Handing out the Hardware: NBA Season Awards - 04/15/2010
(226 views)
Written by Evan Jacoby
-
April 15, 2010
Rate This Article:
We’ve reached the conclusion of an exciting 2010 NBA regular season that saw the resurgence of several franchises. Rookies Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Darren Collison, and Tyreke Evans helped turn around their struggling teams and give tremendous hope for the future of those franchises. The Oklahoma City Thunder became everyone’s favorite team thanks to a nucleus of players all under 25 years old, including their 21-year-old superstar who became the youngest player to ever lead the league in scoring. Meanwhile, the big-name superstars of the league all had incredible years. LeBron James had one of the greatest statistical seasons in history and continues to get better every year. We are all lucky to be witnessing the LeBron Era, one in which the most unstoppable force in recent history continues to add dimensions to his game. We’ll see if he can finally lead his team to a championship this season. Dwight Howard dominated the Eastern Conference paint with a constant smile on his face, Dwyane Wade’s smooth moves led the Heat to a big year, and of course Kobe Bryant did his thing out West, including several classic game-winners for the #1 seed Lakers. The Western Conference sent all 8 teams to the playoffs with 50 wins, and every single series is going to be a battle of competitive powers. But the 2 best teams in the league might reside in the East, as the Cavaliers and Magic finished with the two best records in the league and might be the two most talented squads. Lots of great storylines developed this regular season. And for those teams that struggled, the ultimate prize is only a few months away. Summer 2010 will see many teams open their pockets to spend multi-millions on the most star-studded free agent class in 20 years. All franchises have hope with the development of so many good young players. Before we look to the future, let’s see who will be taking home the hardware from this season. Here is my personal vote ballot for the 2010 NBA Regular Season Awards: ………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………….... Most Valuable Player - LEBRON JAMES LeBron had the best season of his career, leading the Cavaliers to the best record in the league (61-21) while putting up absolutely absurd numbers. The NBA’s second-leading scorer averaged 29.7 points, 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 50% from the field. His passing ability has been elevated to that of a top 5 point guard, and he is as unselfish with the ball as he ever has been. The only thing LeBron could possibly improve upon is his percentage from the free throw (77%) and three point line (33%). We’ve heard of players putting their game into a 2nd gear, but James is the only player in the world with 3 gears to his game. He takes his normally efficient game to another level when it matters, but he has the ability to single-handedly dominate games and raise the intensity and execution level of his entire team when he wants to. Let’s just say it’s quite Jordan-esque. There’s officially no way to stop LeBron from getting to the basket when he drives, and the only way that the Cavs are getting knocked out of this year’s playoffs is if a team can catch them on a cold-shooting series and dominate scoring inside. There’s no more strategy of “force him to be a distributor”, because it’s simply not possible. LeBron will dominate, and he will score. You can only pray that he and his teammates can’t hit their shots from outside. 2. Kevin Durant
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Defensive Player of the Year - DWIGHT HOWARD Dwight Howard still has massive work to do on the offensive end if he wants to become one of the most dominant big men of all time, like he has the potential to become. But on the defensive end, there is nobody as consistently dominant as Howard. He led the league in rebounds (13.2) and blocks (2.8), for the second consecutive season. The NBA has so many great penetrating guards that can finish inside, but they all must alter their games when the Magic come to town. Howard does not allow guards to get to the rim without altering the shot or swatting it into the 3rd row. He has terrific instincts on when to leave his feet, and he boxes out better than anyone. Even Howard’s foul problems are usually not a result of poor defensive mechanics, but instead foolish decisions inside, tough calls, or overly aggressive offensive moves. He’s the most dominant defender in the NBA. 2. Gerald Wallace
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rookie of the Year - STEPHEN CURRY This was the toughest call on my ballot. I gave serious consideration to all of my top 3 guys. Tyreke Evans is going to end up being the franchise superstar of this class, and Brandon Jennings was the most impactful player to his team’s success. But Curry had the best individual rookie season. Curry takes home my vote, as he continued to get better all year even as his team struggled mightily and put up embarrassing starting lineups around him for the latter half of the season. He shot 46% from the field, 43% from three, and 88% from the free throw line, and this was in an offense that encouraged him to shoot it every time he could see the rim. If he plays on a good team, Curry might start to put up Nash-like percentage shooting (50, 45, 90). Curry averaged 17.5 points, 5.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per games on the season. He had 2 triple-doubles this season, and there’s no way that you can discredit his statistical contributions in comparison to Evans, who played on an even worse team. This was such a close call, and I might be crazy for doing it, but I have Evans finishing 3rd in this ballot, despite being only the 4th player in history to average 20/5/5 in his rookie season. 2. Brandon Jennings
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Coach of the Year - SCOTTY BROOKS There are always great candidates for this award, but the Oklahoma City Thunder’s young head coach is the runaway winner. He has a completely inexperienced roster of glorified college stars, and he has been able to turn them into an incredibly unified energetic squad that can compete with anyone. 50 wins, a playoff spot in the West, and the best chemistry of any team in the league. The Thunder surprised everyone this season, and Brooks has been almost as much a catalyst as Kevin Durant has been. The Thunder were one of the worst defensive teams in the league under P.J. Carlesimo last year, and they’re now one of the most efficient defensive teams in the league. They’re certainly loaded with young talent, but that rarely leads to victories in the NBA filled with stronger, more polished, experienced grown men stars. But the Thunder play harder than anyone and have a love for the game unlike any other team. Scott Brooks has done a fantastic job to create and embrace that kind of culture, and he’s certainly gotten his message across to his players. 2. Scott Skiles (Bucks)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Most Improved Player - GEORGE HILL This is the hardest award to give out, since the qualifications are endless. Do you give out the most improved player to a guy that was terrible last year, and is now a reliable starter? Or should we give it to an emerging star that was average the year before? How about a completely underrated guy that now everyone knows about? Whatever it may be, my vote goes to Spurs point guard George Hill. The second-year man looked like a legitimate rising star point guard when he started for an injured Tony Parker for much of this season. No matter what happens to Parker or what the Spurs decide to do with him, they know that they have a 5-year starting point guard in George Hill. He’s an incredibly strong, efficient lead guard with size that can do it all. If you can get loads of minutes on a Gregg Popovich team, you know you’re good. On the season, he averaged 12.4 points and 2.9 assists per game, but he had much more of an impact than that. He also shoots 48% from the field, 40% from three, and 77% from the line. In his 43 games as a starter, Hill averaged 15 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. This is all from an unknown second-year guard from IUPUI that was a late first round pick a year ago. 2. Rajon Rondo (used to not even be part of the “Big 3”… now he’s the Celtics’ best player, by far)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sixth Man of the Year - JAMAL CRAWFORD This one is a runaway. Crawford is going to the playoffs for the first time in his 9-year career, and he is a big reason for the Hawks’ success. He had thirty (yes, 30!) 20-point games as a bench player this season. He averaged 18 points and 3 assists per game as a reserve in every single game. He comes off the bench with energy and excitement, becoming a go-to scorer the minute he gets in the game. He doesn’t force the issue, but instead he knows when it’s his time to take over when he gets in. He has had several game-winning or tying clutch shots this season. He is simply a tremendous bench player, as his team can take advantage of his super-aggressive offensive game in short bursts and lead to great efficiency for a bench unit. 2. Jason Terry
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All-NBA Second Team -
All-NBA Third Team -
All-NBA Snub Team -
Let me know what you think!
Comments
|
 |