally, my MVP vote. I looked at a lot of factors including stats, overall team performance, value to the team, etc. Again, I don’t believe in following trends and crediting people for past performance, I believe in being realistic. So here it is:
1. LeBron James, Cleveland
2. Steve Nash, Phoenix
3. Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
4. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
5. Chauncey Billups, Detroit
Comment: You may call me a homer, but I don’t care. I believe all five will get first-place votes from some and that Nash will win it because he’ll be in the top three on every ballot.
April 17th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
I like your picks a lot. Well thought out up and down your ballots. I’m glad you came around on LeBron. You’ll get lots of criticism on everything here, but I think this is a remarkably good ballot and I’m impressed.
My only critique would be Nash. I think just as he was previously underrated, he’s become somewhat overrated. I’m glad you at least recognized that LeBron’s 32/7/7 are more impressive than Nash’s 19/4/10.5 and that even with Stoudemire out, Nash is on a team with at least as much talent as LeBron. I’d probably put Kobe above him.
April 17th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
I would say you are not a homer. I’ve always thought you called it like it is. Even to the point of calling out LeBron on his “alligator arms” during his high school football career. All those players are great, but it would be hard for me to accept that LeBron was not more valuable than all of them, especially down the stretch where this team had such problems last year - but, yah, I’m a homer.
April 17th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
All votes seem reasonable, except I have a problem with the latter. If accepting your “James as opposed to Nash” argument, and there can be only one person selected first, then logically Bryant must be selected second. It is the exact same thing, two bad teams that would be reaching up to touch bottom if not for the singular greatness of one guy creating the facade of a good team.
But other than that, I did not sense any alcohol on your breath nor any white powder on your upper lip. All lucid selections.
With that being said, if you are intending to toss your shirt and shoes to the crowd on Fan Appreciation Night, as I assume you’ll be doing, for God’s sakes, at least have the courtesy to shave your back and wash your feet. Otherwise, fans will be wishing they had Gordon Gund’s green eyes and Ira Newble’s infected nose.
April 17th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
hey brian,
i would just say that i agree with everything you wrote but i would still find a place for tony parker on that all-nba 3rd team…and i think i’d put bogut ahead of frye cuz the bucks are going to the play-offs…
and i agree (and so does hollinger over at ESPN) that nash will win because of second and 3rd place votes. it will be as close a vote as last year and even more hotly debated post-mortem than last year…
just so the people reading this don’t think you’re too much of homer i will say that hollinger, broussard and sheridan ALL came out and said LBJ is the MVP on ESPN.com in the last few days. of course, that shill “the” ric bucher (rhymes with puker) has threatened to not even put LBJ on his ballot! and yes, he is for kobe. i would love for anyone to explain to me how kobe is the “best player in the league,” as he is described by all the ESPN talking heads. he is the best SCORER in the league, no question, but the best PLAYER is LBJ. he has over 2 more assists and rebounds than kobe PER GAME. in truth, the fact that LBJ has as many assists that he does on this team of bad finishers is a testament to his greatness. and how many assists has he lost with either drew or Z fumbling beautiful passes out-of-bounds this year?
btw, “P” is dead-on in his post about nash. he HAS become over-rated…
April 18th, 2006 at 6:42 am
What’s wrong with the city of Boston? I like it there.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:11 am
There isn’t a more arrogant city when it comes to sports than Boston, and that includes NYC.
BW, I agree with all of your picks.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:17 am
besides, he is saying that Boston was showing the “Best” of America during their Patriot Day celebration.
April 18th, 2006 at 11:46 am
It’s because Windhorst hates the Irish, particularly Boston’s black Irish. Indeed, Dan Le Batard expressly wrote it in his column around the same time last year. This is a verbatim quote: “Windhorst’s refusal to vote for O’Neal is racist. If O’Neal was German instead of Irish, Windhorst would not have voted for Nash.”
To further compound this disgrace, I once saw a episode of “Cheers” where Windhorst kicked a leprechaun in the crotch.
The above phony facts notwithstanding, I’d rather be associated with an “arrogant” sports city than a city that suffers from self-esteem so low, that Zydrunas Ilgauskas is considered a sacred cow, role players have retired numbers hanging from the rafters and Casey Blake is a candidate to be elected the next Mayor of Parma.
I wonder who would win a seven-game series between the Cavaliers and the Lakers. The Titans of the East vs. the Titans of the West. The Eric Snow vs. Smush Parker and Donyell Marshall vs. Devean George matchups would be oh-so-compelling.
April 18th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
No, no, I love Boston, one of my favorite cities in the country. Taxes, well, I think that speaks for itself.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:04 am
BW, don’t be down on taxes — they are the price of living in a civilized society. If we keep running down taxes (as the GOP has so successfully done these past 25 years), people will continue to think they’re the ultimate evil. In fact, taxes are the result of a social contract among the members of this nation and have done far, far, far more good than bad.
That said, nice picks … I wouldn’t have gone for LeBron at the break, but he’s earned strong MVP consideration down the stretch, esp since all the leading candidates are flawing — no one is having a truly spectacular season.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this team in the playoffs — I don’t like the first round matchup with the Wiz because I don’t think the Cavs can stop their penetration. Bad matchup for Cavs.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
JMB, I have no idea what you just said. Not only with your tax dissertation, but “no one is having a truly spectacular season.” Jeez, Kobe Bryant, for one, has been doing it game after game after game after game since the very first game, both offensively and defensively. If Ilgauskas ever scores 81 points, or is ever pulled after three quarters after bumbling his way for a mere 62, then shoot me an e-mail. In fact, I will go out on a limb by saying that Kobe Bryant is one of the top-10 alleged rapists in professional sports history. Which is high praise indeed, as there has been some extremely stiff competition out there. No pun intended.
Regardless, Nash still deserves it.
April 19th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
If you’re gonna put Bron #1 for 49/50 wins in the pathetic Eastern Conference (it’s a fact), How can you not put Kobe #2 with 44/45 wins in the West? Either you go with Nash #1 or you go with Bron and kOBE AS THE TOP 2.
ps: You’re a shameless HOMER!
April 19th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Tuck, wouldn’t expect you to understand what I was saying … or anything, for that matter. And what the hell does Ilgauskas have to do with anything? Jeez, stop beating that dead horse. We get it … you think he sucks. Fine.
As for Kobe, you’re right: he’s scoring and scoring and scoring, and he is still a good defender. The rest of the Lakers roster is crap, to be sure, and he somehow willed them into the playoffs. That’s the plus.
But, you can also argue that the Lakers won five fewer games (44, hardly historic) than did the LeBron’s Cavs (with a similarly horrendous supporting cast to hear you tell it), so it’s not as if he’s performed better than did LeBron. He has a one-track mind — shoot — that sometimes carries his team to victory, and sometimes does not. And, clearly, he does not make his teammates any better, nor does he have any interest in doing so.
I just don’t think you can go all that far with a guy who only cares about scoring. I guess we’ll find out soon enough (although, as I said earlier, I think the Cavs will have trouble getting by the Wizards).
April 19th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Come on man, AI as a third teamer is a joke right? Regardless of the way the sixers finished, the guy averaged around 33 points and 8 dimes. As much as I admire wade, iverson’s numbers deserve more praise and a spot over wade and even nash. Same with gilbert, the guy was amazing this year. I agree with an earlier post that says nash is overrated. Yes, he is a great point guard that is fun to watch, but he gets way too much credit for leading the league in turnovers and having a stacked team around him. Also, ron artest should be on the third team over melo. If there was a second half mvp, It should be ron.
April 19th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
How in the hell is Nash overrated? Sorry, but I don’t recall Raja Bell (and about six other guys on that team) ever making a dent in anything but the cars in Salt Lake City shopping mall parking lots until joining a team where Nash is distributing the ball.
By the way, the guy who noted the difference in quality between the East and the West has a valid point. Fact is, Cleveland was only 16-14 against the West.
April 20th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Nash is a very good player but Stockton and Kidd were better in their prime, and I don’t recall either being a front runner to win consecutive MVP awards.
As Alan points out, several Suns have had big years in 2006, but Diaw, Barbosa and James Jones are only in their third seasons, when many promising players mature into solid performers. Raja Bell is only averaging 2 more points than last year, playing about 10 more minutes per game.
The argument that the Suns have far exceeded early expectations is flawed, as well. Even without Stoudamire, the team roster at the start of the year included the league’s reigning MVP plus one of the NBA’s most consistent all stars in Shawn Marion. There was also a promising collection of shooters and a pretty solid big man in Kurt Thomas.
To think they’d struggle to play .500 ball with that roster was wrong. The Suns played to the level they should have, up until the season’s final quarter. When Thomas got hurt, the team had an initial hot streak then wore out down the stretch and entering the playoffs.
That sounds pretty much like the Mavericks when Nash was in Dallas. Come to think of it, the Mavs have improved quite a bit with Jason Terry at point guard.
April 20th, 2006 at 11:54 am
Using points as the barometer is in itself flawed. The shooting percentages are a better barometer. Nash makes everybody far better and gets them far easier shots. He gets everybody involved. And to win in the West is a serious accomplishment.
Larry, how soon you and everybody else forgets how rotten the Suns used to be. Just two years ago, they were 29-53, and that included Marion. Now suddenly they have a rich “collection of shooters?” Please. Even a stiff like Damon Jones can become a decent shooter if O’Neal and Wade are leaving him wide open to meditate.
By the way, why, out of only 127 media votes cast, are paid team broadcasters permitted to vote for their own team’s players, let alone permitted to vote at all? It’s ridiculous. Expecting Michael Reghi to cast an MVP vote for anybody but his own guy is like eating lunch with an elephant and asking him to pass the peanuts.
April 20th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
I’m sorry Alan but I wouldn’t say the shooting percentages of Nash’s teammates are far better across the board. Raja Bell’s shooting, for instance, has increased from .454 to .457 since coming to Phoenix in the offseason.
Most of the players on that team are on the ascent, as far as their career arcs go, so it’s really a chicken-and-egg argument anyway.
I also think the mighty Western Conference might be overrated nowadays. The Lakers, Sacramento, Seattle, Houston, Utah, Portland and Minnesota have regressed. Denver, Memphis and the Clippers sure aren’t as impressive as some of those teams used to be.
April 21st, 2006 at 1:54 am
If LeBron was in the Phoenix system his numbers would drawf Nash’s. Lebron makes his teammates better despite Mike Brown’s non existent offense. Bron’ for MVP
April 21st, 2006 at 8:32 am
Makes his teammates better???? Precisely who? James is a great player, but please.
April 22nd, 2006 at 2:16 am
Uhh, in particular his entire team. That’s why I wrote his teammates. What..does he make them worse? Are Nash and Kobe more valuable to their teams than James is to his. You’re definitely not a “homer” you’re a HATER. BRON FOR MVP
April 22nd, 2006 at 2:17 am
boo tucker
April 22nd, 2006 at 4:59 am
Not much to add here, except that I strongly agree with Alan’s assessment that paid team broadcasters should not be allowed to cast award ballots. While I think LeBron is a valid MVP selection, you would have to strongly question Reghi’s motivations.
April 22nd, 2006 at 6:34 am
Nash is overrated because he doesn’t play an oz. of defense. His Suns give up 102 points per game, which is why they will never win a championship under Nash. Their strategy is similar to the Lakers… score as many points as we can in 48 minutes and hope that the other guys miss more than we do.
That’s not to say that LeBron plays stellar defense by any means. Of the three, I think Kobe plays the best on ball defense. That being said, nobody fills passing lanes like LeBron, although his on ball defense suffers because he’s always looking for a steal. When Bron is a ten year veteran like Kobe, he’ll have learned when to fill the lanes and when to stay on his man.
In the meantime, the Cavs 50 wins are more impressive than the Lakers win totals. Sans Phil Jackson, Kobe had a rough go at it last year. But the boyz have bought into the triangle this year and it shows. Their 40-something wins could be contributed to two things… Phil Jackson’s offensive genius and Kobe’s habit of hogging the ball. Kobe’s Lakers were only 18-12 against the “pathetic east”.
I think it’s impressive to see the the Cavs win 16 against the West, considering they did it under a rookie coach with shooters who couldn’t find their shot for most of the season. If Amon Ones and ‘Yell were shooting a little better, LBJ would have easily averaged another 2 assists per.
MVP should go to the most complete player. Let the reign of King James begin.
April 23rd, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Nash is absurdly overrated. Consecutive MVP awards? Please, give me a break. He got his MVP, he doesn’t deserve multiple ones, that would put him among the game’s all-time greats. At *best* he’s John Stockton playing in a more up tempo offense. That makes him very good but not one of the top few players of all time.
Nowitzki, Kobe, and Lebron should all be ahead of him in the balloting. Nash just gets votes because people can identify with the plucky-little-white-guy stuff.
April 23rd, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Also, it’s ridiculous that Isiah, Kidd, and Stockton never won a single MVP between them and now we are talking about Nash winning two in a row. Do you really think Nash is the greatest point guard of all time? The other candidates have all at least taken their team to the championship series, which Nash has been unable to do on two talent-laden teams now.