Handing out the hardware '09

Continuing what has been a Double-Technical tradition, Kay and I will put our two cents in as to whom we feel are the deserving recipients of the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Comeback Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Kay is going to chime in throughout the article and share thoughts on his selections for these awards. All strapped in? Let's go. [Note from Kay: I just noticed that Zee forgot to mention Defensive Player of the Year, 6th Man of the Year and Executive of the Year. We'll tackle those awards in a separate blog entry. Just to let everyone know that we did not forget those.]

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:

Derrick Rose PG, Chicago Bulls

Any surprise here? This highly touted, number 1 draft pick lived up to the hype as well as the promise that the Bulls were hoping for. Upon arrival into the league,Rose was thrown into a team with (1) a mix of veterans, (2) 2-3 year players and (3) a rookie coach. Suffice to say, Rose had his work cut out for him. Judging by where Rose is at this point of the year, so far so good, as the young rook has posted numbers to the tune of: 16.6 ppg, 6.2 apg and close to 4 rebounds a game. Oh and I forgot to mention, as of today the Bulls are hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, within passing distance of the slumping Detroit Pistons (1 game) for the seventh place spot. Rose has been instrumental in all of this, thus the reason as to why he is so deserving of the award. Should the bulls make it to the playoffs, that would further cement Rose deserving this award.

RUNNER UP:

O.J. Mayo, PG/SG Memphis Grizzlies

Up until a few months ago, this was a two man race between O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose, with Mayo leading all rookies in scoring with 18.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 3.8 reb, 1 stl and close to two 3pt a game. Being one of the top scoring options on a bottom feeding team contributed to those numbers, almost in a way making it seem as if he was supposed to put up these type of numbers on a consistent basis. And he pretty much did all season long, without hitting the infamous rookie wall. But his team still struggled and all he did was what a typical star player on a bad team does: shoot, score, repeat. So, O.J. my friend, while you are a great talent and destined for stardom in this league, round one goes to your fellow rookie Mr. Derrick Rose. (Zee!!)

Your picks are spot-on, Zee. But I'd also like to throw out a few other names. This was a deep rookie class, and there are some other players that deserve some props: Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love & Eric Gordon. All of these guys are playing significant roles on their respective teams. I remember that a lot of experts were bashing the Thunder for their selection of Westbrook, but he looks legit. He plays good defense, is a solid play-maker, and is a threat for a triple double on any night. Brook Lopez and Kevin Love have been solid big men for their respective teams. K-Love is a double-double machine, while Lopez provides better defense and shot-blocking. And lastly, Eric Gordon has put up comparable numbers as OJ Mayo when given the playing time. If he had been a starter since the start of the season, he might have been higher up in the ROY award considerations. (Kay)


MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:

Paul Millsap PF, Utah Jazz

I'm a bit biased about this pick simply because of Paul completely BEASTING out for my fantasy team this season, with Carlos Boozer being sidelined for most of the year with an injury. But give this guy some playing time and all of a sudden he's a double double machine. Since Millsap was thrust into the starting lineup and began playing 30-plus minutes, he has put up averages of 14ppg, 9rpg, and 1 blk per game, and now has people talking about him being the future of the Jazz at the PF position and poor Carlos Boozer can't leave town soon enough. But give credit where credit is due, Millsap was given more playing time and took the opportunity and ran with it.


RUNNER UP:

Danny Granger, G/F Indiana Pacers

Granger has made the leap from solid second or third option on offense to Indiana’s go-to guy. Larry Bird cleaned house and re-built this team with Granger as the centerpiece. It must've kicked in awful quick that he was going to be scoring options #1-3 on a talent depleted Pacer team. This is along the lines of my O.J. Mayo analysis earlier in that while Granger has posted great numbers this year, he's basically able to shoot whenever he wants, and everyone pretty much knew it was a matter of time before this kid blossomed into the dynamic player he is today. Hopefully next year with a team that includes Jarret Jack, Troy Murphy and a sleeper in rookie Brandon Rush, and a year more seasoning, he will be able to lead the Pacers to a playoff birth, it would only help to cement his reputation in the city of Indiana as a future basketball icon. (Zee!!)

My pick for Most Improved Player goes to Devin Harris. He's elevated himself to all-star level this season and has become the best player on the New Jersey team. He's proven himself to be a capable leader and floor general, and can score with the best of them. And did you see that buzzer-beater he shot? Nasty. Another player that deserves some recognition is Kevin Durant. I know that he was already a stud last year, but he's really upped his game this year and is amongst the elite wing men now. His shot selection has improved and he's up to 26 PPG, 48 FG% and 43 3PT%. He gets to the free throw line more often, and has increased his rebounding numbers. All of this while opposing teams are focused on stopping him on defense. His stats in February were gaudy, where he scored over 30 points in every game except 1 (before his injury). Some second-year stars that have made some nice strides in their game this year (mainly due to increased playing time) include: Thaddeus Young, Aaron Brooks, Rodney Stuckey, Wilson Chandler, Jeff Green, Al Thornton, Spencer Hawes. (Kay)


COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Dwyane "Don't call it a comeback" Wade, G Miami Heat



Wow. Where do I start? How about the 101 blocks, a record setting number for any player 6'4 and under? Or how about his league leading 29.9 points a game along with 7.5 apg and 5 rpg? His numbers are just insane this year, especially when you consider Wade was beaten up, raising criticism about his ability from haters and fair weather fans alike who had jumped off the Miami Heat bandwagon after the Heat fell from the ranks of contenders, and a injured, Shaq-less D-Wade was left with a team of youngsters that were too raw for prime time, or worse named Jamaal Magloire. Shame on you all for not wanting to be in D-Wade's circle, because now you're on the outside looking in and D-Wade is yucking it up at the league's expense. Play on young man, play on.

RUNNER UP:

Are you kidding me? No one is remotely close to a comeback of this magnitude. (Zee!!)

I'm gonna have to disagree with you, Zee. Wade only missed 30 games last year because of a shoulder injury. How is that a comeback? Shaq's career revival in Phoenix is a better comeback story. But my pick for Comeback Player of the Year goes to Nene. The guy came back from testicular cancer! That takes balls. He's putting up career numbers across the board and is a big reason (along with Chauncey Billups) why Denver is in contention for the Midwest Division crown. His recent play almost justifies trading away Marcus Camby. I admit, I was skeptical that he would be able to stay healthy. But he has only missed 5 games this year. My runner-up comes from the same team: Chris Anderson. He's been a defensive dynamo for this team coming off of a year-long drug suspension. He leads the league in blocks per 48 minutes at an impressive 5.5! He's provided great energy and defense off of the bench. These two guys are "real" comeback stories. (Kay)


COACH OF THE YEAR:

Larry Brown, Charlotte Hornets

I'll keep this short and sweet: If the Bobcats make the playoffs, there is no possible way Larry Brown will not be named coach of the year. That in itself would be a miracle with how horrible the Bobcats have played in seasons past. Brown did a minor restructuring of the team, shipping out Jason Richardson, bringing in veterans Raja Bell and Boris Diaw from Phoenix, while meshing them with current Bobcat players Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton and Emeka Okafor, and adding quality rookie guard D.J. Augustine to the mix. The end result is a team that is a sleeper for the playoffs this year, and a definite challenger for a 7th or 8th playoff seed next season.

RUNNER UP: Mike Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers

Best record in the NBA? Check. Current 13 game win streak? Check. 1 home loss for the entire season up until this point? Check. Say what you want about him having #23 doing all the heavy lifting, but give Coach Brown credit for managing the team, not necessarily coaching per se. However his approach to the game, which is allowing players to have fun, along with him being energetic and animated seems to have worked out for the overall chemistry of the team, and good chemistry has led to a lot of wins. If the regular season wins equal post season success, then expect Mr James to stay around, and expect Coach Brown to keep smiling on the sidelines for quite some time. (Zee!!)

I think Mike Brown has the award in the bag. But there are a few other coaches that I'd like to spotlight. Gregg Popovich did a brilliant coaching job, especially given all of the injuries to the Big 3 on the Spurs (6 games by Duncan, 10 games by Parker, and 32 games by Manu). The team has an impressive record of 8-4 in games where only 1 of their Big 3 is healthy. And they had no right giving Denver a run for their money when all 3 of them sat out and they started a lineup of: Bonner, Thomas, Bowen, Mason and Hill. Popovich is a great motivator and strategist. The Spurs always play great defense, and he's managed to get the best out of scrubs like Bonner, Bowen, Oberto, Udoka, etc. They are battling for the second best record in the Western Conference. Of course, you have to give some credit to Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Rick Adelman, and Jerry Sloan for their great efforts. Sloan, in particular, is one of the most underrated coaches in history. He's never won coach of the year despite all of his team success. He's 4th all-time on the wins list. And he has the longest tenure of any other coach in the league (20 full years). He's had to overcome tons of injuries (14 by Williams, 9 by Okur, 45 by Boozer, 16 by Kirlenko) and this team still has managed to stay afloat and be competitive in the West. When will he get his? (Kay)


LEAGUE MVP : Lebron James (Surprise,Surprise)

Part of me wants the NBA to give it to Kobe simply because he isn't going to be winning anymore anytime soon, and we all know he was stiffed out of quite a few MVP trophies in the past. But, you can't deny the performances Lebron has graced the league with night after night. The 2009 NBA MVP is dropping 28 points a game, 7.7 rebounds a game and a mind boggling 7.3 assists a game. Kobe, all world player that he is, has not and will not ever distribute like Lebron does, and still manage to impact the game in multiple ways. I have full confidence that Lebron will average a triple-double before his career is done.....the future of the league is now. 2010 will be a madhouse when he becomes a free agent.

RUNNER UP:

Check the Comeback Player of the Year section. (Zee!!)

I have no choice but to agree. Lebron is the clear-cut winner. He's led his team to the best record in the league, while putting up some amazing stats. His season averages might have been even better if so many of the games weren't blow-outs. Think about that. He makes all of the players around him better with his passing, his leadership and the extra attention that the defense gives him. And he's finally stepped up on the defensive end and improved on his other weakness: FT shooting. There's no denying his importance to this team; or the league, for that matter. As an added bonus, he has not missed a single game this year. This guy is a machine. I give Wade the runner-up spot over Kobe and Dwight because of his nasty stat lines and how much the Heat depend on Wade. Wade scores or assists on over 45% of the team's points. That's crazy. But I don't think the MVP award will ever go to a player from a team that is barely hovering over the .500 mark. Team success is an important factor to consider when selecting MVP. (Kay)

Better than Lebron/J-Rich?

This was a little while back, but man is this nasty. The only bad thing about it is the ref calling this a foul. Sometimes I wish these ref's would just let the guys play. Anyhow, check it out:

Can you top this?

I don't follow college basketball too closely, but there were a pair of incredible games last week that deserve some attention. First off is the Texas Tech vs Texas A&M game. Texas Tech Sophomore Mike Singletary explodes for 43 points, breaking the Big 12 tournament scoring record. Even more impressive is that he scored 29 consecutive points in the second half to rally his team to victory from a 21 point deficit. Crazy. That's like a performance out of a video game. You don't see players take over games like that single-handedly. This was the biggest comeback in Big 12 tournament history also. What makes the accomplishment even more incredible is that his previous career high was 25 points, and he was averaging only 11 points per game coming into that historic game. According to NCAA record books, this was the second longest run of consecutive points ever recorded. The top mark is 54 points by Bill Mlkvy of Temple back in 1951.



Of course, the other game of the week was the epic 6OT Connecticut vs Syracuse battle. This was the longest game in Big East tournament history. The game lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes. The teams combined to score 244 points, 102 of which came after the regulation buzzer. 8 players fouled out of this game, and 6 collected double-doubles. Bananas. Jonny Flynn of Syracuse played a ridiculous 67 (out of 70 minutes) and posted up a gaudy stat line of 34 points, 11 assists and 6 steals. Teammate Paul Harris grabbed 22 rebounds to go along with his 29 points. On the UCONN squad, you had AJ Price going for 33 points and 10 assists; and Stanley Robinson compiling 28 points and 14 rebounds. Some say that this might have been the best game ever played at Madison Square Garden, which is a bold statement to make given how much history the stadium has. It's interesting to note that the underdog team won both of these games.

Wade Does It Again

Check out the below video to see Wade come up with the clutch steal and buzzer-beating 3-pointer in double OT to beat the Bulls. That was just cold. He's making a strong case for runner-up in the MVP race. Hah! I especially like how Brad Miller mouths some profanity at the 0:15 mark in the video clip. While Wade doesn't have the supporting cast that either Lebron or Kobe has, he is just as dangerous. Miami will be a tough out in the first round of the playoffs this postseason.

Pushing Over The Top

March 1 was the deadline for postseason roster eligibility, so as expected a number of veteran players were bought out of their contracts and given an opportunity to join playoff teams. Some of these moves could have a significant impact on the playoff landscape, so I thought I'd run down the moves and rate which ones will pay off the biggest dividends. Will any of these movies push their team over the top and make them title contenders? Some times these waiver pick-ups can have a more significant impact on the teams than trades. It's about players sacrificing money for a shot at a ring. Without further adieu...



1. Stephon Marbury to the Boston Celtics

For all of the baggage that Marbury carries, you cannot deny his talent. This is a great pickup for the Celtics. Marbury provides Boston with some necessary depth at the PG position. And unlike Sam Cassell, Marbury still has some game left in the tank. He can score in bunches, and is a more reliable setup man than House or Pruitt. He gives the Celtics another weapon off of the bench, and should allow them to rest their Big 3 (and Rondo) more as the season progresses. It'll be interesting to see how he acclimates himself with the Boston culture. He'll need to play defense on a consistent basis, and buy into the team system. Will he be happy playing only 10-20 minutes off of the bench each night? Can his ego handle not having the ball in his hands all of the time and scoring 20+ points per game? He has a great chance here to win a title, prove the doubters wrong, fix his tarnished reputation and make a case for a nice payday in the upcoming summer. It should be interesting to see KG & Marbury back together again. It will be key that KG and the rest of the veterans on this team rein Starbury in.

2. Drew Gooden to the San Antonio Spurs

This is an excellent high risk, low reward acquisition by the Spurs. He's a solid scorer and rebounder and should compliment Duncan's game well. Based on talent, he's probably the best big man that Duncan will have played next to since the Admiral during his early years. He provides the Spurs another body to play at the PF and C positions, which is huge plus. While Bonner has been playing well lately, I'm not sure I trust him to play heavy minutes in the playoffs. His work ethnic is suspect, but you cannot deny his talent. The Spurs have a knack for bringing out the best in their players, however. Combined with the emergence of Bonner, the free agent pick-up of Roger Mason and the drafting of George Hill; the Spurs team suddenly has a lot of depth and look like legit title contenders. I predict another Western Conference final matchup with the Lakers. I've been impressed by how they've been able to handle injuries to Parker, Manu and Duncan this year. Pop is definitely one of the game's best coaches. Gooden will have to prove that he is healthy and committed to winning in order to get minutes here.



3. Joe Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers

With the loss of Ben Wallace to injuries, the Cavs desperately needed to pick up another big man. Joe Smith is a great blue-collar athlete, who will play good defense and his the open jump shot (unlike Wallace or Varejao). He'll set good picks, make the smart pass, and play hard. He's on the tail end of this career, but should provide some much needed depth to this team. I could see him start over Wallace based on match-ups also. Playing big Z and Smith together will provide Lebron with more offensive weapons to play with. I like that trio playing alongside Williams and West. While Gooden has more upside than Smith and is younger, Smith is the smarter and more reliable player. He hasn't quite lived up to the hype of being a #1 pick by the Warriors and than the whole controversy in Minnesota, but he's a great team player. He should have no problems getting acquainted with the Cleveland system, where he played at as recent as last year. I was not a believer of the Cavs in the early season, but they have won me over. They should contend with the Celtics for the Eastern crown.

4. Luther Head to the Miami Heat

I suppose Head will play the Terry/Gordon role for this team. He's an undersized SG who can score in bunches. With Chalmers inconsistent play, I would not be surprised to see Head and Wade play together frequently. Head is a great shooter, but will struggle on the defensive end and does not have the playmaking skills to be a point guard. I think this trade will mainly cut into the playing time of Cook and Jones. They are the designated 3pt shooters on this team. Playing next to Wade should give him an ample amount of open shots, but I'm not sure that he'll get consistent minutes on this team. Nor will he have a significant impact on this team's success. They seem destined for a first or second round playoff exit. I would have preferred him joining a young team like the Nets (who he also considered). Where he would have a chance to define his role for the long term, and grow along with the team. The Heat's greater need was for another big man, which this did not satisfy. Jermaine O'Neal needs to play well for this team to prosper in the playoffs; which is an uneasy proposition for Heat fans.



5. Stromile Swift to the Phoenix Suns

Its tough to predict what the Suns will get out of Swift, but he's a big-time athlete and has the potential to be a solid role player for them. I think its about time that we give up on Swift with regards to him becoming a star, but its hard to see him fail in this Phoenix system. He'll be able to run and catch lob passes from Nash all day long. He'll be able to block the occasional shot and grab some rebounds off of the glass. He's not a good team defender, but than the Suns don't really play defense. He's like Amare-lite-lite. Swift provides them some much needed depth at the PF/C positions in the short-term. I like him over Amundson or Lopez. And Nash makes a living out of making scrub players look like studs. It's always been a question about effort with Swift, but I think he's in a good position to excel. This is success or bust for Swift. He's not going to get too many opportunities to ball in this league. And he's starting to get up there in years.

6. Mikki Moore to the Boston Celtics

I think Boston should have waited longer before signing Moore. Both Gooden and Smith are the better talents. Moore is just kind of meh. He doesn't rebound or defend particularly well, and is just a decent scorer. I don't see him getting many minutes on this Boston squad also. I think both Powe and Davis are higher than him on the depth chart. But maybe he can pick up the garbage minutes that were going to Scalabrine. I think they need to be concerned about injuries to Ray Allen or Pierce. They don't have any quality backups to fill in for either of those guys (like a Posey-type player). This is supposed to be the PJ Brown type move of this year, but Moore is nowhere near the talent that Brown is. He can't defend as well, nor hit the shot as well. The Celtics still will be a dangerous team in the post season; but I think the acquisition of Gooden or Smith could have helped this squad out more.