As has become a tradition on the blog, I am posting the ballot I sent to the NBA office for the league’s annual awards. I spent quite a bit of time looking at stats, speaking with other beat writers, and consulting my own experiences. My 2007 ballot is here,. Here is 2008:
Most Valuable Player
1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
2. Chris Paul, Hornets
3. LeBron James, Cavs
4. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
5. Dwight Howard, Magic
Comment: There was a time this season I was sure my vote was going to LeBron, especially after I watched him outplay Kobe twice head-to-head. Yet there is no doubt that the Cavs’ average finish hurt LeBron’s chances with me and everybody else. I feel strongly that this was LeBron’s best ever season, even better than two years ago when I gave him my MVP vote. But a component of the award now, in previous years and in the future is team success. Which is why LeBron himself told me on Wednesday that he didn’t deserve the award. It is a season-long honor and while he may have been my choice at several times during the season, he was not at the end.
When it came to choosing between Bryant and Paul, it was very hard. I was so impressed with how Paul contributed to everything the Hornets do. However, my fiercest criticism of Bryant over the years was he was not a team player. I felt his 81-point game, for example, was a reason I would not vote for him. I was even more turned off when he asked for a trade last summer. His actions this season, however, have followed what I have always wanted to see out of him. People I greatly respect felt the same way. Ultimately, that made up my mind. I want to make it clear I am not giving to him as a “career award” as some have suggested the media will do. The Hall of Fame is a career award.
Coach of the Year
1. Byron Scott, Hornets
2. Mo Cheeks, Philadelphia
3. Jeff Van Gundy, Magic EDIT: Make that Stan Van Gundy. And, yes, I did send it into the league wrong.
Comment: All three of these men did something that impressed me, they designed systems to take advantage of the personnel they had. Scott’s use of Paul’s talents and the rest of the his players was especially meaningful to be. The Cavs have struggled for years to get the most out of their players with different systems. Scott found a way.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
2. Marcus Camby, Nuggets
3. Josh Smith, Hawks
Comment: Camby had better stats but he was on a poor defensive team. Garnett, however, set a great tone for the Celtics, who played some of the best defense seen in the NBA in years.
Most Improved Player
1. Jose Calderon, Raptors
2. LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers
3. Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Comment: I may be the only one who votes for Calderon, last year I was one of two who gave it to Al Jefferson. He has blossomed into one of the 10 best point guards in the NBA and I believe he has a great career ahead of him. I know Hedo Turkoglu from the Magic will probably win but I don’t find him to be, as the NBA puts it, “an up-and-coming player” in the award guidelines.
Rookie of the Year
1. Kevin Durant, Sonics
2. Al Horford, Hawks
3. Al Thornton, Clippers
Comment: Horford had a great year, but Durant is a special talent and he played on a team with very little protection or veteran leadership.
All-NBA Team
First Team
G – Chris Paul, Hornets
G – Kobe Bryant, Lakers
C – Dwight Howard, Magic
F – LeBron James, Cavs
F – Kevin Garnett, Celtics
Second Team
G – Steve Nash, Suns
G – Manu Ginobili, Spurs
C – Amare Stoudemire, Suns
F – Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs
F – Tim Duncan, Spurs
Third Team
G – Deron Williams, Jazz
G – Tracy McGrady, Rockets
C – Marcus Camby, Nuggets
F – Paul Pierce, Celtics
F – Antawn Jamison, Wizards
Comment: The first team was easy, it was my MVP ballot. In my mind, Howard is the best center in the NBA hands down and he had a great season but he may not be on all ballots. On the second team I had Stoudemire at center, where he played more than half the season before and a little after Shaquille O’Neal. Also, it took a lot from Paul to knock Nash off my first team after three years up there. On the third team, I righted a wrong from last year and put Williams on there. I think very, very highly of the guy. Jamison probably won’t make many ballots, but he replaced Carmelo Anthony after his actions this week. Not excusable as a team leader after everything he’s been through. Jamison helped carry the Wizards with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler out.
Cavs vs. Pistons
Abbreviated blog tonight, I will update after the game.
Starting lineups
Pistons: Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace
Cavs: Delonte West, Damon Jones, Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao
–LeBron and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are sitting, I imagine Ben Wallace will not play much. I’d be surprised to see Detroit’s starters log much more than 20 minutes or so.
–The Cavs signed Billy Thomas to a contract for the rest of the season before the game. He will add a little practice depth with Sasha Pavlovic out for the first round.
Postgame
Pistons 84, Cavs 74
–There is not much to discuss about the actual game. It was close with the backups playing and when it came down to third strings late, the Pistons won out. Nobody got hurt, which was the main goal for everybody.
–I think it is interesting that Mike Brown played Wally Szczerbiak 42 minutes tonight and started him instead of Devin Brown. It appears this is the direction he’s going to go in the playoffs. Devin has been reasonably consistent all season and Mike wants consistency off the bench. He obviously decided he wants Devin as part of the second unit with Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao. Wally has been all over the place, but his jumper has seemed to come around a tad over the last two weeks. Anyway, we’ll see. The interesting thing is the Cavs used 21 different starting lineups this season and they’ll be using a 22nd different one when they play the Wizards in Game 1.
–Damon Jones finally got some playing time tonight…and went 1-of-12. His frustration level, I imagine, is pretty high.
–I don’t think any more can be said about this game.
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with a lot of the picks but Duncan should be a first teamer. Offensively and defensively he embodies the S.A. Spurs identity. Dwight Howard still needs a lot of work on his offensive game. He also needs to cut down on traveling.
- Interesting that 3 of the first team members are in the East. Then again, only 5 of the top 15 are from the Eastern Conference. I wonder how many of the top 30 would be East players?
Who should Duncan replace on the first team – KG or LBJ? (not happening)
Brian ,
All your picks are fair. Regular readers of your columns and blog posts could have actually guessed your picks pretty accurately.
But I would have picked David West in my 3rd team over Jamison.
I thought Pavlovic got BW’s most improved vote last year. Or was that some other award vote?
It would be hard for me not to vote for either Paul or Garnett.
I’m sorry, I see now. Pavs was third in most improved last year.
You can put Duncan on the first team at center. That’s the position he plays, anyway.
Chauncey Billups deserves some All-NBA love. I’d put him on the third team, D-Will on the second team, and take Nash out entirely. But that’s just me.
3. Jeff Van Gundy, Magic
uh…..
It’s ironic about Sasha that if there was a Most Regressed Award then he’d win it this year.
Just got done reading Simmons’ MVP column. I just don’t get how Garnett wins. The dude plays with two other Hall of Famers and has quietly posted his worst season statistically in 11 years (look it up). But team record puts him over three more deserving candidates?
It’s amazing to me that Lebron can post a 30-8-7 season, be the best fourth quarter player in the NBA, and not even come close to winning an MVP. The only thing Boatshoes can do to screw things up anymore would be to hire Isiah Thomas over the summer as a “special assistant”.
What Brian, no votes for Mike Brown as Coach of the year??? That’s a travesty. He’s by far the best coach in the NBA this side of Phil Jackson, just ask Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert, they are the ones that just gave him an extension to ruin this team for a couple more years. How is his offensive system (and i use that term loosely) gonna look if LeBron is gone in a few years? One word, LOTTERY.
Damona Jones should be first-team, according to certain people around here. He’s having a great game starting tonight, 12 minutes, 0-3 shooting, 0 pts, 0 assists, 0 rebounds, 1 TO. It’s like Eric Snow is out there again. I can’t imagine why a point guard who won’t pass or defend and spends all day trying to get an open 3 cuz he is the ‘best ever’ would just languish on the Cavs bench.
I can’t believe we didn’t trade him for Pao Gasol or Kobe.
Yo, I think Sasha is having a better game than D. Jones. The ‘greatest shooter’ an all of time and space is leading his men – oh wait he made a shot!!!!!!! O another assist by Delonte. Show him how to pass, West!
Still, this is Damon Jones best game all year. No Lebron holding him back.
OK Dwayne Jones is having a better game.
That was hilarious the other day when the ten year olds started whining about why Damona can’t play or get traded. Actually, they did have trade offers on him. The Heat offered a Pat Riley bobblehead, but Ferry felt like it wasn’t fair to make them just give away a bobblehead for nothing.
Why doesn’t Damona play more often? Just because he has delusions of grandeur ala Ricky Davis, where he thinks he is the center of the offense and the best scorer, can’t or won’t pass, and has a bad attitude, he shouldn’t be relegated to the bench. This is an outrage.
He got the start and responded, by going 1-10 with 2 pts, 0 assists, 1 reb 0 steals and 3 turnovers. He should definitely get the nod over Delonte West and Gibson.
I hate the MVP award for this simple reason: What are the criteria for MVP? All I know is this: if I had to start a team right now for a single 82 game season and had the #1 pick there is no way I am picking Chris Paul over LBJ. In fact as great as Kobe, CP3, and Garnett are, I would pick LBJ for my fictional one year run right now over anyone else. I think most people would answer the same way. That is all the criteria I need to pick my MVP.
Why is Barkley not commenting on LeBron’s poor sportsmanship in talking to Gooden about Stevenson….?
LeBron, not knowing that Gooden and Stevenson are good friends, said some disparaging remarks about Stevenson to Gooden… When Gooden left the team, he relayed the comments to Stevenson –
THAT’s why Stevenson was jawing at Queen James in that game earlier this year – and THAT is why he called him “overrated” after the game.
How come Barkley doesn’t “call out” LeBron for HIS inappropriate comments. It was a very unprofessional situation. You don’t get “personal”…. and from what I’ve read about it, LeBron said something VERY personal…. and VERY inappropriate. Whatever it was, it sure got Stevenson ticked off!
Boy, I’d love to find out what it was. And to see it played out in the media as much as Stevenson’s “overrated” remark. Perhaps Queen James’ reputation wouldn’t be so clean then…!!
I do think I influenced Brian’s MVP vote, but to brag about it at this point would be in appropriate.
I think David West was overlooked. He actually had a better all-around season than Tim Duncan (who disappeared on many nights).
Doc the reason why Simmons voted for Garnett is because he is a homer and only writes about Boston. I would put Garnett 4th or 5th behind CP3, Kobe, LeBron, and Howard.
hey wizfan, nobody cares about deshawn child rapist stevenson or what he says.
doc, I think Bill Simmons made a very compelling argument for Garnett. I don’t necessarily agree that Garnett should be MVP, but I really never gave it that kind of thought. Simmons isn’t the only guy, there are other sportswriters around the country, including some up in Canada, way, way far away from Boston, who also think Garnett should be MVP for similar reasons. I really don’t think you can compare his current individual statistics to past seasons. I mean, so what? For years he was in James’ situation, completely alone and surrounded by dreck. Of course Garnett’s individual statistics needed to be higher. Much higher.
What did James do when Jones and Newble refused to come into a game? Nothing. No wonder Brown and James are “partners,” a team leader James is not, at least not at this point in his career. If something like that ever happened in front of Garnett, he would have reached up their rectums and ripped out their spleens with his bare hands.
On another subject, if I recall correctly, immediately after that deadline trade was announced, you were doing everything but erecting a giant Roy Lichtenstein sculpture of a boatshoe in your front yard.
Simmons’ argument for Garnett boiled down to the fact that he was a strict guy in practice and made all his teammates work hard and act like professionals. Might as well give the MVP to Tony Robbins. Then he makes a huge deal about KG whipping a towel around in a frenzy during garbage time when the scrubs were playing. Big deal. Garnett doesn’t take, let alone make, any big shots down the stretch. He averaged a 19-9 (Juwan Howard stats in his heydey) and missed ten games. Basically Simmons’ dad called him and browbeat the lad into naming the marquee player on his favorite team MVP. Just a complete farce.
And yes, I did wear my boatshoes to the hospital the day after the trade. Then it dawned on us all that trading feces for vomit isn’t necessarily a vertical move.
And Douglar: I’m going to guess you did not influence Brian’s vote. Just a hunch. More likely you’re at the top of the list of the “biggest Douchebag” category the David Stern is frantically tabulating as we speak.
Kobe getting the MVP is more than ok. He’s arguably the best player in the league (along with James) and his team was the best team in the better conference this year. Voting Chris Paul over Lebron is silly. Paul is a great player, but he just isn’t in the same class as Kobe and James.
Obviously team record is a good indicator if a player has fantastic stats and his team sucks. The fact is the Cavs don’t suck. The fact is the Cavs had tons of injuries, including to James himself. Oh, they went 0-7 went James didn’t play this year, too. Yeah, he’s not valuable to his team or anything. The fact is they had two of their 8 rotation players hold out, thus stunting their help this year. The fact is they made a huge late season trade that traded half of their rotation away. All that happened and they still finished 45-37.
Truth: Simmons is a complete homer, worse than me by far. Talented, entertaining writer who breaks down the NBA like no one else can, but like he always does, loses all credibility by picking Boston teams without fail at the end of his columns. It’s his gimmick.
Truth #2: When Kevin Garnett was 24 years old, he was not the team leader he is today. He was a stat machine and an unstoppable force of nature, but he was not a vocal leader yet. To compare LeBron James at his age to Kevin Garnett at this veteran stage of his career is absurd, because a) James is the better player right now and b) Garnett is a seasoned veteran whose prime was 2 years ago. Poor comparison.
Truth #3: Doc Rivers, if asked the exact same question Mike Brown were asked, would respond in the EXACT same manner. We’ve been over this a thousand times, but I’ll repeat it anyway… IF MIKE BROWN HAD SAID “OH DEFINITELY, I’M LEBRON’S BOSS AND HE BETTER RECO-NIZE”, HE WOULD LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE FOOL.
So Alonzo Tucker, either stick to your guns and take unrealistic pot shots at Doc Rivers too, or shut up. The stars run the show on every NBA franchise, and the inmates have always run the asylum, unless the franchise doesnt have a star. So would you rather not have LeBron James on this team??
My MVP … Chris Paul’s team would win 30 games without him, much like LeBron, Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, Dwight Howard… any star really. The difference is, he doesnt have Pau Gasol, Ray Allen, or Manu Ginobili. And since LeBron and co only won 45 games this year, the obvious choice for MVP has to be CP3. Has to be. You’ve all read Simmons’ article, and the numbers speak for themselves. It’s Chris Paul this year, no question. Of course, the MVP is a joke, so they’ll likely hand it to Kobe Bryant, only to watch him jack 30 shots a game in the playoffs and get bounced before the West finals. But whatever…
I would still vote for LeBron as MVP.
Hondo had a good post earlier…..the problem with this award is that each voter uses different criteria. For me, the criteria is simple: Who is the best player in the league? The reason I use this is because if a team’s MVP is its best player, why isnt’ the league MVP its best player?
So, for me, there are really only two guys in the discussion: LeBron and Kobe. And I just think LeBron is a slightly better player overall.
Hondo’s criteria is similar…..if you wanted to pick one player to start a team with, who would you take? Would that player have to be the most VALUABLE, since you feel he brings more value than anyone else? Again, I see LeBron winning in this category.
I just don’t understand why voters look at team success. I thought it was MVP, not MVT.
Yeah, doc, but Garnett is probably going to also get the Defensive Player of the Year. Great defense is something that doesn’t appear on a stat sheet. And actually, if you compared his individual stats and take into account his reduced game minutes this season, it’s really not much out of line with his career averages. Like I said, I don’t necessarily agree that he should get the MVP, but he brought a lot more to Boston than simply whipping a towel around like a leaner M.L. Carr. And bad comparison, Tony Robbins has gigantic Chicklet porcelain veneers, Garnett’s teeth are totally natural.
I agree, that David Stern/Seattle thing really rubs me the wrong way. I don’t know what’s happened to Stern, he’s morphed into one of those slimeball sleazebag college coaches who hears no evil, sees no evil when the program is totally corrupt. If he develops a lisp, he could be Lou Holtz. I heard Stern on ESPN radio yesterday, and he tried to appear totally nonchalant and claimed he still hadn’t read the e-mails. Yeah, right. He’s the head of a multi-billion dollar enterprise and a lawyer, for God’s sakes, and he claims he hasn’t read the e-mails? I hope his successor isn’t nearly as greasy when Gilbert eventually craps on Cleveland and sells Seattle the NBA team that Stern is an accomplice in stealing from them.
As to that Most Improved Player award, at least there’s no 2007-2008 Pavlovic Practical Joke vote to Gibson “because nobody else will.” I still can’t get over that remark from last year. It’s really hard to take any of the votes seriously because you know so many voters have their own similar personal biases run amuck. And there’s only what, 129 people casting votes, something like that?
I’d give the Most Improved Player to Chris Paul, somebody who’s being way overlooked for the improved vote. My preseason prediction for Rajon Rondo was right, but I’d still give the most improved to Paul. That guy from Turkey with the big schnoz improved in a major way, too. He must have gotten into Paul Byrd’s “thyroid” stash to make that kind of leap, he’s 29. I’d go Paul, Schnoz, Rondo. Chris Kaman really improved, too, but played only 56 games. So instead of second, which is where I would have otherwise put him if he’d done that for at least 70, I’m moving him to fourth.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080416
Did anybody else read the Simmons article and think, huh, all the reasons that Simmons uses against Kobe could be used against Garnett?
So, if I understand correctly, Simmons decided that KG was the MVP because of all the little things he does to help the Celtics win. But if those things were really the key to winning, then how come the T-Wolves only won 32 games last year? Or 33 the year before? If all those intangibles actually mean something, then shouldn’t those same intangibles help the T-Wolves go at least .500 in his last two years there?
To say that Garnett’s intensity is what elevated Boston this year just isn’t true. The Celtics stole Garnett from Minnesota because the league wanted him in Boston and Kevin McHale apparently has no brain or soul. As a result, KG was surrounded by two star-quality players in Pierce and Allen, and free agents started taking big pay cuts to come play with them. Kevin Garnett wasn’t the cause of the turnaround, Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale, and let’s be honest, David Stern were behind it.
Instead of talking about all the little things Garnett does, people should just admit that the only reason to pick him as the MVP is because he was the best player on the best team. That’s as good a definition of valuable as any. But to pretend like the Celtics’ turnaround was all because of Garnett, that’s just ridiculous.
David West had a better season than Tim Duncan? Maybe a lot of their stats are comparable, but the impact Duncan has on the game is immeasurable.
I love how D.C. fans rally around a child rapist who fed alcohol to a 14 year old girl and then took advantage of her while his buddy watched.
Yeah, he’s the good guy in this little spat.
Lebron probably didn’t like some lowlife rapist running in the same circles as him so he said something. And when it got back to Stevenson he predictably went off like any other immature teenager who’s been disrespected will do.
Freakin’ Wizards fans are so bitter, they’ll latch on to anyone.
alot of people hate on alot of players in sports. lebron might not be the best rolemodel but he is very good at what he does, everyone in pro sports says something about another player why don’t you bring that up. if you ask me thats just pure jealousy, so wizfan quit hatin and let it go it happens and its going to continue to happen. you know just as well as me and everyone else lebron is the best, the ratings show it that is all the proff that i need
No surprise Garnett is Simmons choice for MVP. While I enjoy reading Simmons, he make no attempt to hide that he is a Boston homer, growing up here and being a diehard fan all his life. Every sports talk radio host in Boston also thinks Garnett should be MVP, not a whole lot of objectivity.
Personally, I think the Celtics would have close to the same record with Al Jefferson, instead of Garnett. Not quite as good, but close.
The MVP to me was a coin toss between Kobe and Paul.
John … WHAT???? The Celtics would have had close to the same record with Al Jefferson? But last year they *did* have Al Jefferson. In essense, you’re asserting it was Ray Allen, not Kevin Garnett, that was the underlying reason for a rise from a pathetic 24-58 to 66-16 in the very next season. And plug in Jefferson instead of Garnett, it would have happened anyway.
I don’t think so.
Oh, and yes, I realize that Pierce didn’t play a full season during the 24-win season. It still doesn’t explain the ridiculous increase this season.
john i disagree , you are not taking into account all the intangibles garnett brings to his team and brings to a game that jefferson just don’t have at this time .
Yes, Pierce was conveniently injured for most of last season…
I don’t get your point. What does Pierce “conveniently injured” when they had Al Jefferson have to do with Garnett? Taken another way, I suppose you can say that Garnett’s presence on the Celtics caused Pierce to be “conveniently uninjured.”
The year-to-year win improvement means nothing, because the Celtics were actively tanking last year. That wasn’t a 24-win team last year, it was a 34-win team that mailed in the last half of the season. Their Pythagorean W-L record was 31-51 even with the tanking. They weren’t a good team, but they weren’t the joke of a team they held themselves out to be down the stretch.
I think that Garnett’s intensity helped the Celtics avoid a lot of those give-away games that most teams have each year. They believed they were part of something special before the season even started, and that kept the players motivated. But the intensity level of all teams increases in the playoffs. We still don’t know if the Celtics have another level of intensity in them. If they do, they will be the NBA Champions. If they don’t, the rumblings about Garnett, Allen and Pierce will begin again. All the adulation they are currently receiving will turn to scorn right-quick.
What’s a pythagorean record?
Even if they had won 45 games last year, a 20-win improvement would be pretty significant. Of course a 40-game improvement is significant.
Last October I was reading a lot about how the Celtics would flop this year, with no bench, no defense, no point guard, etc., etc. Some scoffed at the notion that the Cavs didn’t keep up with the Celtics’ moves (sorry kj).
There’s no denying the Celtics had a great season and Garnett was the biggest factor. His stats don’t knock you out, but neither do Pierce’s and Allen’s. Defense and team play count for a lot.
Okay. I was linked to your blog on a website I go to. My comment is about your vote on the MVP. Not who you voted for or why this year, but why you said you wouldn’t vote for Kobe Bryant in the past.
“However, my fiercest criticism of Bryant over the years was he was not a team player. I felt his 81-point game, for example, was a reason I would not vote for him.”
If you had said the same thing you said about LeBron, his team just didn’t get enough wins, I’d be okay. What you did say was simply stupid. Did you watch that game? Ever. Did you watch Kobe pass the ball to his teammates for open shots and they just clanked them all? Did you see Smush Parker and Kwame Brown turn the ball over like they were bakers watching food in the oven? You realize most of those points were scored in the second half (he had 25 points at halftime)?
Your comment is akin to saying you wouldn’t give World Series MVP to a guy who hit 3 grand slams in a game, the last coming with 2 outs in the 9th and his team down by 3 because he wasn’t a team player. He should have hit a triple.
Watch the 81 game and you will see the ultimate team player. A guy who did all he could to get his mates into it and took over completely when they failed. The Lakers won that game and were down 25. Why? 81 points!
What I never could get was how baseball writers could separate their hate for Barry Bonds and the simple fact he was the MVP of their league, but basketball writers are infested with hate. I’m glad you already voted, because I’m sure this could get you to change your vote.
Oh yeah – Kobe isn’t playing any different than he has for the last two years. His teammates are just much better players through either development or trade. The league should change the title of the award to the Most Outstanding Player. That way Kobe would have 2 and LeBron would be getting his first this year.