NBA Trimester Awards

Since ESPN.com’s Mark Stein (affectionately known as “Steiny-Mo” on the Simmons podcast) handed out his Trimester Awards late, I don’t feel bad about doing so either. We still have a little stretch run left until the All Star-Break, so I feel like this isn’t a horrendous idea. In any case, I’m writing a blog post again, something that happens about as frequently as a Fiona Apple record. (Although my blogs are about .00045% as well crafted and enjoyable as the songs that she throws away and considers awful ideas). Without further ado, your mathematically incorrect Trimester Elmira College style (whats good cuz?) awards!

MVP
- Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
How could I possibly pick Wade? Derrick Rose is assuming super-star status in Chicago, Dirk has shouldered a heavier burden than any primary offensive option in the league, Manu has the Spurs playing like a faster version of their 2007 Championship squad and Wade’s own running mate Lebron James is putting up better all around numbers than he is. How could a player flanked by two All Stars possibly have the same value as someone like Derron Williams, who has the Jazz atop their division despite the fact that his best teammate (Al Jefferson) is struggling to adapt to Jerry Sloan’s system and no one outside of Salt Lake City can name another guard on his team? How could Wade take ownership of a season when Amare Stoudemire is taking ownership of the best basketball town in the world by playing the best all around ball of his life in front of the most fawning media on the planet (without Steve Nash, no less)? The claim that Wade has been the MVP so far seems a bit dubious, until you consider the following:
-Though Pat Riley has received most of the credit for convincing James and Bosh to bring their respective talents to South Beach, Wade must have been equally instrumental to the process. Wade has been friends with James and Bosh for years, having broken into the league with them in 2003. He competed with them at the international level, securing a gold medal with his pals in 2008. I think its telling that James was unable to convince Bosh to flank him in Cleveland, and equally interesting that Wade and James didn’t join forces in Chicago with a loaded supporting cast that includes Rose, warrior Joakim Noah, and the resurgent Luol Deng. Though Pat Riley is an undeniably charismatic individual, Lebron James didn’t come to the Miami Heat to play with him. He came to play with Wade, a lethal scorer, clutch performer, and proven winner. The force of Wade’s cooler-than cool persona and resume (scoring champ, Finals MVP, 7 time All-Star) allowed him to lure the biggest free agent prize in the history of athletics to his squad. That’s value in spades. If Pat Riley is the basketball equivalent of the Godfather, Don Vito Corleone, then Wade is certainly Michael. Just ask Shaq.
-Wade had no training camp and virtually no preseason due to a nagging ham string injury, so it was difficult for him to become acclimated to his new teammates early on in the season. After starting out 9-8, Miami has won 19 of 20 and stolen the spot light from the Laker’s pursuit of a three peat. The Heat really got rolling in December, and Wade put up the following money ball numbers- 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, a block, and 54% from the field, an incredibly efficient shooting percentage for a guard. He is at the absolute apex of his powers as a basketball player. He still has outstanding athleticism; his blend of agility, power, and quickness is unmatched at his position, and, at 29, has the experience and guile fitting of an NBA veteran who has performed on the highest stage.
-Wade excels on both ends of the floor, something that can’t be said for fellow candidates like Dirk (an average defender) and Rose (point guards shred other point guards, with rare exceptions). Since defensive stalwarts like Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo have missed some time due to injury, and since Dwight Howard, for all of the talk of his attendance at “Hakeem Camp” is still struggling to put up even Ewing like scoring tallies, I can’t take them seriously as MVP candidates. A great example of Wades lock down prowess- holding a frustrated Kobe Bryant to 17 points on Christmas day.
-Wade is the most dominant perimeter player in the game, in the sense that he has no problem taking over a game completely and going into “we’re winning because I’m on the floor and that is all there is to it” mode. He attacks the basket with a reckless abandon, high lighted by stretches where he is either going to score at the rim or go to the line and make the free throws. He owns one of the deadliest mid range jumpers this side of Richard Hamilton, and has a devastating post up game that he saves for smaller guards who match up with him because of their quickness. In summary, he blows by the likes of Ron Artest, posts up smaller guards like Jrue Holiday, and relies on his midrange game against rangy, smart defenders like Kobe and Stephen Jackson. How do you defend Wade when he’s on? You pray that Carlos Arroyo gets reckless and starts chucking.
-So why Wade over Lebron? Simple- The Heat have overcome early season adversity en route to becoming the team of the season so far, and Wade assembled the squad on his terms, in his town. Is Wade a better player than Lebron? Probably not. But 15 years from now, I’ll remember that Wade helped pull the strings to provide the city of Miami with the most explosive collection of talent in franchise history, and did so while playing some of the best all around ball of his stellar career. Simply put, if Steve Nash can win a couple MVPs because they got rid of hand checking rules, Wade gets one for pulling this shit off.

6th Man of the Year
- Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks.
What’s the difference between San Antontio’s George Hill, Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford and Terry? While all three provide an integral scoring punch off the bench for contenders, Terry excels during the fourth quarters of games, taking a bit of the crunch time scoring pressure off Dirk. His jumpers come in dizzying barrages from every conceivable angle and distance, including a ludicrous, back breaking 28 foot bomb against Portland this week. So baller is Terry that he has taken to raising 4 fingers during the fourth quarter to signify the beginning of his office hours. Bonus points for showing no signs of decline at age 33 in his 12th NBA campaign, and for hijacking Kenny “the Jet” Smith’s nick name. Too much respect for that (Arizona Wild) cat.

Defensive Player of the Year
-Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Could mayyyybe have been KG, but his recent injury and Howard’s ever improving basketball IQ make this one a pretty easy pick. Howard has always had the ability to prowl the paint, grab tons of defensive rebounds and block shots, but his ability to cover for teammates on screens and off of dribble penetration has shown that he has become as smart defensively as he is athletic. Considering some of the bums that he plays with on defense (Hedo, Richardson, J.J. “I’m trying really hard and am pretty physical but still get abused off the dribble by anyone remotely quick” Redick) its remarkable that Orlando has been able to pull of their 9 game win streak. 13 boards, 2.5 blocks and 1.2 steals for a super athletic, agile center who swallows up pick and rolls and contests every shot within 10 feet of the rim? Good enough for me. You can probably pencil him in for this one for the next 5 or 6 years.

Rookie of the Year
- Blake Griffin, LA Clippers.
Obviously the easiest pick on the board. Though the ESPN top 10 plays has now officially been renamed “Our fucking awesome Blake Griffin Segement”, you can’t let the highlight reel slams overshadow how productive his all around game is; he is just as much steak as sizzle. He’s currently tossing up a 22-13-3 on 52% shooting. He has a 22 game double-double streak going. He has completely changed the competitive nature of a previously dispirited franchise. He is the best rookie big man since Tim Duncan, and has a legitimate chance to be better than him. He is a better athlete than Duncan ever was, though Duncan had a much better command at the defensive end as a rookie. Whatever. If we’re talking about him having a chance to be the greatest power forward ever, he’s certainly the rookie of the year.

Coach of the Year- ?
Who knows? This is one of the dumbest award categories in sports. For one thing, we have no idea what these guys do in practice every day and, with apologies to the great Allen Iverson, that instruction and planning is integral to their worth as a coach. For all I know, Mike D’Antoni lets the Knicks play half court knockout every morning, break for lunch, then come back and go swimming. Also, recipients of the award are generally coaches of teams who are
a) completely dominant and eviscerate everyone (Think Geno or Torre, heads of teams that would’ve won even if they were autistic) or
b) a pleasant surprise (think Sam Mitchell a few years ago for the Raptors.)
That’s pretty retarded. Did Toronto have a better year than expected because Sam Mitchell coached his ass off, or because Chris Bosh improved his rebounding, honed his ability to get buckets down the stretch of close games and became a true franchise guy? They also played in a shitty division that included the Knicks at their most dismal and the pre- big 3 Celtics. Mitchell was fired by the Raptors a year and a half later, so are we really supposed to believe that he was the best coach in the NBA in 2006? Mike Brown, your 2008-2009 Coach of the Year and architect of the imaginative “let’s have everyone stand around and watch Lebron go 1 on 5” offense, was fired this past off season. To further debunk this preposterous award, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Jerry Sloan, the holy trinity of NBA coaches over the past 15 years, have combined for 2 Coach of the Year victories. Mike Dunleavy and Del Harris have as many Coach of the Year wins as them. Huh? I officially boycott this award, forever.

Executive of the Year
- Pat Riley, Miami Heat
Ummmm, yeah.

Dude who needs to be traded before he wastes the rest of his career toiling away in obscurity
- Stephen Jackson, Charlotte Bobcats.
Captain Jack is one of the association’s most underrated players- always regarded as a committed defender, Jackson does a little bit of everything on offense, too (18-5-5) and has aged extremely well due to his powerful frame and his promise to sodomize any player who fouls him hard or “steps to me like they know shit”. (Sasha Vuvacic thought he was joking, then grew out his hair and became a girl. Those two events are highly related.). Now that Caron Butler is out for the season with a knee injury, the Mavs should grab him before he beats the shit out of owner Michael Jordan and ruins my childhood.

All NBA 1st, 2nd and 3rd Teams
First Team
G Rajon Rondo
G Dwyane Wade
F Lebron James
F Amare Stoudemire
C Dwight Howard

Second Team
G Kobe Bryant
G Derrick Rose
F Kevin Durant
F Dirk Nowitzki
C Pau Gasol

Third Team
G Chris Paul
G Derron Williams
F Kevin Garnett
F Blake Griffin
C Al Horford

Honorable Mention: Steve Nash, Tyson Chandler, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrooke, Kevin Love, Manu Ginobili, Andrew “Paul Harris” Stummer, Monta Ellis, Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay

Note: I did it how the NBA does it on the all-star ballot- two guards, two forwards, and a center, with no differentiation based on shooting or point guard or small or power forward. Clearly, Dirk is a top 5 player, but Lebron is a forward, and I couldn't quite do that to the most talented basketball specimen on the planet.



Finals Prediction
- Celts vs. Lakers.
The Celtics simply have the most good players in basketball, and are sitting pretty at 28-8 without the services of their starting center, Kendrick Perkins.. They have learned what it takes to win in the playoffs- elite shot makers like Allen and Pierce, big bodies to handle the grind it out wars in the trenches, and a defense anchored by Garnett and Perk (two of the best help defenders in the game) and Rondo (always near the top of the league in steals).
The Lakers will limp in for one reason and one reason only- they’re fucking huge. In a 7 game series, you just get worn down by multiple battles with Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. Kobe will probably break another eleven fingers and play on his knee until it is roughly the size of a beach ball, get it drained before the playoffs, tape his appendages together and do work. One of these springs, the 15 seasons of long, physical playoff runs will catch up to him and he’ll lose the lift on his jumper the same way he’s lost his ability to consistently attack the rim, but my gut tells me it won’t be this year, at least not with MJ’s standard of 6 rings in sight. I’m calling another 7 game series with the Celts coming out on top, but I wouldn’t be shocked in the least bit to see Phil and co. ride off into the sunset.
More than anything, I can’t wait to watch it all unfold. Us hoopheads are lucky enough to witness the convergence of a three distinct basketball generations. The Kobe-Garnett- Kidd-Duncan era is still somehow excelling (they all start on contenders). The Wade-Lebron-Howard-Paul era is taking the mantle as the dominant force in the league, but the young guns like Rose, Durant, Westbrooke and Rondo are offering a stiff challenge earlier than anyone expected. Every basketball fan, from Spike Lee at the Garden to Joel Tirado in my living room knows how lucky they are. Let the real games begin.